Tamworth drought: Businesses use half of the town's daily water usage

With or without it, Tamworth Regional Council water director Bruce Logan swears the city will never have a Day Zero.

"Our residents will always have access to water," he said.

"We have multiple water supplies and we are currently putting plans in place to ensure the longevity of each of these."

The 0 per cent water deadline is based on independent modelling by Tamworth Regional Council and WaterNSW if current demand remains with no inflows.

The Chaffey Dam to Dungowan pipeline and a further water restriction to 100L per person, per day is expected to buy the city extra time.

With outdoor water use banned for both residents and businesses, industry is still responsible for half of the daily water use in Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal.

Large water users combined, like food processors, go through about 45ML each week.

The issue is that without business in town, jobs and the economy would suffer, so it's about finding a balance, the council's water sustainability coordinator Tracey Carr said.

"Council's aim is to support and maintain business as best we can and as long as possible, hopefully that's indefinitely," she said.

"We're trying to avoid ever having a negative impact on a business because of water.

"It's a hard thing to recover from if they do get impacted."

The council is in the process of developing an emergency water supply plan at a cost of $100,000.

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It will investigate possible new supplies and reductions, including groundwater or access to Keepit Dam or Split Rock Dam to supplement Tamworth's supply.

It's most likely the solution to Tamworth's water supply would lie in a combination of options to meet the demand.

At the moment the council's target is 16.1ML of water each day, it's expected individual use will be reduced to 100L per person, per day if the lack of rain persists.

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