There may be no federal money for the proposed Needles Gap dam.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss maintains he is committed to building more dams in Australia, but it appears the planned site in central west New South Wales will not be one of them.

The indications come from a meeting Mr Truss has had in Bathurst, where he was discussing ways the Federal Government can help boost employment with local mayors.

He says there are over 100 proposals for dams with a specific task force for sorting through them, but not all can be built.

“There are many projects that seemed a good idea and had a lot going for them that have fallen over during that investigative process, so everyone wants any investment that's made to be a success, but there must be committed users,” Mr Truss said.

“There's no point in building a dam and filling it with water unless there are really people who are committed to actually using it and so all of that has to be put together in an economic package to make sure that the investment is worthwhile.”