Dorroughby resident Alex Heathwood and around another 2,100 homeowners up and down the Rous County Council water pipeline are going to be paying around $200 extra on their water bills annually for infrastructure that benefits everyone who uses RCC water.

It is predicted that the next 40 years will see the demand for water increase by 50 per cent in the local government areas that Rous County Council supply with water.

Most people don’t know that the proposal for Dunoon Dam has never been part of Rous County Council’s 40-year, adopted, strategic plan to increase water supply, resilience and security, known as Future Water Plan 2060.

November rains have delayed activation of Level 1 water restrictions for the region, say water utility Rous County Council.

Prior to the rain there were many people who had already had to start buying in water as their tanks and alternative water sources ran dry.

A committee that makes recommendations to Council around water and sewage management in the Shire is calling for Mullum’s water supply to remain at Lavertys Gap weir in Wilsons Creek.

Rous County Council’s new Demand Management Plan (RDMP) 2023–26 is extraordinary. Parts of it could have been written by WATER Northern Rivers; the lobby group that advocates for genuinely diverse water options and the permanent shelving of the proposed Dunoon Dam.