To ensure sustainable water supplies, the Queensland Water Commission is engaged in planning and projects to:

• Develop long-term water supply strategies;
• Establish a regional water grid;
• Implement water restrictions;
• Manage water demand;
• Provide advice to government; and
• Reform the water industry.

Regional Water Grid

The regional Water Grid will link existing and new dams and water storage facilities around South East Queensland to transfer water across the region. Read more about the Water Grid.

Tugun Desalination Plant

A desalination plant being built at Tugun on the Gold Coast. Read more about the Tugun Desalination Plant.

The Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme

It is the largest recycled water scheme to be constructed in Australia and will involve building a pipeline from six wastewater treatment plants in Brisbane and Ipswich to take recycled water to industry and agriculture. The Western Corridor Recycled Water pipeline:

• Will be capable of delivering up to 95 million litres of recycled water per day from Brisbane to the power stations
• Could provide up to 115 million litres per day for other uses, such as replenishing the dams with purified recycled water

Read more about the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme.

Development of new water storages

The construction of two new dams – the Traveston Crossing Dam and Wyaralong Dam – is planned to meet the water needs of the South East Queensland region to 2050. Read more about the Traveston Crossing Dam and the Wyaralong Dam.

Reactivating old dams

Some smaller dams in the Brisbane region have been made available for use in order to increase the supply of water. In the past six months, Lake Manchester and Enoggera Dams have been reactivated, providing an extra 38 million litres of water per day.