Seven councils including Gunnedah, Narrabri, and Liverpool Plains have vowed to fight a plan to pipe water from Keepit Dam to Tamworth, warning it would push the risk of running dry onto towns downstream in the next drought.
Tamworth Regional Council’s newly released draft water security plan names a pipeline from Keepit Dam as its preferred option. It could provide around 10 billion litres of water a year, with planning proposed to start immediately.
The Triple R Water Security Alliance, made up of Liverpool Plains, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Walgett, Brewarrina, Bourke, and Central Darling shire councils, has expressed its strongest opposition to the proposal.
“Our seven councils represent communities spread across a vast area of inland New South Wales,” said Narrabri Shire Mayor and Alliance Chair Darrell Tiemens.
“Their water needs cannot be treated as secondary to those of a larger regional centre.”
Tiemens said the seven councils fully recognised Tamworth’s need for long-term water security.
“Let us be absolutely clear. We support Tamworth securing its water future,” he said.
“Tamworth is a vital regional centre and its prosperity is important to all of us.”
However, he said the councils would not accept a solution that placed other communities at greater risk.
“But you cannot solve one community’s water security problems by creating or worsening those same problems for communities further downstream. Water security cannot simply mean taking water from someone else,” he said.
Tiemens said the proposal was particularly concerning because construction could be triggered when Chaffey Dam fell to just 20 per cent capacity.
“That is exactly the sort of drought situation in which communities throughout the Namoi, Barwon and Darling systems may also be facing severe water shortages,” he said.
“During the last major drought, Keepit Dam was effectively empty. Our communities remember what that meant for families, farmers, businesses and the environment.”
“Keepit Dam is not an endless supply of water. It is the lifeblood of the Namoi Valley, supporting our towns, agricultural industries and thousands of jobs,” said Gunnedah Shire Mayor and Alliance Deputy Chair Colleen Fuller OAM.
“During the last drought, Keepit Dam was virtually empty. Our communities know only too well what that means.”
Fuller said the proposal raised serious concerns for the future of communities and industries throughout the Namoi Valley.
“Tamworth has every right to plan for its water security, but not at the expense of communities downstream,” she said.
“We cannot allow one regional centre to secure its future by putting the future of others at risk.”
“People in Walgett have lived through the devastating reality of rivers running dry,” said Walgett Shire Mayor Jasen Ramien.
“During the last drought, our community faced serious water shortages and had to rely on bore water just to keep the taps running.”
“We are at the end of the system, and every additional extraction upstream has the potential to make an already desperate situation worse.”
Ramien said the consequences of further extraction upstream could be devastating for his community during future droughts.
“If Tamworth begins taking water from Keepit Dam during the next major drought, what guarantee do we have that there will be enough left to reach Walgett?” he said.
“This is not just about irrigation or industry. It is about drinking water, public health and the survival of our community.”
“We must never again be placed in a situation where our town is left without a reliable supply of safe drinking water.”
Tiemens said the Alliance was also concerned that Tamworth’s preferred option had emerged while the NSW Government’s own investigations and assessment of downstream impacts remained unresolved.
“The suggestion that Keepit Dam could become Tamworth’s emergency water supply raises a fundamental question. What happens to the communities downstream when they need that same water?” he said.
The NSW Government has already acknowledged significant concerns about the potential reallocation of water from smaller and downstream communities to support Tamworth.
“Those concerns cannot simply be noted in a consultation report and then set aside,” Tiemens said.
“The NSW Government has committed to consulting our councils. We expect that commitment to be honoured before any decision is made.”
The Alliance is calling on the NSW Government to confirm that no construction approval or funding commitment will be made until downstream impacts have been independently assessed and affected communities have been properly consulted.
“We want the complete hydrological modelling, including the effects of prolonged drought, changes to river operations, impacts on town water supplies, agricultural production and environmental flows,” Tiemens said.
“We want that information publicly available and independently reviewed.”
The Alliance also wants serious consideration of other water sources, including advanced water recycling, greater water efficiency, additional storage, and other options that do not compromise the security of communities already relying on the Namoi system.
“This is not about Tamworth versus the rest of the region. It is about fairness, sound water management and recognising that every community has a right to a secure water supply,” Tiemens said.
“We will not accept a situation where water security is improved upstream by transferring the drought risk downstream.”
“The NSW Government must demonstrate that it can deliver water security for Tamworth without compromising the future of our communities.”
“Until it can do that, the Alliance will continue to strongly oppose the proposed Keepit Dam pipeline.”
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