NSW Dungowan Dam project in murky water as state funds dry up

The costs for the dam had already blown out to $1.28bn, almost tripling the initial budget of $480m, with serious questions raised about the ultimate price of the water.

Mark Rodda, the deputy mayor of Tamworth, has reservations about what the projected costs would mean for the community.

But the drought caused its water levels to get very low by the end of 2019, when the new Dungowan Dam project was announced.

He cites a chicken processing works that has been approved by council, although there is trepidation around the half-a-billion-dollar investment without a guaranteed supply of water. It has caused a poultry processing abattoir to close down several farms in the past, Burke says.

Ian Coxhead, a Peel Valley irrigator, believes a new dam would be more effective than buying licenses with water entitlements back from irrigators.

Even alternatives like recycled water are not always viable, Coxhead says.

The new federal water minister, Tanya Plibersek, and the infrastructure minister, Catherine King, were approached for comment.