IT is hoped that Bathurst Regional Council will have a better chance of approval in its latest request for an allocation from Oberon Dam.
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Council has made a second request to purchase a water allocation from the dam, which would be used to extend the life of Bathurst's water supply significantly.
It is one option among a long list of plans it is pursuing to keep the city above critical water storage levels in the short term.
Council had applied for a water allocation last year, but found out in October its request would not be supported.
The NSW Government advised that the water would be required to meet the critical supply needs for other customers, including the Blue Mountains, and it was unlikely there would be a surplus to help Bathurst.
However, council has not quite given up on the idea.
General manager David Sherley said a new request, which is looking to buy some of the Energy Australia entitlement out of the dam, has been made now that the circumstances in parts of NSW have changed.
"In recent times, there's been significant increases in the Sydney basin water storages and on that basis we're going to see, through the state government, if there may be an option to again revisit the purchasing of that water," he said.
Council is prepared to spend around $4 million, which would give Bathurst's water supply a big boost.
"We believe that purchasing this will give us around six months of extra water," Mr Sherley said.
He can't predict what the outcome will be, but said the question had to at least be asked.
"It's part of council exploring as many options as possible in terms of water availability to the city," Mr Sherley said.
The main short-term projects council is working on are stormwater harvesting and the Winburndale pipeline.
Council has already received $10 million to help fund these projects, but is chasing further grant opportunities at a state level.
It is hoped that these projects can be added to the NSW Government's critical needs list for water infrastructure, which would help to fast-track approvals.
Council is also working closely with irrigators, has applied for a reduction of the riparian flow, is advocating for the Regis pipeline, and is investigating medium to long term projects like reusing treated effluent and potentially raising the Chifley Dam wall.
As of Tuesday, the dam sat at 29.5 per cent, down 0.1 per cent from the previous week.
