Tamworth water supply Chaffey Dam just a drop of water away from spilling at 99.4 per cent for first time in five years

The bare bones of a drought-stricken Chaffey Dam that were visible just a year ago have now been submerged, as the supply fills with water and even threatens to spill.

The dam had hit 99.4 per cent on Thursday afternoon, water was lapping at the edge of the spillway, and locals reported that it was slipping over the edge in sections.

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The last time Chaffey Dam - Tamworth's main water supply - was full to the brim was back in 2016, close to five years ago.

Since then, devastating drought swept in and the water supply dried up, reaching the critically low level of 12 per cent just more than a year-and-a-half ago.

With the dam thriving once again, Water NSW has confirmed it is expecting the dam to hit the official 100 per cent milestone at any moment.

Inflows from the last rain event have slowed, but more rain is forecast to come early next week and rivers are still gurgling along.

No additional water releases have happened in preparation for a spill, but a spokesman from Water NSW confirmed none are necessary at this stage.

"Reaching storage capacity will result in water flowing down Chaffey's unique morning glory spillway and into the Peel River for the first time in almost five years," he said.

"With the current inflows to Chaffey, the spill is expected to be minor.

"This means that the downstream impacts will be largely governed by tributary flows into the Peel River below Chaffey Dam."

But, a small spill would still mark a major moment for the people of Tamworth.

With the dam surging past 100,000ML, it is holding enough water to handle the citys demands, on average, for the next decade.

But, Tamworth residents are not the only water users tapped into Chaffey Dam, and it only took a couple of years for the city's water supply to be threatened by a dropping dam level after filling up in 2016.

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