Nimbin Water Supply - Pipeline Replacement Project

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About the Project

The water supply to Nimbin town is from Mulgum Creek, where water is drawn from a weir at the top of Gungas Road. This water is chlorinated and delivered by gravity to the DE Williams Dam. The water is stored in the dam, re-chlorinated and pumped to the Nimbin Reservoir to provide water for the residents of Nimbin town as required.

The supply pipeline from the weir was severely damaged during the February 2022 natural disaster. This resulted in approximately 4km of pipeline and road being destroyed, negatively impacting the supply to DE Williams Dam. The damaged pipeline directly supplied approximately 80 properties in Nimbin town.

The immediate works which were put in place as a temporary measure to quicken constructability and secure water supply post flood event, will now be replaced with a permanent solution, that being 200mm diameter pipe to ensure hydraulic capacity is maintained.

When will works begin?

The project has commenced, with hydraulic assessment and options assessment completed. Construction is expected to take place from October 2022 – March 2024 (indicative only- subject to weather, contractor and materials availability.) This will be followed by further testing and commissioning.

Will there be water outages?

As the current pipe is smaller than the old pipe, water flow is limited. Similar to how too many cars on one road can slow traffic and cause a traffic jam, forcing too much water through a pipe can cause the pressure to drop, leading to outages. To keep the village of Nimbin supplied with water, the dam’s inlet valve must occasionally be fully opened. As this lets a large amount of water through the pipeline in a very short period of time, temporary pressure loss and outages may occur.

To minimise the inconvenience for our rural customers, we limit this dam filling process to between 10 pm and 5 am. Due to the size of the dam, filling is quite a slow process, and can last for several weeks at a time. During this time, rural customers may be more prone to off-peak water outages. In the unlikely event that water outages occur outside of these hours, rest assured that Council is aware and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

The permanent replacement pipe being installed this year, will minimise potential water outages.

Where can I find further information?

Further information and updates will be available via the 'Community Updates' tab of this page.

Additionally, to receive updates directly please contact Lismore City Council via email council@lismore.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 6625 0500 to register your details and feedback. Please reference ‘Nimbin Water Supply’ in your correspondence.

We thank the community for their patience as we continue to work through the consequences of this unprecedented event.


About the Project

The water supply to Nimbin town is from Mulgum Creek, where water is drawn from a weir at the top of Gungas Road. This water is chlorinated and delivered by gravity to the DE Williams Dam. The water is stored in the dam, re-chlorinated and pumped to the Nimbin Reservoir to provide water for the residents of Nimbin town as required.

The supply pipeline from the weir was severely damaged during the February 2022 natural disaster. This resulted in approximately 4km of pipeline and road being destroyed, negatively impacting the supply to DE Williams Dam. The damaged pipeline directly supplied approximately 80 properties in Nimbin town.

The immediate works which were put in place as a temporary measure to quicken constructability and secure water supply post flood event, will now be replaced with a permanent solution, that being 200mm diameter pipe to ensure hydraulic capacity is maintained.

When will works begin?

The project has commenced, with hydraulic assessment and options assessment completed. Construction is expected to take place from October 2022 – March 2024 (indicative only- subject to weather, contractor and materials availability.) This will be followed by further testing and commissioning.

Will there be water outages?

As the current pipe is smaller than the old pipe, water flow is limited. Similar to how too many cars on one road can slow traffic and cause a traffic jam, forcing too much water through a pipe can cause the pressure to drop, leading to outages. To keep the village of Nimbin supplied with water, the dam’s inlet valve must occasionally be fully opened. As this lets a large amount of water through the pipeline in a very short period of time, temporary pressure loss and outages may occur.

To minimise the inconvenience for our rural customers, we limit this dam filling process to between 10 pm and 5 am. Due to the size of the dam, filling is quite a slow process, and can last for several weeks at a time. During this time, rural customers may be more prone to off-peak water outages. In the unlikely event that water outages occur outside of these hours, rest assured that Council is aware and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

The permanent replacement pipe being installed this year, will minimise potential water outages.

Where can I find further information?

Further information and updates will be available via the 'Community Updates' tab of this page.

Additionally, to receive updates directly please contact Lismore City Council via email council@lismore.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 6625 0500 to register your details and feedback. Please reference ‘Nimbin Water Supply’ in your correspondence.

We thank the community for their patience as we continue to work through the consequences of this unprecedented event.

  • Project Update Thursday 6 October

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    The project to reinstate a permanent solution has commenced. However, the detailed survey required has been pushed back one month due to the complexity of the site, among other factors.

    However, the design is still anticipated to be complete by end of September. Procurement for materials and contractors is underway, and construction is still forecasted to commence October this year.

    Environmental consultants have been engaged to conduct a Review of Environmental Factors (REF). Geotechnical engineers are also investigating the locales of the creek crossings for understanding the possibility to under bore pipe at future bridge sites.

  • 14th April Community Update

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    NIMBIN WATER RESTRICTIONS LIFTED
    Council is pleased to let the Nimbin community know that Level 3 Water Restrictions have been lifted, effective immediately.
    Restrictions were prompted by damage to the pipe that delivers water from Nimbin weir to the storage holding dam. Council crews, working with the ADF, have repaired the pipe and supply to the holding dam is now secure.
    Council wishes to thank the community for its patience while the repairs were undertaken.

  • April 6th 2022

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    WATER RESTORED FOR NIMBIN RESIDENTS
    The final residents connected to the damaged Nimbin rural water line now have running water again.
    The DE Williams Dam is also once again being supplied from the weir as normal. Council will continue to monitor dam levels with an eye on relaxing current Level 3 Water Restrictions as soon as possible.
    Council staff worked with the Australian Defence Force to undertake this important infrastructure repair work.
    We thank the community for their patience as we undertook this work.

  • 30th March Community Update

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    The water supply line from the weir to the dam has been re-instated. With this, we will look to relax the current water restrictions in due course – once the impacts of this current event are understood.

    The majority of ‘rural line’ residents who were without running water should now have water back on. There may be some reduction in water pressure as our operations teams haven’t yet had a chance to verify all the services, and clear all air from the line.

    Please be advised that the quality of this water is still low (due to the sediment in the creek as a result of ongoing rain), so the boil water notice remains in place until further notice

    There are a small number of properties along the gravel section of Gungas Road that remain without running water. Staff are awaiting some clear weather to perform the final ‘cut over’ which should take one or two days once we can re-gain access. FOR THESE RESIDENTS, PLEASE DO NOT USE/CONSUME ANY WATER THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE FROM YOUR TAPS UNTIL WE GIVE THE ALL CLEAR – IT IS POSSIBLE THAT STAGNANT WATER FROM AN OLD PIPELINE MAY GRAVITATE TO SOME HOUSEHOLDS.

    We understand that the upper sections of Gungas Road have been re-eroded with this recent rainfall, however the new water line appears to remain intact. We will assess any damage ASAP.

    We'd like to thank residents for their ongoing patience.

  • 23 March Community Update

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    The re-instatement of the damaged pipeline is progressing ahead of schedule. Council are hoping that the water supply should be reinstated next week some time (weather pending).The landslip and vegetation debris at the at the back of the weir have been cleared out and the weir itself is back to full working order. Arrangements have been made to truck in water to the dam if there are any unforeseen delays with the re-instatement of the water supply pipeline. We will continue to monitor the progress of the pipeline works and update residents as this progresses. Council is continuing to provide bottled water to the residents directly connected to the damaged pipeline and water restrictions will remain in place until the pipeline is re-instated.

  • Community Updates

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Page last updated: 09 Apr 2024, 11:02 PM