Stage one of the $4.5 million Mudgee Water Security Project is nearing completion with the delivery of a world-class new pump station on the Cudgegong River that will double performance and improve regional water reliability.
The project, delivered by the NSW Government and Mid-Western Regional Council, is being done in two phases. The upgrade of the water filtration plant is still to come.
“While the old river pump station served the community well for the past 20 years, it was time for an upgrade,” NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Executive Director Lisa Hingerty said. “It’s fantastic to see this first stage being delivered that will lock in water reliability for the community.”
The new pump station is critical in improving supply to the existing water filtration plant by increasing the amount of water drawn out of the river from 126 to 262 litres per second.
It includes four new pumps fitted with the latest technology, replacing existing infrastructure built in 2005.
Mudgee’s new pump station is expected to support the community for decades to come. It will help deliver safer and more secure water for 12,500 residents and put the community on the front foot in the face of a more variable climate.
“We’re already seeing significant improvements in water security since the installation of the new river pump station, along with the latest chemical dosing systems at the water treatment plant, which were installed in 2022,” Mid-Western Regional Council Mayor Des Kennedy said.
Meanwhile, design work and approvals for the water filtration plant are still being finalised. The project is jointly funded by $1.15 million from the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program and $3.35 million from the Mid-Western Regional Council.
“The money we’ve injected into this project will ensure more water gets to people’s taps by doubling the amount of water flowing from the river to the filtration plant via the new high-tech pump station,” Ms Hingerty said.
Image: Scott Donkin/stock.adobe.com
