Up to $2 million of damage caused by torrential rain and flooding on the Liverpool Plains is "way beyond our budget to look after", the shire mayor says.
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The council will apply for a natural disaster declaration as soon as businesses return to work on Tuesday.
On Monday, Cr Andrew Hope said the council's "highest priority" was repairing the pipeline between Quipolly Dam and Werris Creek's water treatment plant, which was washed out by the storms.
The town is on level 5 water restrictions until the service can be restored.
Cr Hope said the pipe was back in place but would need to be flushed and tested.
"We have most of our resources focused on getting that back online. Even people working on it need water. It will be a patch job and there will be more major works to be done, but the focus is to get water running," he said.
"We put a 72-hour limit on it [yesterday] to make sure everything works. And if it fails, we will look at alternatives like trucking water in."
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The waters and winds also damaged roofs, roads, fences, the railway tracks and phone and internet lines. The Gap Road remains closed and will be assessed for structural damage.
"The gravity of what has happened here is way beyond our budget to look after so I spoke to Kevin Anderson yesterday about how to declare a natural disaster, so as soon as business is back on Tuesday, our general manager will be on the phone," Cr Hope said.
"It could certainly be north of one million or two."
He said resources were stretched but he is urging residents to report all damage so the council can make an accurate assessment.
Cr Hope said staff had gone "above and beyond" in their response to the storms, coming in to work on their holidays and weekends.
He said the crews working on the pipeline, about 8kms north of Werris Creek, had worked long hours and accessing and repairing it had been a "logistical nightmare".
"One of the reasons the pipeline is so difficult is that it's in the middle of a black soil paddock ... crews have done an exceptional job to get in there," Cr Hope said.
Werris Creek's golf course has been hard hit by the storm as flood waters swept through the grounds leaving a trail of destruction.
The putting green is a quagmire and two of the five bridges were ripped from their foundations and swept onto the course. A third is missing a section from one end.
The creek has filled back up but the flood waters carved out the sides and swept over the top, leaving a tideline.
The pipeline
Werris Creek is relying on treated water already in the system (under storage) to meet current needs.
Level 5 restrictions mean water usage is limited to drinking, showering and toilet flushing.
