Guyra's Water Supply
Guyra's water supply system extracts water from the Gara River system with two dams located on the river north of Guyra. The first dam was constructed in 1957, with a second dam added in 1967 to supplement the supply storage.
Water is pumped to the Council’s water treatment plant and then the treated water is pumped to the two town reservoirs. The pump line to the treatment works had augmentation works completed in 1981 with the addition of the second larger town reservoir to meet the town requirements at that time.
Council has made improvements to the water system in Guyra with the implementation of fluoridation of the Guyra water supply. The fluoridation dosing equipment was installed in 2008.
Other improvements included the relocation of the activated carbon dosage plant to the water supply reservoirs to improve the quality of the taste and odour of the water.
Guyra Water Security Business Case (PDF 10MB)
Guyra Secure Yield Assessment (PDF 2.6MB)
Council is developing a Ground Water Supply Network to diversify the region's water supply and provide greater water security during drought. Council undertook an emergency groundwater program as Guyra dam storages emptied in 2019, working with the NSW Government to investigate potential groundwater sources that could assist during the 2019/20 emergency and potentially over the long term.
Click here to read the hydrogeology report by Hydroilex (PDF 3.8MB), which outlines the scope of work, adherence to regulatory conditions; plans to avoid interference with other bore users and the potential groundwater resource. The report also considered environment factors and states: “There are no recognised Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDE) in the investigation area.”
Council has applied for a permanent Water Access Licence for the extracted groundwater to be piped and pumped to Guyra’s water treatment plant, as a sustainable option to enhance water security for the region's residents and businesses. The State Government’s Natural Resource Access Regulator will determine the Licence volume and sustainable extraction.
Council commissioned an independent review into Council's provision of water to tomato producer Costa Group, from a bore in Izzeard Park. The review found Council complied with its legal obligations as a water utility.
Read the report (PDF 332.9KB)
Armidale's Water Supply
Malpas Dam is located to the south east of Guyra and to the north of Armidale. It was built in 1968 as the major water supply for the city of Armidale and currently has a storage capacity of 13,000 megalitres with expansion capabilities to 26,000megalitres.
Armidale's water supply is ozonated to remove unpleasant tastes and odours that can be caused by blooms of algae in our water system. Ozone gas is generated on-site at the Water Treatment Plant in the Ozonation facility and is then added to the water to break down anything unpleasant. The water is then filtered to remove any remaining solids then fluoride is added for dental health and chlorine to ensure the water stays disinfected until it gets to your tap.