The recent heavy rainfall in the Upper Macleay will allow council to return to pumping water from the Sherwood Borefield into the Steuart McIntyre Dam for the first time since September last year.
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The transporting of the water will increase Kempsey's water supply in the dam, which grew from 56 to 58 per cent, which equates to 1450 megalitres, due to the rain falling in the catchment area.
The Macleay River was stagnant for more than eight weeks but recently reached a peak flow of 13,000 megalitres a day.
Despite the river now flowing, the quality of the water in the river remains poor. Trucks are transporting water to Bellbrook, Willawarrin and Thunghutti for the third straight month.
Council is currently supplying up to 78,000 litres a day to all three villages.
Kempsey Shire Council Water and Sewer Manager Wesley Trotter claims the Steuart McIntyre Dam's water level will be increased by the Sherwood Borefield.
"The rain has allowed council to begin using the Sherwood Borefield, we are gradually increasing flows and will get to an ultimate extraction of 18 megalitres a day," Mr Trotter said.
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"The rainfall over the past week fell in the catchment area for the Macleay River. The river flow is recharging the Sherwood Aquifer and council has transferred water from the aquifer to the Steuart McIntyre Dam."
A downpour of rain fell in the Macleay from Thursday January 16 until last Sunday. It was the largest downfall in the region since March 2018.
Residents reported 140mm fell in Kempsey, 164mm in Collombatti, 166mm in Hillview Estate, 144mm at Frederickton, 135mm at Austral Eden, 70mm at Crescent Head and 105mm at Bellbrook.
The Steurt McIntyre Dam was at 80 percent (approximately 1900 megalitres) in mid October last year and was predicted to last 15 months (rainfall and water quality dependent).