Central Coast residents are now able to view Central Coast Council’s long-term plan to secure the region’s water supply and provide their feedback – with the document on public exhibition for 28 days from today.

Council Director Water and Sewer, Jamie Loader, said that this plan will ensure there is enough water on the Coast for all residents until 2051.

“On top of continuing to conserve water and use water efficiently, this plan makes the most of our current water assets – maximising them to their full potential – so that we can delay investing in additional supplies of water until a later date,” Mr Loader said.

“It also addresses the fact that while we can plan for the future using the information we have at hand, the fact remains simple: the future of water on the Coast is uncertain, and in the next ten years we could enter an unforeseen, long and severe drought.

“To counteract this, we will be developing two new different supplies of water that don’t rely on rainfall: purified recycled water and desalination. However, these items won’t be delivered until we need them, so at this stage we are continuing to plan for them, so we can act immediately when they are needed in the future.”

Administrator Rik Hart said that while the development of this plan involved investigations and analysis, it also involved having meaningful conversations with the community.

“Over the past year we have reached out to a representative sample of the Coast community to learn their water values, and their support levels for the options and water portfolios we were considering,” Mr Hart said.

“I encourage everyone to jump online, take a look at the plan, and provide your feedback through our online submission form – we’re looking forward to receiving your final input for this important plan.”

Community members are able to provide their feedback on the draft Central Coast Water Security Plan by visiting yourvoiceourcoast.com