Tamworth’s main water supplies
Tamworth’s water supply comes from three sources:
- Chaffey Dam
- Dungowan Dam
- The Paradise Drift Wells (emergency only)
The majority of the Tamworth’s water comes from Chaffey Dam which has a capacity of 62,000 megalitres and sits about 44km south of the city on the Peel River.
Tamworth also has a supplementary supply from Dungowan Dam which has a capacity of 6,200 megalitres and lies 56km south east of the city.
Council has high security licenses to use 16,400 megalitres at Chaffey Dam, and 5,600 megalitres at Dungowan Dam, to be used for the Tamworth supply. During emergencies and severe drought Tamworth is also able to supplement its intake from the Drift Wells adjacent to the Peel River.
Water supplies in the region’s towns and villages
Apart from the large Chaffey and Dungowan Dams that service Tamworth, the towns and villages of the region have their own water supplies:
- Moonbi and Kootingal have groundwater bores and wells adjacent to the Cockburn River
- Manilla has the Namoi River Weir and the Manilla River, which has a licence allowing releases from Split Rock Dam
- Barraba is supplied by the Manilla River, Barraba Creek, Connors Creek Dam and when level 4 restrictions are in place, two emergency bores in James Street
- Nundle has the Peel River and the Oakenville bore
- Attunga is supplied by groundwater bores adjacent to the Peel River
- Bendemeer draws on the MacDonald River
Our region has clean healthy water
Council works hard to provide clean, safe, healthy water through a careful treatment process. Tamworth’s water from both dams and the drift wells is treated at the Calala Treatment Plant.
The regional towns and villages have their own treatment facilities.
The interesting history of our region’s water
For thousands of years the indigenous peoples of the Tamworth region, the Kamilaroi, took their water from the different rivers and waterholes in the area. Early European settlers used buckets to scoop and carry water from the Peel River.
As the population grew and the area became a pastoral and agricultural centre, water demand increased and more reliable water supplies were needed.
In 1881, Tamworth Council built its first public water supply. This was a well, about seven metres deep, from which 22,000 litres an hour were pumped into a large overhead tank. Water carriers could then fill their tanks for home delivery. A short time later, pipes were laid to feed water to a public drinking fountain on the corner of Peel and Brisbane Streets.
By 1898 a small dam was completed at Moore Creek. Unfortunately, the amount of silt that built up behind the wall made the dam useless in just twelve years. Following this, a series of drift wells were built on the Peel River Flats to supply the town with water.
Dungowan Dam was completed in 1958 and became the first major water storage facility for Tamworth. But as the population continued to grow, larger water storage was needed.
In 1980 Chaffey Dam and the Water Treatment Plant were completed as part of the Tamworth Water Supply Scheme. This produced large volumes of clean, healthy water available for consumption by Tamworth residents.