Farmer Peter Brown, who addressed the crowd at the official opening, said that during the dry time the farms will have the security of water with trace nutrients in it.

The farmers will be able to supplement their irrigation regime with treated water which is pumped from the plant to a holding dam built by MidCoast Water at The Bight.

The project was the brainchild of MidCoast Water’s manager strategic operations Graeme Watkins.

MidCoast Water general manager Neil Hanington said that in 1996 Graeme looked at ways of reusing water and started the Taree/Wingham Water Reuse Scheme.

He negotiated with the farmers at The Bight and has seen the implementation of what the farmers describe as a ‘win-win’ system.

MidCoast Water put money toward the farmers’ irrigation systems and will carry out continuous soil testing to ensure the quality.

With the water available on demand, it will mean farmers do not have to use as much fertiliser on their properties.

The farmers have a 20-year contract with MidCoast Water.

The upgrade and effluent scheme were officially opened by Member for Myall Lakes John Turner in the absence of Ian Kiernan AO, who did not attend as planned due to traffic delays that prevented him from catching his plane.

Mr Turner congratulated MidCoast Water on the innovative idea.

Mr Hanington predicts 70 per cent the waste water will be reused in summer and all of it in the winter.

He added that while the availability of water in the region is good, the area still needs to conserve water.

The Wingham Effluent Management Scheme is part of a $15 million scheme to reuse treated effluent at Wingham and Taree.

The Dawson River plant that will supply farms on Dumeresq Island will open in September.

The $6 million upgrade of the Wingham Sewerage Treatment Plant involved the removal of the original trickling filter plant, built in 1961, and the construction of a wet weather storage area, an additional classifier and the modification of the bioreactor which removes some of the nutrients found in wastewater.

Also constructed were new inlet works and dewatering building, and the refurbishment of existing infrastructure such as the ultra violet disinfectant system.

While the upgrade took place MidCoast Water had to keep the Wingham Treatment Plant operational, which meant timing the work accordingly for areas to be fixed and when certain areas would be online or offline.