Gosford City and Wyong Shire Councils have completed works on a new water supply system which will provide millions of litres of additional drinking water to the Central Coast each day.

Gosford City Mayor, Jim Macfadyen said the $9.5 million project, which draws on the groundwater supplies of the Woy Woy Peninsula, has involved the construction of the largest drinking water borefield on the Central Coast and a new water treatment plant at Gosford City Council's Woy Woy Depot.

"The Woy Woy borefield comprises of 13 bores, together with 7.3 kilometres of underground pipeline and is capable of producing up to five million litres of fresh drinking water per day.

"The new treatment plant has been producing high quality drinking water during a series of trials that have been carried out since June 2007.

"These trials have allowed the Councils to finalise operational guidelines and test the full capabilities of the new equipment.

"With testing now compete the Councils will introduce treated groundwater into the drinking water system within the Woy Woy Peninsula area."

Wyong Shire Mayor, Warren Welham said the project was one of several Gosford City and Wyong Shire Council initiatives to obtain water from additional sources for Central Coast residents.

"Since 2005, borefields at Braithwaite Park, Somersby, Ourimbah, Mangrove Weir and Mardi have supplemented the town water supply by up to three million litres of groundwater per day.

"This new water supply system is capable producing up to nine million litres of drinking water per day"

The amount of groundwater the Councils can extract from a borefield is determined by the Department of Water and Energy (DWE) which is responsible for managing New South Wales’s groundwater resources.

Mayor Welham said the Councils were continuing to monitor the use of groundwater across the region.

“The Councils are committed to ensuring the use of groundwater on the Central Coast complies with State guidelines and does not adversely affect the Central Coast environment.

"In addition to supplementing the town water supply, groundwater is being used as an alternative water supply for irrigation at over 10 sporting fields across the Central Coast including Blue Tongue Stadium."

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Media contacts:           Kylie Gillett (Gosford) on 02 4304 7068 or 0434 656 000