More than $2.5 million has been awarded to Yass Valley Council to accelerate the upgrade of its existing water treatment plant.
The money will be used to complete urgent works at the council-owned plant, following years of complaints over the quality of Yass water.
The emergency works are required to ensure safe water can be delivered to Yass residents while the battle for a new treatment plant for the region continued.
Work at Yass Dam, the raw water pump station and the current plant was scheduled to start in October and be finished by January 2022, weather and COVID-19 restrictions permitting.
While the emergency fix was under way, a business case and design work for the new treatment plant was being completed, Yass Valley Council said.
Director of infrastructure and assets James Dugdell said the existing plant could not produce water of the quality required under all operating requirements.
Mr Dugdell said high levels of organic compounds, manganese and iron from heavy rain could not be mitigated with the existing plant.
"The current plant does not treat the water for hardness. The new plant will be capable of treating all raw water quality issues present at Yass Dam," Mr Dugdell said.
The council has proposed to undertake further upgrades to the existing treatment plant for use when the new plant is undergoing long-term maintenance or experiencing excessive demand.
In a statement, Yass Council said while the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment had approved the upgrade to the existing plant, it had queried the comprehensive nature of the upgrade.
Mr Dugdell said it had since had a peer review conducted of the proposal.
"The peer-review confirmed the need for the new water treatment plant to deliver the water quality requirements," he said.
"The electrical control circuits in the 31-year-old plant are no longer suitable and a full upgrade is required to reduce the risk of unacceptable outages and disruptions to the water supply.
"Council will continue to work with DPIE and NSW Health as the regulating authorities to ensure the best outcome for the community."
