Multi-million dollar plan that could 'drought proof' Orange revealed

That's according to Orange City Council chief executive officer David Waddell.

This month, a $17 million dollar "business case" to explore more than a dozen major potential water projects was confirmed by the state and federal governments.

Proposals include raising the Lake Rowlands Dam to almost-double its capacity, drawing increased quantities of water from the Macquarie River to Orange and expanding a network of pipelines between Central West towns.

"This level of project funding is exciting and indicates a high level of interest ... in solving these very real local problems for Orange and the region," Mr Waddell told the Central Western Daily in a statement this week.

"The extra water security this would provide, combined with the regional pipeline network we have been slowly developing across the region since 2009, has a huge potential for transforming the region."

More in-depth information is expected to be announced by Orange City Council later this month.

The final business cases will be completed by mid-2025. A decision on individual projects will be made following the findings' release.

It comes amid council work for a new storage facility in east Orange for storm water harvested from Blackmans Creek.

The project has been held up by the NSW government over technicalities in the design however significant progress is expected this year.

A state government report in 2023 showed Orange could be at risk of running out of water under worst-case climate change modelling without significant investment in infrastructure.