Quipolly dam on track for $38 million completion by Christmas

"The reason we have installed a state-of-the-art filtration plant is because the water is challenging to treat," Cr Hawkins said.

"And we've been told that the state-of-the-art facility will bring that water up to scratch.

"So I'm extremely confident that dam will supply quality water to the residents of the Liverpool Plains and Werris Creek."

The highly anticipated $38 million upgrade to Quipolly Dam is on track for completion by December 18, with no delays in sight, LPSC general manager Gary Murphy said during the ordinary meeting on July 26.

Once complete, Quipolly Dam will be equipped with 18.5 kilometres of networked pipeline from Quirindi to Werris Creek and a 2.5 megalitre storage tank with pumps, pipes, lights and other fittings at the water treatment site.

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University of New England (UNE) Professor Martin Thoms, an expert in riverine ecosystems, said an outbreak of the microcystis aeruginosa strain of blue green algae would be fatal for animals and cause severe health issues for humans.

"If animals ingest that toxin in sufficient quantities, they will die," prof. Thoms said.

"It's not that fatal for humans but microcystis [blue green algae] can cause quite severe problems with liver function and neurological functions. And if you ingest it enough, it can cause you to stutter."

Cr Hawkins said outbreaks of blue green algae have been an ongoing issue in the region, with Chaffey Dam "which is ten times bigger than Quipolly" covered with the toxin during his recent visit there.

There is currently no alert for Blue Green algae at Chaffey Dam.

Cr Hawkins is confident the new dam will be up and running in time for what some weather experts have predicted will be a hot and dry El Nino period.

"We relied on the underground aquifer during the last drought and it held up extremely well," Cr Hawkins said, referring to the Liverpool Plains area which was on level one water restrictions at the time.

"We don't know exactly how much the water table dropped, but it did drop considerably."

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