Mullumbimby water supply restored

Published on 12 March 2025

Good news for Mullumbimby - the regular water supply is back online after council staff were able to resume production at the town’s water treatment plant.

High turbidity in the raw water supply at Laverty’s Gap Weir caused by cyclonic weather had forced the shutdown of Mullumbimby’s water treatment plant last Thursday. 

Storage levels in Mullumbimby’s drinking water reservoirs are now increasing and residents can resume normal water use after being urged to conserve water while the treatment plant was shut down.

Power to the site has not yet been restored and staff are operating the plant on a generator until Essential Energy can repair damaged powerlines.

Byron Shire Council Manager Utilities Cameron Clark said the water-saving efforts of Mullumbimby residents had made a big contribution to maintaining adequate water levels in reservoirs and avoiding emergency restrictions.

“Thank you to everyone who took steps to limit their water use to essential purposes during the extreme conditions caused by Cyclone Alfred,” Mr Clark said.

“Those efforts helped keep clean tap water available while Council staff worked hard to get the water treatment plant back into operation.

The emergency water supply, which provides water to about half of Mullumbimby from the Rous regional water network, will continue to operate for at least the rest of this week as supplies return to normal. 

Around Byron Shire, sewer services have returned to normal operations after power outages affected pumping stations and sewage treatment plants. 

Council staff are now working through reported issues around the sewer network. Residents are reminded to report any incidents of sewer overflow to Council on 02 6626 7000.