Water Services
For all water and wastewater enquiries please contact Council on 6730 2371 (business hours) or 0418 162 794 (after hours).
Water Restrictions
The Glen Innes local Government Area is on permanent LEVEL ONE (1) water restrictions. From Sunday 6 October 2024, changes to water use are implemented during daylight saving hours. Information regarding water use under Level one (1) restrictions is available here.(PDF, 208KB)
Further information on levels of water restriction can be found from Council’s Drought Management Plan(PDF, 2MB) implemented in June 2020.
Restrictions apply to the use of town water carter to rural properties and villages.
Any changes to water restrictions will be communicated through Council's website and Facebook page as well as through local media.
Glen Innes Water Supply
Glen Innes sources water from the Beardy Waters, located to the east of the town. Water passes through an off stream storage facility where settling and aeration occur. This water is pumped using solar power to Martin’s Lookout water treatment facility where it is treated to meet the Australian Drinking Water standards in a conventional type treatment plant, constructed in 1982. The process involves flocculation with alum, clarification, filtration, pH adjustment and chlorine disinfection, and is delivered via approximately 90 km of water mains. Fluoridation is planned to be reintroduced in consultation with NSW Health.
The mains network was originally constructed in 1930 and many of the original mains remain in use. These aged mains can cause discolouration of the water at times due to the release of iron scale, particularly if there is a local disturbance due to maintenance operations or fire fighting flow rates. This causes no health risk, but may cause staining of washing. Council has created a fact sheet for residents that answers commonly asked questions about how to manage discoloured water(PDF, 156KB). Please contact Council if you experience this situation and the mains will be flushed in the local area to restore water quality. Council conducts a routine flushing program to minimise this problem. However, in times of water restrictions, these operations may need to be performed less frequently, or not at all.
Water Hardness (for dishwasher settings where required) - Glen Innes Water Supply has a hardness of 180mg/l CaCO3 equivalent, which is at the hard end of the good quality range according to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. This hardness may also be expressed as 1.8mmol/l.
The 2023 Annual Dam Safety Report is available here: 2024-Dam-Safety-Report-GISC.pdf(PDF, 183KB)
Deepwater Water Supply
The Deepwater filtration plant was commissioned in December 2011 and is a Dissolved Air Flotation Filtration (DAFF) process. The treated water complies with the Australian Drinking Water Standards and is delivered via a mains network constructed in 1968. The treated water is chlorinated but not fluoridated.
More Information:
Integrated Water Management Strategy
Council's Integrated Water Management Strategy can be read at this link:
Integrated Water Management Strategy(PDF, 161KB)
Glen Innes Severn Drought Management Plan
The Glen Innes Severn Council Drought Management Plan outlines the procedures to be implemented in the event of drought occurring within the Glen Innes and Deepwater areas.
Read the Plan here: Drought Management Plan