People from right across the state have been helping out the town with deliveries of drinking water coming from places like Orange, Dubbo, Gulgong and Molong.

The conditions are so dry in the area that Walgett Shire Council were forced to close the Collarenebri boat ramp in the Barwon River due to a sharp decrease in water levels.

Thiyama-Li are quite involved in the Walgett area and CEO Elizabeth Behrend said they were keen to help out as much as possible.

They have so far delivered a total of approximately 170 litres of bottled water to the area.

“We have an office out in Walgett and we have staff out there and we have quite a few clients out there so when we heard about the shortage in drinking water we knew we needed to assist in any way we could,” she said.

Walgett Shire Council Mayor Manuel Martinez said the situation in Walgett is currently quite dire.

“We’ve got two rivers going into Walgett and they’re both dry,” he said.

“A couple of years ago we sank a boar in anticipation of if there was no water in our resorvoir.

“The locals have been drinking river water for so long, obviously the boar water has got an odour to it, salt content is a bit high. They’re not used to it but it’s keeping them alive.”

Cr Martinez knows the deliveries aren’t going to solve the problem long term but he’s grateful for the help the town is receiving.

“A lot of people have been donating drinking water in bottles to the town,” he said.

In the short term it’s certainly putting smiles on people’s faces. They’ve got clean water to be drinking.”

Mrs Behrend said Thiyama-Li are going to help out as long as it’s needed.

“They’re working on the water at Walgett to make it safe to drink and we will continue to help where we can until they have safe drinking water,” she said.

“We know we’re not going to be able to assist everyone but anything we can do to help, we’ll do.”

If you would like to donate, you can do so at Thiyama-Li Family Violence Service at 96 Balo Street.