Water supply security

Queensland has a dynamic climate with some of the highest and lowest rainfalls in the country. Planning for secure water supply is essential in this variable climate to support our industry, agriculture and population growth.

The Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers provides support to local governments with longer‑term water supply planning for their communities. This helps ensure that issues relating to the availability and reliability of water supplies are understood and plans can be made to deal with shortfalls.

The department monitors water supply security for communities across the state with the assistance of service providers through mechanisms such as key performance indicator reporting and a 4 monthly water security survey.

The department can assist service providers with guidance and expert advice on the current status of supply security, as well as potential water supply risks and options going forward.

Water supply responsibility

Queensland's water supply systems (including dams, weirs, desalination plants, and other water treatment plants and infrastructure) are owned and managed by:

government owned entities (Sunwater, Seqwater, Mount Isa Water Board and Gladstone Area Water Board)
private entities (e.g. mining companies, port authorities, estate managers)
local councils (for the majority of Queensland outside South East Queensland).

The ownership and management of water supply systems varies across the state.

In South East Queensland (SEQ), Seqwater owns the bulk water supply infrastructure (i.e. dams and weirs) and is responsible for long-term water supply planning for the region. Water utilities and councils provide water to homes and businesses within SEQ.

Read more about the framework for water security in SEQ, and read about Seqwater's Water for life: South East Queensland's water security program.

Outside SEQ, SunWater owns most of the state's bulk water infrastructure. Councils can also own dams and weirs, and bores to access underground water. Councils generally operate as service providers, owning most of the water treatment facilities and distribution networks, and providing retail services to homes and businesses.

Responsibility for urban water security

Responsibility for urban water supply security and continuity of supply lies with service providers. Listed below are key planning activities that should be undertaken by service providers to reduce risks to water supply security and continuity of services, and links to relevant guidelines:

asset management planning (PDF, 908KB): to understand key capacity constraints and optimise existing assets
drought response planning (2.1MB): to be proactive, and to help reduce costs and the risk of supply shortfalls
water supply planning (1.1MB): including demand forecasting, and
reviewing timing for future supply augmentation: to ensure adequate water supply to meet future demands.

Read our guide to managing water supply risk for more information and water security planning guidelines.

Also consider...

Read about planning guidelines for water supply and sewerage (PDF, 1.5MB)
Find out about managing water demand.

Water supply levels of service

Water security level of service (LOS) objectives are the water service provider's targets for long-term water supply security for a community.

LOS objectives commonly include statements about:

how much water the water supply system will typically be able to supply
how often and for how long water restrictions might occur
the possibility of needing an emergency water supply due to a prolonged drought.

The LOS approach helps make sure that the 'bucket of water' available for treatment and distribution is big enough to supply the community's water needs into the future, including during drought.

LOS objectives provide a basis for water supply security planning, helping to balance the need for water with the cost of supplying it.

How to develop objectives

In South East Queensland, desired LOS objectives are legislated. Outside of this region, local councils and water service providers are encouraged to develop their own LOS objectives. To assist this, we have produced the Water security level of service objectives: Guidelines for development (PDF, 1.9MB).

These guidelines provide service providers with:

information about the use of LOS objectives in water supply security planning
advice on how to develop objectives
guidance on how to set appropriate measures to support LOS objectives
targets to underpin the long-term water supply security for their community.

When developing LOS objectives, service providers may draw on demand forecasting, as well as assessments of infrastructure capacity and the timing and potential for future augmentation of water supply infrastructure.

Read our guide on managing water supply risk for resources to help guide these activities.

Also consider...

Read more about South East Queensland desired LOS objectives.

Water security assessments for regional urban areas

The Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers (DLGWV) works with councils and water providers to make sure there is enough water for growing regional communities.

Population growth, drought and ageing infrastructure mean water planning is more important than ever. Some local governments have asked for support to assess the reliability of their water supplies and plan for the future.

Urban water security assessment program

The urban water security assessment program is a partnership between the DLGWV and local councils.

It provides a shared understanding of:

how reliable each community's water sources are now
how well they can meet future population growth and needs
risks such as drought, climate change and water quality problems.

Hydrologic/simulation modelling is used to assess how well a water supply system works and how reliable it is.

Local governments and service providers are responsible for deciding what should be done and implementing actions to manage water supply risks and provide an appropriate level of water security for their communities.

Tools for councils and service providers

The Community water security guideline for assessments (PDF, 1.9MB) assists service providers to undertake their own water security assessment using similar methodologies and tools to those used for urban water security assessments, without needing hydrologic modelling.

Urban water security assessments

The map below shows completed water security assessments and assessments in progress.

Assessments completed and in progress

In progress

Completed

Also consider...

Find out about South East Queensland water security.
Access the archived Central Queensland regional water supply strategy and other related historical reports.

South East Queensland water security

The Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers provides a framework to provide long-term water security for South East Queensland (SEQ), as prescribed in the Water Act 2000. The aim is to ensure the delivery of a sustainable and secure water supply.

The framework:

provides for the desired level of service (LOS) objectives for water security in the SEQ region
requires the bulk water supply authority to have a water security program to facilitate the achievement of the desired LOS objectives.

Desired level of service objectives for SEQ

The desired LOS objectives are set in the Water Regulation 2016 (sections 79-81).

These objectives for SEQ require that the bulk water supply network be able to supply enough water:

to meet the projected regional average urban demand estimated by Seqwater, so that medium-level water restrictions on residential water use will (on average) not occur more than once every 10 years or be more severe than 140L per person per day
to ensure that the total duration of water restrictions that are medium level or of greater severity last no longer than 5% of the modelled time
to provide an essential minimum supply volume of 100L per person per day in an extreme drought event (i.e. a one in a 10,000 year event), so that key storages (i.e. Baroon Pocket, Wivenhoe and Hinze dams) will not reach their minimum operating level more than once in every 10,000 years on average.

Review of LOS objectives

The LOS objectives are reviewed at least every five years. We’re currently reviewing the objectives and the public consultation on the proposed changes has now closed. We’ll publish the findings from this review and a consultation report after all the feedback has been considered.

The 2019 review found that the current objectives are satisfactory in helping to ensure water security for SEQ. The review recommended:

clarifying aspects of the Water security program guidelines for South East Queensland (PDF, 805KB)
updating legislation to change the duration of medium-level restrictions objective.

A consultation report (PDF, 410KB) is available which provides details of the public submission process and more general consultation that was undertaken to support the change to the desired level of service objectives that occurred in February 2022.

Water security program and guidelines

The Water security program guidelines for South East Queensland (PDF, 805KB) provide Seqwater with information and guidance for program preparation. It clarifies various aspects of the interpretation of the desired LOS objectives in the Water Regulation 2016.

Seqwater published the South East Queensland water security program 2023 in October 2023.

It sets out a 30 year plan to meet the LOS objectives for South East Queensland It includes information about the operation of the bulk water supply system, future bulk water infrastructure, and drought response.