A successful NSW pilot program, which saved 815 million litres of water through leak repairs and staff training, is now available to several local councils.

The Regional Water Loss Management Hub trial has been lauded as an enormous success.

It aims to provide councils with local expertise to ensure communities can share technology, equipment, knowledge, and skills to reduce costs and improve water efficiency.

A dozen more councils, all part of the Western Councils Water Alliance, will now have access to the program including Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett, Coonamble, Warren, Bogan, Cobar, Central Darling, Narromine, Gilgandra, and Warrumbungle Shire Councils as well as Mid-Western and Dubbo Regional Councils.

The program, co-designed with the Central New South Wales Joint Organisation (CNSWJO) is expected to save a staggering half a billion litres of water every year.

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW) Executive Director Operations Resilience Ashraf El-Sherbini said the increase of the program was great news for 125,000 people in our state’s central west and northwest regions.

“Being water efficient is more important than ever," he said. "Half a billion litres of water is enough to supply 2,500 NSW households for a year.

"We are saving this incredible amount through simple, innovative, and cost-efficient solutions while working together to share resources and better manage our water supply networks."

CNSWJO will partner with NSW DCCEEW and use its regional connections and water sustainability experience to support an expansion of the program out west.

The work will kick off with water loss management audits, so councils can take an in-depth look at the performance of their networks and leakage issues, assess where they can make improvements, and determine which solutions may help save water.

A high amount of water has been used at Trangie, prompting suspicion of water theft.

Ewen Jones, Mayor of Narromine Shire Council said, while he wasn’t aware of the intricacies of the new proposal, any water savings measures would be welcome.

“We had a discussion about water use in our reservoirs at a recent council meeting,” Mr Jones said.

“We discovered there were alarming amounts of water coming out of some of our reservoirs.

“In Narromine, on one half of the reservoir had three per cent used and the other half had 12 per cent used.

"In Trangie it was as high as 45 per cent.”

Narromine has a history of high-water consumption.

Twelve months ago, council stated the town had a daily water consumption of 800 litres per person, four times than the Australian average.

Mr Jones suggested there may be more to high water usage than undiscovered leaks.

“Abnormally higher amounts of water taken from reservoirs suggests there may be many illegal connections out there,” he said.

“It’s something that is definitely worth looking at but it’s hard to monitor.

"I would suggest people keep an eye out for illegal water connections and report them.”

The need to conserve and maintain precious water supplies comes from lived experience or climate extremes, Central NSW JO Chair, Mayor of Cabonne Council Cr Kevin Beatty said.

“We know we’re going to need to manage our existing water resources as best as possible,” he said.

“We want to be sure our water infrastructure is in good shape and that we make the most of every precious drop of water when times are tough.

For more information on our Water Efficiency work, visit the webpage here.