Member for Orange Russell Turner has warned the city to not assume new drought-proofing measures will secure the city water supply forever.

“What we’re looking at is a stopgap measure,” Mr Turner said.

“Suma Park was built in the 1970s and Orange’s population has doubled since then.”

Keeping Suma Park at capacity would only secure water resources for 20 more years if Orange’s growth continued, he said.

“This will only stave off the urgency of a new major facility,” he said.

Mr Turner has flagged a $70 million upgrade of Lake Rowlands as the most desirable method of securing Orange’s and surrounding towns’ water into the future.

He says investigations into a 600 per cent expansion of the lake that would see its capacity increase from 4,500 to 26,000 megalitres, should begin urgently.

“Lake Rowlands needs to be urgently investigated,” he said.

“We are told it has a good catchment and good springs.”

Mr Turner said he spoke to Water Minister Nathan Rees in Mudgee last week and expressed the need to continue to address the region’s water security.

“It is still urgent because it will be a long time before the government acknowledges it needs to be looked at,” he said.

The expansion of the lake and construction of subsequent pipeline construction would be an area of state responsibility and should be funded as such, he said, but there were also signs industry could contribute to any such project.