Department of Energy and Water Supply Queensland bulk water opportunities statement July 2017 CS6888 07/17 Front cover image: Julius Dam, North Queensland Back cover image: Lake Wivenhoe, South East Queensland (courtesy of Shutterstock) © State of Queensland, 2017. The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. For more information on this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The Queensland Government shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information. Lenthall Dam aerial i Queensland bulk water opportunities statement Summary The Queensland bulk water opportunities statement potentially containing more under-utilised water. These (QBWOS) is the future water security strategy for the are significant quantities of water that could be used for state. This strategic infrastructure document is intended economic development without the need for new bulk to provide a framework through which the Queensland water supply infrastructure. However, this water may Government can support and contribute to sustainable not be available where the demand is, or in suitable regional economic development through better use of volumes or with suitable reliability to meet current or existing bulk water infrastructure and investment in future development needs. new infrastructure. The key issue is how the government, with the There has been heightened public interest in new water involvement of various Queensland stakeholders, best infrastructure due to: invests in opportunities for the future. It is imperative that governments spend ever more wisely on ideas and • increased incidence of extreme weather events, projects that provide economic benefits, while at the including prolonged dry conditions in many parts of same time not impeding the ability of the private sector Queensland and significant flooding or commercial bulk water service providers to pursue • consideration of how new infrastructure can projects that are commercially viable. promote regional economic growth The QBWOS provides a clear statement of the • responses to various state and federal initiatives, Queensland Government’s objectives for bulk water including the Queensland Government’s State supply when considering the investment and broader infrastructure plan and the Australian Government’s competition for public funds. These objectives are: National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. • safety and reliability of dams and urban water Queensland is well serviced by a major bulk water supplies infrastructure portfolio that supports communities • use existing water resources more efficiently and businesses across the state and is a key driver of economic growth in many regions. Construction and • support infrastructure development that provides a utilisation of bulk water infrastructure (dams, weirs, commercial return to bulk water providers pipelines etc.), and the accompanying contribution to local economies, has varied over time across the state. • consider projects that will provide regional There are more than 400 dams, weirs and barrages in economic benefits. Queensland. Significant periods of construction for this To support these objectives, clear principles have been infrastructure was after World War II, during the 1970s identified that should be applied when considering and 1980s to support regional economic growth and, investment in infrastructure. later, the large-scale development of the resources sector. The need to upgrade dams to maintain safety The QBWOS identifies opportunities for our regional standards is currently driving another significant period communities and the state as a whole. The focus is of investment. on maximising the use of, and benefits from, existing investments and carefully considering the benefits and An assessment conducted as part of the QBWOS costs of new infrastructure. found that there are more than 270 000 megalitres of uncommitted water across the state and approximately It is important to take into account the challenges 300 000 megalitres of under-utilised allocations in and limitations of constructing more bulk water eight major water supply schemes (of the 46 large infrastructure. These projects can be expensive (up systems across Queensland).1 Alone, these amounts are front and often on an ongoing basis) and often require almost double the total allocations from Wivenhoe Dam careful environmental management. In a time of (approximately 286 000 megalitres), with other systems constrained budgets and uncertain agricultural and resource commodities futures, significant investments 1 Refer to p. 25 for stocktake of under-utilised water. Queensland bulk water opportunities statement ii for new bulk water supply infrastructure need to demonstrate a high degree of certainty about economic value, environmental acceptability and a broader contribution to the community. In particular, any proposed water infrastructure projects adjoining the Great Barrier Reef must pay particular consideration to potential impacts on the Reef, from both infrastructure development and the end uses of the water (such as agriculture, mining, industry and urban development). The focus of the QBWOS is therefore on reducing the barriers to using available water within existing bulk water supply infrastructure and considering new projects that demonstrate economic benefits within the context of competing budget and environmental constraints. The QBWOS presents a framework for achieving a balance between making better use of what we already have and committing to new projects in the future. The QBWOS provides details of existing bulk water infrastructure in Queensland and details of water infrastructure projects that are currently, or have recently been, the subject of feasibility or environmental assessments. Importantly, the QBWOS also outlines water availability from existing infrastructure (based on an assessment of volumes of water utilised in the major water supply schemes in Queensland). This document also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of government agencies, bulk water entities (such as SunWater) and other water service providers in the provision of bulk water to the state. The QBWOS provides a timely reminder that the approaches to bulk water infrastructure projects in the past may not be the most appropriate into the future. There have been, and will continue to be, new and innovative approaches to addressing water needs across the state. It is intended that Queensland’s priority list for new water infrastructure will be provided in future versions of the QBWOS, together with progress statements for previously identified opportunities and reports on changes in the broader water infrastructure planning space. Lake Wivenhoe iii Queensland bulk water opportunities statement Contents Summary ................................................................................i Introduction .............................................................................1 Purpose and content 1 Context 2 1. Objectives, principles and initiatives ....................................................3 1.1 Bulk water supply objectives 3 1.2 Principles for investment 5 1.3 Summary of initiatives 6 2. Background and current considerations .................................................8 2.1 History of bulk water in Queensland 8 2.2 Current policy environment 9 2.3 Planning complexity 10 2.4 Drivers of bulk water use 11 3. Existing bulk water arrangements in Queensland .........................................17 3.1 Accessing water 17 3.2 Bulk water infrastructure 17 3.3 Bulk water supplies 20 3.4 Accessing latent capacity 27 4. Key infrastructure initiatives and opportunities ...........................................28 4.1 Initiatives to keep our dams safe 28 4.2 Initiatives to support reliable urban supplies 30 4.3 Initiatives to improve efficiency 31 4.4 Initiatives to support new infrastructure 33 4.5 National Water Infrastructure Development Fund feasibility studies 36 4.6 Key agency roles 38 Queensland bulk water opportunities statement iv 5. Addressing unique risks and uncertainty ................................................43 5.1 Planning for an uncertain climate future 43 5.2 Flood mitigation 45 5.3 Dam safety upgrades 46 5.4 Protecting the environment and the Great Barrier Reef 46 5.5 Getting the balance right 48 6. Key policy initiatives and opportunities ..................................................50 6.1 Prioritisation of bulk water supply infrastructure for government consideration (DEWS) 50 6.2 Making information available (DNRM) 50 6.3 Markets, trading and product review (DNRM) 51 6.4 Improving access to unallocated water (DNRM) 52 6.5 Best practice project assessment (DEWS and Queensland Treasury) 52 6.6 New technologies and approaches for the future (DEWS) 54 6.7 SunWater initiatives 59 6.8 Improved state subsidy programs