The decision was made between Gwydir Shire Council, NSW Health and Hunter New England Health representatives, based on the water-quality readings from the water treatment plant.

Town utilities and plant manager Andrew Cooper said the turbidity, or lack of clarity, in the raw water drawn from the Gwydir River had now dropped to a treatable level.

It hit a peak of 225 units, up from 10, after heavy rainfall stirred up the river, prompting the council to issue the boil-water alert on January 23.

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It had advised people to bring water to a rolling boil, and cool if needed, before using it for drinking water or for cooking.

In a statement yesterday, general manager Max Eastcott said "the water supply is now safe to drink".

"Gwydir Shire Council have resolved the issue, and water testing results over the past three days have indicated the water treatment process is under control and the water is now safe to drink."

Mr Cooper said the council water team had initially shut down the treatment plant for two days "when we noticed the change in the river".

"But we had to pump water in the end, because we were running out of water, and the plant just didn't handle the high turbidity," he said.

The shutdown and the subsequent boil-water alert to residents were among "our protocols for drinking water ... if we can't meet the health parameters of the water quality".

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