The Upper Hunter villages of Parkville, Wingen and Blandford have been connected to a town water supply following the completion of four water dispensing stations.
The communities have previously relied on rainfall and intermittent private supplies from the Pages River, Kingdon Ponds, and other groundwater sources.
A separate station has been built at Murrurundi.
Each station is equipped with a drive-through bay. A self-service machine allows locals to swipe their credit card and order water on demand.
The new stations are serviced by concrete reservoirs ranging from 450 kilolitres to 13 megalitres in capacity.
The reservoirs are connected to the $14.5 million Scone to Murrurundi Pipeline project, which began operating in 2020 and pumps water from Glenbawn Dam 40 kilometres across the Upper Hunter.
"We're already seeing drought conditions starting to affect many parts of state including the Upper Hunter so having this work finished in time for summer is a huge win for the community who are under no illusions about the value of clean water in a changing climate," Lisa Hingerty, acting executive director development, NSW Department of Planning and Environment-Water.
"These stations are a super convenient and cost-effective solution to boost water security and will essentially work the same as a petrol station for water, where locals can simply drive up with their tanks, swipe their credit card, fill up and go.
"While residents and businesses do a terrific job maximising water efficiency from their rainwater tanks, knowing they now have these water dispensing stations located nearby will provide added peace of mind because they're no longer solely dependent on the weather or expensive water carting."
Upper Hunter Shire Council sets the price of the water, which costs $1.30 a kilolitre at Parkville, Wingen, and Blandford and $2.49 Murrurundi.
Upper Hunter Shire Council mayor Maurice Collison said the new infrastructure had come about through close consultation with ratepayers.
"(Ratepayers) preferred this option of having a strategically located water station in each village because it required no out of pocket contribution for installation and was cheaper overall," he said.
"Tapping into the Scone to Murrurundi pipeline to ensure all townships along this stretch have access to a safer and more secure water supply is a no-brainer particularly with the El Nio already impacting the region.
"This project is a great example of state and local governments working productively together to help future proof water supplies in the Upper Hunter."
The new infrastructure has been funded by a $2.66 million grant from the state government's Safe and Secure Water Program and $1.77 million from Upper Hunter Shire Council.
Muswellbrook Council received $18,898,200 through the State Government's Growing Local Economies Fund in 2022 to scope, design and construct a 18 kilometre pipeline and related water infrastructure linking the Hunter River at Denman and Sandy Hollow.
However, cost blowouts and inflation have added another $9.5million to the project.
The previous Coalition government pledged to fund the shortfall but the Minns government has to date declined to match the commitment.
