Water

Hay Shire Council operates the town water scheme, providing Raw and Filtered water. Residences within the Shire are required to connect to these schemes where they are available. Only residences outside the designated areas are required to provide their own access to water.

Anyone wishing to connect a new service to the water system needs to complete an application form (below) and pay the relevant fees.

Please see policies below relating to Council’s water supply

Integrated Water Cycle Management

Hay Shire Council initiated a review and update of its 2017 Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Strategy due to its changing needs and emerging risks. The updated IWCM strategy will guide Council to program for infrastructure and services in a manner that is sustainable, cost effective and compliant to the relevant legislation and standards.

Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Requirements

Water schemes for Hay and South Hay are operated under an Environmental Protection Licence (No. 3237), issued by EPA NSW.

Council has prepared a pollution incident response management plan for this licence, in accordance with the requirements set out in part 5.7A of the POEO Act

Drinking Water Monitoring

In 2024, Hay Shire Council performed routine drinking water sampling and testing to monitor the quality of drinking water.
Compliance is determined against the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2011) guideline values for E. coli, physical and chemical characteristics of drinking water.
The Hay supply system achieved compliance of 100% for physical, 100% for chemical, and 100% for microbiological samples.