Heavy rainfall has replenished the Tweed's water supplies, prompting Council to lift water restrictions for Tyalgum late last week and relax the need for the rest of the Shire to urgently save water.
Water and Wastewater Business and Assets Acting Manager Brie Jowett said following recent rainfalls, Council had been monitoring inflows to the Oxley and Tweed River water sources for the past two weeks while assessing the Shire's water supply infrastructure and source water quality.
"Since 21 December, 446 mm of rain has fallen in Eungella near Tyalgum and 324.5 mm has fallen at Uki, near the Clarrie Hall Dam and Upper Tweed River catchments," Mrs Jowett said.*
"This deluge caused flooding along sections of the Tweed and Oxley Rivers, which could have had impacts on our water supply infrastructure and water quality.
"Our crews have been out and about assessing the Tweed's water infrastructure and ensuring our water treatment plants can continue to treat water effectively.
"The great news is that our infrastructure has held up and our tap water remains perfectly safe to drink and bathe in.
"This means we can safely lift water restrictions."
Level 2 restrictions came into force for Tyalgum on 14 December 2023 when the amount of water in the village's weir pool dropped to a critical level. These were lifted on Friday 5 January 2024 after the deluge earlier in the week.
The rest of the Tweed was put on notice in September last year to urgently save water in a bid to delay water restrictions. This occurred as Council began to release water from the Shire's main water storage facility – Clarrie Hall Dam – to supplement the Tweed River flow, which supplies the Bray Park Weir pool.
Mrs Jowett said while water supplies for Tyalgum and the rest of the Tweed were now full, the Tweed's water use would likely increase as the weather heats up and drier conditions return.
"The Bureau of Meteorology is maintaining its El Nino declaration for the east coast of Australia however the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is currently positive," she said.
"In summer, a positive SAM increases the chance of above average rainfall for parts of eastern NSW and south-eastern Queensland.
"If the SAM weakens and drier weather returns, we could face restrictions again because our water supplies rely on the amount of rain we receive.
"That's why we're encouraging everyone in the Tweed to continue to be mindful of their water use and use just 160 litres a day per person."
Mrs Jowett added there was another great reason to be mindful of tap water.
"Tap water in the Tweed is simply too good to waste," she said.
"We conducted tests last year comparing the Tweed's tap water with some of the leading bottled water brands and the results showed little difference between them.
"We then performed blind taste tests with the community in Kingscliff and Murwillumbah: people couldn't taste a difference between tap and bottled water."
Go to tweed.nsw.gov.au/target-160 for tips on how to meet Target 160.
* Bureau of Meteorology figures - view data by clicking on Rainfall in Catchment tab via tweed.nsw.gov.au/water-savings-restrictions
