The creation of a single Hunter-Central Coast water authority has been raised as a possible outcome from the financial collapse of Central Coast Council.
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The Council's administrator Dick Persson said the option of council divesting its water utility business as a way of injecting cash into the cash-strapped organisation had been raised.
While admitting he was not an expert on the subject of water utilities, Mr Persson acknowledged it could be an option.
"The water business is a good business and it makes a profit; anything you sell you give up the revenue stream," Mr Persson said.
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"There's no chance that it would be sold privately, the question is whether the state government would be interested in acquiring it and linking it with Hunter (Water)."
The idea of merging the two utilities is not new given the proximity of the two regions and the fact that water can easily be transferred via a two-way pipeline.
The 31-kilometre pipeline was built in 2006 at a cost of $37 million when water reserves on the Central Coast dropped to 10 per cent.
Contrary to popular belief, the Central Coast has not always been the major beneficiary of the pipeline.
In the 2019-20 financial year, Central Coast Water transferred a total of 1.1 billion litres to the Hunter. By comparison, Hunter Water transferred 452 million litres to the Central Coast.
A Hunter Water spokesman said it had not had any contact with Central Coast Water about a merger.
"Central Coast Council's operations and plans for its water business are a matter for council and its stakeholders, including the community, not Hunter Water," he said.
"Central Coast Council and Hunter Water currently manage the water storages across both regions as a combined system to optimise their yield for the benefit of both communities.
He said any future merger would not impact on the current review of the Lower Hunter Water Sharing Plan.
"The administrative arrangements of the two utilities are separate to the LHWSP review and implementation," he said.
The Infrastructure NSW State Infrastructure Strategy 2018 recommended greater networking across the Hunter, Manning and Central Coast regions.
The strategy recommended a business case to connect Lostock and Glennies Creek dams and build a potable water pipeline connecting Singleton to the Hunter Water network, and closer integration of the Hunter and Central Coast networks.
It also recommended retention of the Barnard River scheme after Bayswater power station's proposed closure in 2035.
The Hunter region is identified as the "highest priority catchment" east of the Great Dividing Range because of its low "flow utilisation" - indicating there is capacity for growth - and low drought security, the strategy said.
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