SEQ Water Grid

SEQ Water Grid
Water grid overview
Jurisdiction	South East Queensland
Key document	South East Queensland Water (Restructuring) Act 2007 (QLD);
Website	seqwater.com.au

Last updated February 19, 2019

The SEQ Water Grid is a region-wide, long term, water supply scheme that provides a sustainable water infrastructure network for the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The project was the largest urban response to the drought in Australia, which severely affected water supplies in Brisbane and surrounds, particularly between 2004 and 2007. The basic component of the project was a 535-kilometre (332 mi) network of potable bulk water pipelines that connect areas that have an oversupply of water to those areas lacking water.^[1] The project went online in October 2008 and by November 2008 parts of the region were receiving a diversified supply of water for the first time.^[2]

Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Irrigation is covered separately.

Infrastructure refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and private physical improvements such as roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, and telecommunications. In general, it has also been defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions".

South East Queensland Region in Queensland, Australia

South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, political, and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains 3.5 million people out of the state's population of 4.8 million. The area covered by South East Queensland varies, depending on the definition of the region, though it tends to include Queensland's three largest cities: the capital city Brisbane; the Gold Coast; and the Sunshine Coast. Its most common use is for political purposes, and covers 22,420 square kilometres (8,660 sq mi) and incorporates 11 local government areas, extending 240 kilometres (150 mi) from Noosa in the north to the Gold Coast and New South Wales border in the south, and 140 kilometres (87 mi) west to Toowoomba.

Features and structure

The SEQ Water Grid was initially managed by a partnership between Seqwater, LinkWater and the SEQ Water Grid Manager.^[3] The total cost of the project was A$6.9 billion.^[2] On 1 January 2013, the SEQ Water Grid Manager, LinkWater, Seqwater and parts of Queensland Water Commission were amalgamated into the Queensland Bulkwater Authority trading as Seqwater. The authority is a state-owned corporation that owns and operates the SEQ Bulk Water Supply System or the Bulk Water Supply Chain.^[4]

Seqwater is a statutory authority of the Government of Queensland that provides bulk water storage, transport and treatment, water grid management and planning, catchment management and flood mitigation services to the South East Queensland region of Australia. Seqwater also provides irrigation services to about 1,200 rural customers in the region that are not connected to the grid and provides recreation facilities.

LinkWater, the trading name of the Queensland Bulk Water Transport Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of Queensland was in operation between 2008 and 2012. During this period, the authority was responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of potable bulk water pipelines and related infrastructure throughout South East Queensland, in Australia.

The SEQ Water Grid Manager, a former statutory authority of the Government of Queensland, was in operation between 2008 and 2012. During this period, the agency was responsible for managing the strategic operation of the SEQ Water Grid, including issues such as water security and water quality for the region in a cost effective manner, while balancing the needs of the community and the environment.

The plan for the Water Grid was originally laid out in the Queensland Water Commission's South East Queensland Water Strategy, a 50-year strategy to maintain adequate water supply. The main objectives are to respond to the drought and provide long term water security for the region, particularly to avoid the need to place severe water restrictions on residents. Other aims of the Water Grid are to move risk away from individual water storage facilities to the regional level and to efficiently coordinate the utility of water sources in South East Queensland.^[5]^[6]

The Queensland Water Commission (QWC) is a defunct Queensland Government agency established to develop long term water supply strategies. The Commission was chaired by Mary Boydell and the chief executive officer was John Bradley.

Water security has been defined as "the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks". It is realised to the degree that water scarcity is non-existent, or has been decreased or eliminated, and to the degree that floods and contamination of freshwater supplies are non-threatening.

"Sustainable development will not be achieved without a water secure world. A water secure world integrates a concern for the intrinsic value of water with a concern for its use for human survival and well-being. A water secure world harnesses water's productive power and minimises its destructive force. Water security also means addressing environmental protection and the negative effects of poor management. It is also concerned with ending fragmented responsibility for water and integrating water resources management across all sectors—finance, planning, agriculture, energy, tourism, industry, education and health. A water secure world reduces poverty, advances education, and increases living standards. It is a world where there is an improved quality of life for all, especially for the most vulnerable—usually women and children—who benefit most from good water governance."

Components

Existing facilities that have become part of the Water Grid include Wivenhoe Dam, Somerset Dam, North Pine Dam and Baroon Pocket Dam, along with eight other dams that make up the 12 connected dams. Part of the project involved the construction of the Gold Coast Desalination Plant to convert sea water to drinking water and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme to purify treated wastewater for supply to power stations and industrial and agricultural customers. Purified recycled water will also be added to the water supply once combined dam levels fall below 40 per cent.

The Wivenhoe Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a concrete spillway across the Brisbane River in South East Queensland, Australia. The dam wall is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) by road from the centre of Brisbane. The primary purpose of the dam is the supply of potable water for the Brisbane and Ipswich regions. In addition, the dam also provides for flood mitigation control, hydroelectricity and for recreation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Wivenhoe and the dam, the lake and a narrow strip of surrounding land forms a locality also called Lake Wivenhoe.

The Somerset Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway across the Stanley River in Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset Dam in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland. The main purpose of the dam is the supply of potable water for the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Logan City regions. Additionally, the dam provides for flood mitigation, recreation and for the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Somerset.

The North Pine Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with earth-fill embankments on abutments with a gated spillway across the North Pine River that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for supply of potable water for the Moreton Bay region and Brisbane's northern suburbs. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Samsonvale.

Two major pipelines, called the Northern and Southern Pipeline Interconnectors, link water storage facilities near Gympie in the north of the region and the Gold Coast area, south of Brisbane. Wyaralong Dam and the completed Cedar Grove Weir are part of the plans. These water reservoirs provide significant new supply and are needed to meet the region's growing demand up until 2050.^[7] In 2008 Lake Manchester Dam and Enoggera Dam were reactivated to supplement supply.^[7] The project also encompasses a raising of the Hinze Dam dam wall and the connection of the Leslie Harrison Dam and Ewen Maddock Dam to the regional network.

Gympie is a town and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Wide Bay-Burnett district, Gympie is about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River, which floods the town periodically. Gympie is the administrative centre for the Gympie Region area. At June 2015 Gympie had an estimated urban population of 20,810.

The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the Australian state of Queensland, approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the state capital Brisbane and immediately north of the border with New South Wales. With a census-estimated 2016 population of 638,090, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, making it the largest non-capital city, and Queensland's second-largest city.

The Wyaralong Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with an un-gated spillway across the Teviot Brook that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for supply of potable water for the Scenic Rim region. The impounded reservoir is also called Wyaralong Dam. The dam was initiated by the Queensland Government in 2006 as a result of a prolonged drought which saw the catchment areas of South East Queensland's dams receive record low rain.

Current SEQ Water Grid bulk water assets

12 connected dams
10 connected drinking water treatment plants
3 advanced water treatment plants producing purified recycled water
1 desalination plant
28 water reservoirs
22 bulk water pump stations
535 kilometres (332 mi) of potable bulk water mains

Related Research Articles

The Leslie Harrison Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam across the Tingalpa Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia.The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Redland City in Brisbane. The impounded reservoir is called Tingalpa Reservoir. The dam was named after Robert Leslie Harrison, a Queensland parliamentarian who died in April 1966.

The Little Nerang Dam is a concrete gravity dam with an un-gated spillway across the Little Nerang Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Gold Coast region. The impounded reservoir is also called Little Nerang Dam. The dam was closed to the public in 2013 due to safety concerns.

The Gold Coast desalination plant is a 125 ML/d reverse osmosis, water desalination plant located in Tugun, a seaside suburb of the Gold Coast. It supplies water to the South East Queensland region via the South East Queensland Water Grid.

The Sideling Creek Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Sideling Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purposes of the dam are for potable water supply of the Moreton Bay region and for recreation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Kurwongbah.

The Wappa Dam is a mass concrete gravity arch dam with earth-fill abutments and an un-gated spillway across the South Maroochy River that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for supply of potable water for the Sunshine Coast region. The impounded reservoir is also called Wappa Dam.

The Poona Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with a toe drain with an un-gated spillway across a tributary of the South Maroochy River that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for storage of potable water for the Sunshine Coast region. The impounded reservoir is also called Poona Dam.

The Ewen Maddock Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Addlington Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Sunshine Coast region.

The Cedar Grove Weir is a weir located across the Logan River in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the weir is for potable water storage.

The Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, a recycled water project, is located in the South East region of Queensland in Australia. The scheme that is managed by Seqwater is a key part of the SEQ Water Grid constructed by the Queensland Government in response to population growth, climate change and severe drought. The A$2.5 billion project is reported as the largest recycled water project in Australia.

Australia is the driest inhabitable continent on Earth and its installed desalination capacity comprises around 1% of the world’s total. Until a few decades ago, Australia met its demands for water by drawing freshwater from dams and water catchments. As a result of the water supply crisis during the severe 1997–2009 drought, state governments began building desalination plants that purify seawater using reverse osmosis technology.

WaterSecure, the trading name of the Queensland Manufactured Water Authority, was a statutory authority of the Government of Queensland that supplied water to the South East Queensland region of Australia through its desalination plant and a water recycling scheme, the Western Corridor Recycled Water scheme. WaterSecure was merged with Seqwater on 1 July 2011.

References

↑ "South East Queensland Water Grid". Department of Infrastructure and Planning. The State of Queensland . Retrieved 5 August 2009.
1 2 "SEQ Water Grid". Ipswich City Council . Retrieved 5 August 2009.
↑ "SEQ Water Grid". SEQ Water. Archived from the original on 20 October 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
↑ South East Queensland Water (Restructuring) Act 2007 (QLD)
↑ "Water Grid". Queensland Water Commission. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
↑ "South East Queensland Water Strategy" (PDF). Queensland Water Commission (PDF). The State of Queensland. 2010. p. 24. ISSN 1836-5051 . Retrieved 24 June 2014.
1 2 "Supply initiatives". Queensland Water Commission. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009.

External links

Coordinates: 27°21′15″S152°36′10.3″E / 27.35417°S 152.602861°E / -27.35417; 152.602861

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[1] "South East Queensland Water Grid". Department of Infrastructure and Planning. The State of Queensland . Retrieved 5 August 2009.

[icc-2] 1 2 "SEQ Water Grid". Ipswich City Council . Retrieved 5 August 2009.

[3] "SEQ Water Grid". SEQ Water. Archived from the original on 20 October 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2009.

[4] South East Queensland Water (Restructuring) Act 2007 (QLD)

[5] "Water Grid". Queensland Water Commission. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009.

[strategy-6] "South East Queensland Water Strategy" (PDF). Queensland Water Commission (PDF). The State of Queensland. 2010. p. 24. ISSN 1836-5051 . Retrieved 24 June 2014.

[qwc2-7] 1 2 "Supply initiatives". Queensland Water Commission. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2009.