Critical upgrades for town water bore

Critical upgrades have been underway this week at Narrabri Shire Council’s Elizabeth Street bore to secure and strengthen the town’s water supply.

The essential works have been a necessary step following the introduction of water restrictions in response to the detection of PFAS levels exceeding new Australian drinking water guidelines which came into effect in July.

As a result of the detection, and the new standards, council shut off the Tibbereena Street and Killarney Street bores.

However, water from the Tibbereena bore has been reintroduced to the town water system to supplement the supply from the Elizabeth bore.

In an update at the start of this week, council indicated the Elizabeth Street bore was likely to be offline from Tuesday for up to three days to enable the works to proceed. The works were successful, with council announcing on Wednesday that the bore was up and running earlier than anticipated.

The NSW government has partially funded the critical upgrades which will boost the current primary bore’s pumping capacity.

This will allow council to draw more PFAS-free water into the Namoi Street reservoir.

Shire general manager Eloise Chaplain said the project marks an important milestone in the broader plan to secure Narrabri’s water
future.

“This upgrade is a key step in improving our local water network and ensuring we can continue to provide safe, reliable drinking water for the community,” Ms Chaplain said.

“We know how hard the community has worked to reduce their water use, and that continued effort will be especially important while these works are underway.”

Residents and businesses have been urged to continue following level three water restrictions and to conserve water wherever possible.