A plan has been hatched to keep Burrendong Dam water flowing into Dubbo until its bore field is extended with $30 million from the state government.
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WaterNSW has released details of the plan along with advice that the community may not be able to rely on Burrendong Dam for long.
"A continuation of the current extremely low inflows would place pressure on water security from Burrendong by as early as mid-2020," its spokesman said.
About 70 per cent of Dubbo's water comes from the Macquarie River and 30 per cent from seven groundwater bores.
Currently, Burrendong Dam is sitting at 4.7 per cent capacity.
The plan includes the "likely" transfer of water from Windamere Dam via the Cudgegong River to Burrendong Dam in late 2019 and then pumping of remnant dam water months later.
"The intention is to extend supply to allow time for Dubbo Regional Council to extend its groundwater network using $30 million in funding from the NSW government," the WaterNSW spokesman said.
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In mid-June, Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders announced the $30 million which would give the council an opportunity to plan and "get projects happening as well".
"So the commitment is $30 million here today for Dubbo council to start investigating water, better usage, maybe more bores, deepening the current bores that are there, and looking at what some of the solutions could actually be over the next couple of years," he said.
WaterNSW reports of intense drought conditions in the Macquarie Valley in the past 24 to 30 months leading to record low inflows at Burrendong Dam.
"WaterNSW has been implementing increasingly strict measures under its drought management plan to extend surface water supply to valley communities," its spokesman said.