On Friday, Bathurst Regional Council formally announced that Hynash Constructions had been selected to carry out the construction of the vital infrastructure.

The $20 million tender was awarded during the confidential portion of Wednesday night's council meeting.

At that same meeting, council also selected Upright Management as the project manager.

General manager David Sherley said that, with so many other projects under way, council didn't have the resources to manage the construction of the stormwater harvesting scheme as well, and so has engaged a third party.

On Friday, mayor Robert Taylor said water security is a top priority for council and he was pleased to be able to announce the next step in delivering the important project.

"In the latest drought, we were close to running out of water. This will give us a third of our water supply per annum and it's a major, major project," he said.

He was also pleased that council, which had received tenders from multiple companies, selected a Bathurst company to construct the stormwater harvesting infrastructure.

"We had a few interested parties there that we had to decide on which was the best one. We decided on the local contractors for this job," Cr Taylor said, adding that it was keeping money local and creating jobs.

Hynash Constructions manager Tim Ditchfield was glad to have the support of the council.

"It's an exciting step forward for Hynash. We're a long established company in Bathurst and pride ourselves on working closely with council, and for such a significant project to go to a local company such as Hynash, we're excited to work with council," he said.

The stormwater harvesting scheme will see a 36 megalitre storage pond built off off Morrisett Street and an eight megalitre storage pond built at the Bathurst Water Treatment Plant to capture stormwater run-off from drains and local catchments.

The water will then be pumped back to the Bathurst water treatment plant for filtration and used in the town water supply.

It is anticipated that construction will be able to start in the coming months and will be about a 12-month build.

However, Mr Ditchfield noted that this timeline could change if there are supply chain issues.

"There are some challenges around material supply, and specification and detail to work through, but our expectation is across the 12 months it should be enough to complete the works," he said.

Deputy premier and member for Bathurst Paul Toole was also in attendance for Friday's announcement, as the NSW Government is supporting the project through the provision of $20 million in funding.

He said that the stormwater harvesting scheme will secure the local water supply into the future.

As a resident of Bathurst himself, he expects the community will welcome the news that construction is not too far away.

"I think it's going to be welcomed news by the city of Bathurst and the people of Bathurst," he said.

"What's exciting is the fact that, not only is it good for locals that live here today, but it's also good for locals that want to move into the area in the future.

"It's also about attracting business. It's about attracting investment into the region, and you've got to have good quality water security within the area to be able to do that. The stormwater harvesting project is going to ensure that that happens in times of drought."

The stormwater harvesting scheme was first pitched as an idea by councillors Warren Aubin and Bobby Bourke in August, 2019.

Since then, Bathurst council has been working to find a suitable location, develop a design and get the relevant approvals to allow the project to proceed.

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