A 46-kilometre bore water pipeline has saved a village near Dubbo from running dry.
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Tomingley has a “reticulated non-potable water supply” despite its usual water source succumbing to the drought.
The $4 million underground pipeline connects the Narromine bore field with the Alkane Resources gold mine at Tomingley.
Alkane Resources has pumped bore water from its pipeline into village dams under a voluntary planning agreement with Narromine Shire Council.
The agreement, negotiated as Tomingley Gold Operations (TGO) was established, allows the council to determine the amount of bore water the village needs during dry times.
Council general manager Jane Redden has applauded the operation.
“The council would like to thank Tomingley gold mine for working with us, and the community, to ensure the sustainable water supply for Tomingley during the drought,” she said.
TGO’s environment and community manager Mark Williams said it was “essential to help out the village in this way”.
The council would like to thank Tomingley gold mine for working with us, and the community, to ensure the sustainable water supply for Tomingley during the drought.
- Narromine Shire Council general manager Jane Redden
“Without the bore water pipeline, Narromine Shire Council would be forced to truck water to the village, at great expense,” he said.
Tomingley, 57 kilometres south-west of Dubbo, usually relies on dams filled by Gundong Creek, an ephemeral water source that has been impacted by drought since 2016 flooding.
Alkane Resources reports that the pipeline was “partly funded by the NSW government backed Local Infrastructure Support Fund”.
The company expects that its yet-to-be built $1.3 billion Dubbo Project at Toongi will also rely on “local aquifer bore water as well as river water for its operation”.