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31 July 2022, 08:00 PM
Drilling of exploratory test bores around Uralla will begin in June 2022 to better understand potential for using groundwater as a supplementary source of water for Uralla.
Following the record-breaking drought of 2018-2020, Council received a $1.5M grant from the NSW Government to investigate options to augment the bulk water supply from Kentucky Creek Dam. The dam dropped under 25% of capacity during the drought and severe water restrictions were necessary. The initial focus of the investigations is to consider the prospects of using groundwater as a potable water source to supplement the supply from Kentucky Creek Dam.
At its Ordinary meeting of 23 November 2021, the Council received a ‘desktop review’ by expert groundwater consultants who had reviewed available geological maps, bore logs and other data about groundwater nearby to Uralla. That report identified locations around Uralla likely to have water-bearing zones in the underlying rock that may be able to deliver a viable water supply, particularly areas under basalt cap rock north of Uralla.
As the available geological data is limited the next phase of the project is to drill exploratory ‘test bores’ at locations thought to be good prospects for finding groundwater. Test bores will provide extra information on geology and water-bearing strata to see if a viable groundwater supply could be developed. The NSW Natural Resources Access Regulator has approved the drilling of test bores at 10 locations around Uralla and Council has engaged an experienced drilling firm for the works. A detailed report on the findings of the exploratory drilling will be provided to Council for its consideration.
Drilling will commence in early June and continue for approximately 6 weeks.
For further information and background documents, please see the Uralla Groundwater Project page.