23 November, 2022
Councils give water pipeline green light
Following a Special Meeting of Council, Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has joined Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) in giving approval for the Toowoomba to Warwick pipeline, subject to many conditions on both councils’ behalves.
The pipeline will see the townships of Clifton, Nobby, Greenmount and Cambooya connected to treated water supplied from Wivenhoe Dam via Toowoomba.
The process of planning and designing the pipeline has been an ongoing discussion for many months now between TRC, SDRC and the Queensland Government’s Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water.
With the main priority of the pipeline to provide Warwick with water during prolonged drought, its connections with Clifton, Nobby, Greenmount and Cambooya have not always been a foregone conclusion.
Minister for Water Glenn Butcher said, subject to some final negotiations, the Queensland Government is now in a position to meet its commitment to get the project underway and on track for scheduled completion by the end of 2026.
“Construction of this pipeline is critical to providing improved water security for the residents of Southern Downs Regional Council as well as delivering approximately 420 jobs to the Toowoomba and Southern Downs communities during construction,” he said.
Mr Butcher said pre-construction works are to begin before Christmas.
The project is estimated to cost over $300 million.
The pipeline will carry raw water from Wivenhoe Dam and connect with Toowoomba Regional Council’s existing water infrastructure to deliver water to Warwick.
While acknowledging the need for Southern Downs to have water security, TRC Mayor Paul Antonio said Council’s main priority was to the residents of the Toowoomba Region.
“While the dams are full at the moment, it wasn’t that long ago Warwick’s situation was dramatically different so we understand the importance of this project for the future of the Southern Downs,” Mayor Antonio said.
“In saying this, our focus has to be for our residents and the long-term water security needs for our community.
“This is why we requested and met with State Government representatives on a number of occasions to express the key objectives we need to be satisfied with, before giving our support to the project.
“Some of these objectives included the relocation and increased capacity of the Wivenhoe Pump Station; enlarging the pipe to connect with our southern towns and ensuring our ratepayers won’t be subsidising the supply of water to the Southern Downs Regional Council.
“While this idea was originally proposed as a way to help the Southern Downs in times of drought, we have worked hard to make sure any pipeline project benefits their Region, as well as the Toowoomba Region.”
In addition to this, Mayor Antonio said it was crucial for the project not to have any adverse effect on Toowoomba’s water security, including that existing Council infrastructure has sufficient capacity to deliver the required demand/flow.
“While there are positive opportunities for us from this proposed pipeline, such as connecting our southern towns to the Toowoomba Bulk Water Supply, there will likely be supplementary investment required from Toowoomba Regional Council, to future enhance our water network,” Mayor Antonio said.
“We want to help out our Southern Downs neighbours and the proposed operating model for the pipeline will ensure there is no adverse impact on our water security.
“This is why we will ensure we have the power to supply water to Southern Downs Regional Council only when we have sufficient capacity within our network.
“We also require water restrictions to be consistent between the two Council areas.”
There are ten distinct objectives outlined by TRC to ensure its approval of the pipeline.
One includes building a larger pipeline around Toowoomba to facilitate a Southern Water Treatment Plant near Westbrook.
A water treatment plan will also be constructed at GReenmount.
Council had considered building four separate water treatment plants at Clifton, Nobby, Greenmount and Cambooya.
TRC requested the State Government to remain responsible for the access and regulatory aspects of the Project.
In its resolution, SDRC also had ten conditions to be met for its approval of the pipeline.
Like TRC, SDRC required there to be no undue financial burden put upon them by the project.
SDRC requires to not need to pay for any fixed cost of water provided by Seqwater for a 10 year period from when the pipeline is commissioned by way of a Community Service Obligation that recognises the need for an affordable solution for the Southern Downs.
The Community Service Obligation applied to the pipeline would be reviewed after the initial 10 year period.
The review will consider affordability of the pipeline and what Council has implemented to reduce water losses and improve efficiency in the water reticulation network.
SDRC request the annual fixed Operations and Maintenance cost for all aspects of the pipeline when not being used (including Toowoomba Regional Council pass through costs) is reduced from the proposed $560,000 per annum (initially in 2026, subject to CPI increase in future years) through a grant from the State Government.
They seek an initial provision of up to five Mega litres per day (up to 1825 mega litres per annum) from Seqwater subject to certain matters and to when the pipeline becomes operational (i.e., during a drought year).
Seqwater has delivered detailed designs for the pipeline and is continuing to work with stakeholders in preparing to move into the pre-construction phase of the pipeline, including discussion with landholders.
The exact route for the pipeline is yet to be publicly released.
Earlier designs show it roughly following Toowoomba Karara Road from Wyreema to Cambooya, Cudmores Road and Watts Siding Road from Cambooya to Greenmount, Greenmount Nobby Road from Greenmount to Nobby, Felton Clifton Road from Nobby to Clifton and Logan Road, Herzig Road and Elphinstone Road from Clifton to Allora.
In addition to providing water security, many residents will hope the water from Wivenhoe will bring an end to problems caused by hard water sourced from bores in the towns, particularly Cambooya and Greenmount, which in addition to an undesirable taste can cause issues with pipes, appliances and shower screens.
Clifton’s own water supply was improved earlier this year with the opening of the Great Artesian Bore reverse osmosis plant, which has suffered from delays in its opening and operational issues since.
The Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water estimates pipeline construction to start in early 2024 and continue through to the end of 2025.
Commissioning is expected to be completed by mid-2026.
