A drought response summary, which contained information for the report, was issued to and unanimously supported by councillors at the August 26 ordinary council meeting.

The summary outlines council's drought response strategy which focused on water restrictions, education/communication with residents, increased use of recycled water, water carting and the fast tracking of projects such as the Nabiac borefield expansion.

Desperate times called for desperate measures during this dire period. Council received an exemption to temporarily work outside of the environmental management plan parameters to get the situation under control.

The Nabiac water supply system boosted security but with the threat of a worsening drought, there were fears the treatment plant and borefield would become the only water source for the Manning scheme. Bootawa Dam levels were dropping and the Manning River had ceased to flow.

The drought response summary details the borefield expansion, such as the installation of new bore pumps and pump stations, as well as the cancellation of a temporary desalination plant as a result of decent rainfall.

During the early days of the drought, a response team was established. The team devised water saving initiatives, implemented actions in the response strategy and developed emergency projects.

Weekly meetings were later held with the NSW regional town water supply coordinator, NSW Health and the Office of Emergency Management during the height of the bushfire crisis to discuss recovery, options for town water supplies and government programs.

Moderate water restrictions were enforced on September 2, 2019, followed by very high and severe restrictions in mid-November. There was a 30 to 40 per cent drop in usage as a result of the outdoors watering ban.

Some of the biggest water users in the region, namely caravan parks, hospitals, bowling clubs and shopping centres, were visited as part of an audit. Many had already instigated water saving measures.

Council congratulated the community for adapting to strict water restrictions and effectively reducing water usage.

During January and February there was increased use of recycled water. This was primarily transported to numerous rural properties from the Tuncurry plant.

Emergency supply pumps were also hired for the Gloucester, Stroud and Bulahdelah schemes to enable access to water in case the river levels dropped drastically.

On a sour note, three cases of water theft were prosecuted in Taree Local Court. Significant fines were issued.

Considering harsh conditions, no rainfall and high tourism, council predicted the earliest time the Manning/Great Lakes scheme would have run dry was March 2020. Thankfully this didn't occur.

Over the course of the drought, the NSW and federal governments provided council with more than $11.5 million for its drought response and water security.

Several back-up plans have been identified by council if severe drought strikes again.

For the Gloucester scheme, water would be carted from Tea Gardens. Maximising extraction from the Nabiac system and, in a worst case scenario, a portable desalination plant would be considered for the Manning/Great Lakes.

A drought response project is underway from the newly named Water Resilience Team. The team is speaking with almost 50 groups and organisations about what measures worked during drought, opportunities and improvements in case of further severe drought.

Long term ventures include a new offstream storage dam at Peg Leg Creek for the Manning/Great Lakes scheme and other offstream storage for Bulahdelah, Stroud and Gloucester.

Council's recent integrated water cycle management plan revealed a 'large infrastructure investment' will be required in the next three decades.

This will be needed for most of the water supply schemes to ensure water security and adhere to rules set by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

The information was compiled by council's Robert Scott, Tracey Hamer, Mitchell Stace, Chenxi Zeng and Shane Beeton.