Today, Council hosted an open day for residents to take a look through the new Water Treatment Plant with construction of the Manilla Water Supply upgrade now complete.
For the Manilla community, the upgrade provides much greater flexibility and water supply security to the township by enabling the drawing of water from either the Namoi River or from the Manilla River.
The project included construction of the new water treatment plant on a Council-owned site accessed from Reservoir Road, a new pump station and intake on the Manilla River and an upgrade to the intake and pump station on the Namoi River. New pipelines were constructed from each intake to the new plant.
The new state-of-the-art water treatment plant will treat, on average, 1.1 megalitres of water daily to meet the town's usual consumption needs, but is capable of producing up to 3.5 megalitres of drinking water a day. The new plant will ensure that water quality continues to meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Member for Tamworth and Minister for Lands and Water, Kevin Anderson, said this project was critical to securing a clean, reliable supply of water for the Manilla community.
"The Namoi has sustained the Manilla community for decades with the existing pump station being in operation since 1933," Mr Anderson said.
"This new upgrade is a major investment in the future of clean, reliable drinking water for Manilla and a great example of the NSW Government's investment in the future of the Manilla community".
Tamworth Region Mayor Russell Webb said that the facility will make a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of local residents and secure water for Manilla well into the future.
"Council has been trying to obtain funding for this wonderful facility for a number of years. We recognised the need for upgrades and securing water supplies, which was further highlighted by the recent drought. We expect that the water supply upgrade will be of great value, not only to residents of Manilla and surrounds but also to people considering relocating to the area."
The total project cost was more than $19 million with the NSW Government contributing $3.768 million through Restart NSW's Safe and Secure Water program, and Tamworth Regional Council funding the balance of the cost of the overall project.
For more detail regarding the upgrades, visit haveyoursay.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/manilla-water-supply-upgrade
