What is the Uralla Groundwater Project about?

From 2018 to 2020 Uralla Shire and surrounding areas experienced a harsh drought. Severe water restrictions were imposed because the township of Uralla sole water supply the Kentucky Creek Dam water level fell below 25% of capacity. This extreme drought coupled with earlier studies showed that Uralla Shire cannot rely just on Kentucky Creek Dam for its future water needs. Put simply, another bad drought will occur and when that happens Uralla will need a backup water supply to supplement the supply from Kentucky Creek Dam.

Photograph of Kentucky Creek Dam impacted by the drought in 2019 -2020 shows the critical low water level exposing the sediment.

(Kentucky Creek Dam 2019-2020 image supplied by Ted and Sonia Williams) The NSW Government provided Uralla Shire Council with a grant of $1.5M to investigate and develop an alternative water supply source. The initial focus of this grant is to see if there is a viable source of groundwater nearby to Uralla.

Why look for groundwater?

The key to getting through a period of drought is to have access to a big enough storage of water to meet demand until the drought ends. Groundwater is widely used for irrigation, stock and town water supply across Australia. If a source of groundwater suitable for town water use can be found in proximity to Uralla, this will provide a supply to back up the water from Kentucky Dam and save costs on expensive transfer pumps and pipelines to bring water from more remote locations.

What does the Uralla Groundwater Project involve?

For groundwater to be a viable town water supply, it needs to be available in sufficient volumes and flow rates to meet demand and of suitable quality that it can be treated to meet drinking water standards. The groundwater source also needs to be close to Uralla township to keep the cost of transfer to pipelines low. Finding viable groundwater resources in the granite country like Uralla Shire is difficult, and so the project followed a phased approach.

Phase 1 - Review of groundwater information (Completed)

Phase 1 included a desktop assessment of possible groundwater sources preferentially near the Kentucky Creek Dam site. This has been carried out by Uralla Shire Council’s hydrogeological consultant, Harwood Environmental Consultants (HEC). This stage identified the locations for further investigation that are the best prospects for finding groundwater near to Uralla.

The desktop review summary report and complete report are available for download and linked below. Council’s hydrogeological consultant reviewed the available information on geology and groundwater surrounding Uralla. Geological maps and logs of existing bores as well as mining records were examined to determine if there are plausible sources of groundwater near Uralla township. This stage identified the locations for further investigation that are the best prospects for finding groundwater near to Uralla.

Phase 2 - Test bore drilling (Completed)

Phase 2 of the project was exploratory drilling. The available geological information was incomplete, therefore drilling test bores was needed to improve knowledge on underlying geology and water‑bearing strata. The test drilling gives a much greater understanding as to whether groundwater near Uralla is viable in terms of available volumes, achievable flow rates, and water quality. Test drilling also helped to understand the long-term impacts of drawing groundwater on the environment and existing bores.

Council’s consultant recommended drilling 12 test bores to better understand the local geology with most of these bores to be located just north of Uralla. Sites north of Uralla were chosen because geological maps show this is where ancient basalt sits over the top of underlying granites and the ‘interface’ between these rocks is considered to be the best prospects to find groundwater. The drilling would also show if there are multiple water-bearing strata (also known as ‘aquifers’) at different depths below ground.

Harwood Environmental Consultants (HEC) conducted the test bores drilling under the supervision of Uralla Shire Council’s Project Manager Rod Williams.

Phase 3. Applications for Bore Water Licenses (completed)

Phase 3 of this project is the construction and licensing of these bores to supplement the Kentucky Dam water supply. After several years of investigations, Council acting on advice from HEC and Mark Campbell Water Advisory made applications to the NSW Department of Climate Change Energy Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW) for two emergency Water Approvals. We are patiently waiting approval for two Licenses that allow Council to use groundwater as an emergency secondary water supply for the town of Uralla to supplement its demand, when necessary, i.e. drought or population increase.

Council worked closely with NSW Government agencies to make sure the test drilling sites are a long way from existing stock & domestic bores. The drilling locations for the bores were on road reserves, Crown land or other Council-controlled land.

Photograph of Uralla Shire Council Director of Infrastructure Mick Raby and Manager of Groundwater Project Rod Williams inspecting the TB06 (May 2025)

Photograph of Uralla Shire Council Director of Infrastructure Mick Raby and Manager of Groundwater Project Rod Williams inspecting the TB07 (May 2025)

Phase 4. Water Access License Approval (pending)

The volume of water a licence holder can extract each year is set by the water account rules in the water sharing plan. Water access licences authorise a licence holder to take water from a particular groundwater source. The licence holder receives their water allocation upon an available water determination announcement.

A water supply works approval allows for the construction and use of a bore to take water from an aquifer. Completing an application for a bore can be confusing. This video explains the process.

Groundwater Application Journey

A water supply works approval allows you to construct and use a bore to take water from an aquifer. Completing an application for a bore can be confusing. This video explains the process.

Want to know more about NSW Water Access License and Water Allocation Accounts, click this link https://www.waternsw.com.au/customer-services/water-licensing/licences

What is a water allocation?

Each year, the department allocates water to water users based on how much water is available. Each water user will receive a water allocation, which is expressed as a percentage of the amount of water held on their licence. That allocation determines how much water they can take.

A water allocation or available water determination (AWD) is the amount of water a water user with a water access licence is allocated against their licence in a water year. In most cases, a water user needs a water access licence to be allowed to take water from a river, lake, aquifer, or other water source. This water licence gives the water user a share in the local water source. A share is usually equal to one megalitre, or one million litres. The number of shares on a licence sets the maximum amount of water the licence owner can take when they get a full allocation.

For more Information about NSW Government Water Allocations click this link: https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/about-us/learn-about-water/an-introduction-to-water/water-allocations

Why is groundwater important in NSW?

Groundwater is an important source of water for towns, industries and irrigators. In many rural areas of NSW where the climate is dry, groundwater is often the main source of water. Groundwater becomes particularly important during droughts when surface water is less available.

Groundwater also plays an important role in maintaining the health of the environment. Groundwater discharge helps sustain wetlands, rivers and streams during dry periods, providing vital food and habitat for animals. Trees and other vegetation with deep roots can also tap into groundwater to survive.

https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0003/615423/groundwater-system-2000-x-1200.jpg

How is groundwater accessed?

To access groundwater, a person typically has a bore installed into a local shallow aquifer. An aquifer is commonly understood to mean a groundwater system that can yield useful volumes of groundwater. In some cases, a bore might be installed into a deeper aquifer underlying a shallow one, if the shallow aquifer contains salty or poor-quality water. Water is then pulled to the surface using a pump.

How is groundwater managed?

Over-extraction or contamination of groundwater can have serious, long-term and sometimes permanent effects on groundwater systems. This may reduce the volume and quality of water available for the users and ecosystems that depend on this groundwater.

Because it takes time for groundwater to recharge, it also takes groundwater longer to recover from higher use or drought than surface water sources. This means groundwater needs to be managed carefully.

As with surface water, the volume of water that can be taken from a groundwater source is defined in the water sharing plan for that water source. Water sharing plans manage water extraction for use by irrigators, industry, towns and communities to ensure there is water for the environment. The withdrawal of groundwater in 240 water sources across NSW is managed by 50 water sharing plans.

Groundwater users need a water supply work approval, and usually a water use access licence, to install a bore and take water.

For more information click this link https://water.dpie.nsw.gov.au/about-us/learn-about-water/an-introduction-to-water/groundwater

The NSW Government provided Uralla Shire Council with a grant of $1.5M to investigate and develop an alternative water supply source. The initial focus of this grant is to see if there is a viable source of groundwater nearby to Uralla.

For more information about the the Uralla Groundwater Project can be found on this link Uralla Shire Council Groundwater Project