Wilsons River

The Wilsons River Source, which was completed in mid-2008, provides our community with a high level of water security for the next ten to fifteen years. Along with Rocky Creek Dam and Emigrant Creek Dam, it helps to ensure that we have enough water to meet our community's needs.

Unlike our dams, which have large storages of water, the Wilsons River Source pumps water directly from the river to the Nightcap Water Treatment Plant (WTP) for filtration and distribution to our consumers. Two pump stations lift the water almost 200 meters in elevation through 20 kilometres of pipeline under high pressure.

The amount of water we take from the river on any particular day depends on the flow in the river. We need to share the water in the river with the environment so that the flora and fauna in the river have enough water to live and reproduce. We need to also share the water with other users such as farmers irrigating their crops and watering their stock.

The catchment of the Wilsons River Source has a mix of activities and land uses, some of which have the potential to make the water unhealthy. To guard against these contaminants, Rous County Council has added an additional treatment process at Nightcap WTP to ensure that the water is filtered and safe for human consumption.

We also recognise that the best way to ensure healthy water is to prevent contaminants reaching the water in the first place. We are working towards achieving this and have a Catchment Management Program aimed at promoting appropriate activities in the catchment.

Once the water from the Wilsons River Source is filtered at Nightcap WTP it can be distributed to all consumers within our supply network.

Read more about the Nightcap Water Treatment Plant here.