Council’s Water Supply

Residents living within the Urban Areas of the Kyogle Local Council Area may make application to connect to Council’s Urban Water System.

Kyogle Council operates three water supplies and sewerage systems serving around four thousand people in Kyogle, Bonalbo, Woodenbong, and the Aboriginal community of Muli Muli.

Kyogle Water Supply

Kyogle is located in the Richmond River catchment, and the water supply consists of on-stream storage and weir on the Richmond River, raw water pumping station, and water treatment plant originally constructed in the 1930’s. There are three storage reservoirs located at Hill Street, Mount Street, and James Street and the system was recently augmented to include an additional 200Ml of off-stream storage for raw water, upgrade and refurbishment of the water treatment plant, and provision for fish passage over the weir structure.

For more information on the Kyogle Water Supply Augmentation project and to watch the videos of the project, click here

Bonalbo Water Supply

Bonalbo is located in the Clarence Catchment, and the water supply consists of an off stream storage with water sourced from Peacock Creek, raw water pumping station, bore, and a water treatment plant constructed in 2010. There is a long term water supply strategy in place for Bonalbo which can be viewed here.

The off-stream storage of water in Bonalbo is held in Petrochilos Dam. As the dam owner (or office holder), Council must submit an Annual Dams Safety Standards Report to the Dams Safety NSW Board as part of our statutory reporting. The 2021 report for Petrochilos Dam can be viewed here 

Urbenville Muli Muli Woodenbong Water Supply

Woodenbong and Muli Muli are serviced by a joint water supply with Tenterfield Shire Council for the village of Urbenville. The UMMWWS consists of an on stream storage behind a natural weir on Tooloom Creek in the upper Clarence Catchment, a raw water pumping station, a water treatment plant constructed in 2009, a water storage reservoir in the village of Urbenville, all of which are located in Tenterfield Shire. There is also a rising main between Urbenville and Woodenbong which passes through the aboriginal community of Muli Muli, a booster pumping station and re-chlorination facility and a separate storage reservoir in the village of Woodenbong, all of which are located in the Kyogle Council Local Government Area. All these water supply assets are jointly owned and operated by Kyogle Council and Tenterfield Shire Council under a joint water supply agreement.

Tabulam Water Supply

The Tabulam Visions of Village Life Master Plan identified the desire for the village of Tabulam to be provided with a town water supply. Council was successful in securing funding under the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program (SSWP) for the scoping study to investigate options for the provision of a town water supply for the village of Tabulam.

The initial scoping study was completed in June 2021 and endorsed by the NSW State Government regulatory bodies and funding partners (to view the scoping study, click on this link).  An additional groundwater supply position report was completed in January 2022 (to view the groundwater supply position report, click on this link).  The Scoping Study and Groundwater Supply Position Paper were endorsed by Council at its July 2022 meeting.

The Scoping Study identifies an opportunity for a staged approach to the provision of a town water supply for Tabulam.

The first stage is to commission, and undertake additional testing and monitoring of the Hall Bore to ensure its viability (estimated at $0.2 million).

The second stage would see the Hall Bore used as the raw water source for a town water supply, with minimal treatment, and a new reservoir and reticulation to the existing houses constructed (estimated at $1.95 million).

The third stage would see the raw water source accessing the Clarence River alluvial groundwater expanded, the treatment plant upgraded, and the additional population growth serviced (estimated at $0.65 million).

The fourth stage would see the raw water system upgraded further, an additional reservoir, and a truck main constructed to supply the Jubullum Aboriginal Land Council site with water in addition to the village of Tabulam (estimated at $5.73 million)

Council has budgeted $155,150 in 2022/23 to commission the Hall Bore, with $50,000 of grant funding through the Australian Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants.  This will allow for the ongoing testing and monitoring program to commence, and for the bore to be used for fire-fighting and other non-potable uses. Note that the use of the Hall Bore for potable water may be limited while the on-site sewerage systems remain in place, and the ongoing monitoring program is intended to assess if this is a barrier to its use in the interim while the village waits for a reticulated sewerage system to be developed.

The current Long Term Financial Plan includes a provisional sum of $2.462 million in 2025/26 for construction of stage 2, subject to 75% external funding being secured.

In order to have the best case for funding applications to cover the 75% of construction costs, Council will need to secure land for the treatment plant and reservoir, and progress the preferred option identified in the Scoping Study through to concept and detailed design.  There may be funding opportunities to assist with this work, however it may also be necessary for Council to fund the next stage of the process, including the land matters.

Drinking Water Management System

Kyogle Council is committed to managing its water supplies effectively to provide a safe, high-quality drinking water that consistently meets the NHMRC/NRMMC Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, and consumer and other regulatory requirements. As part of this commitment Council has adopted a drinking water quality policy and drinking water management system

Drought Management

Council has provisions in place for the management and operation of its water supplies during periods of drought, including procedures for the imposing of water restrictions, and emergency contingency plans. The drought management plan can be viewed here.

Application forms for connection to Council’s water supply and sewerage system can be found here.