It was established on 1 July 2010 under the Queensland State Government's South East Queensland (SEQ) Water Reform. The reform was initiated to improve the delivery of water services in SEQ and to make this rapidly growing region drought resilient. The Gold Coast, Logan and Redland councils own the business.
Most of the underground water is not suitable for irrigation and human consumption as the water is salty and is present in the artesian basin of Australia.
We maintain a level of chlorine in the water network to kill any disease-causing organism which may get into the water supply pipes after treatment.
Drinking water in the Sunshine Coast and Noosa regions is generally soft (less than100mg/L), whereas in the Moreton Bay region it is neither hard nor soft (less than 200 mg/L). Useful things to know in relation to soft water: Leave your water-using appliances on factory settings. You do not need to add salt to the
Seqwater manages up to $11 billion of bulk water supply infrastructure - including the SEQ Water Grid - and the natural catchments of the region's water supply sources to ensure a reliable, quality drinking water supply for more than three million consumers across South East Queensland.
About Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe Dam is South East Queensland's largest water storage and is the main supply of water for Brisbane and the greater Ipswich area. Wivenhoe Dam was built on the Brisbane River, about 80 kilometres from Brisbane. It was designed by the Water Resources Commission and built in 1984.The inundation of several water reclamation plants and pumping stations, causing overflows. Importantly, tap water in the Queensland Urban Utilities service territory includes Brisbane, remains safe to drink, and without boiling.
Is Brisbane Tap Water Safe to Drink? Yes – tap water in Brisbane is perfectly safe to drink and meets all the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Looking at the river's water quality in 2018
Nitrogen and phosphorus levels are above the water quality guidelines set by the Queensland government in almost all tests. In the lower Brisbane River catchment towards the port, nitrogen is above the maximum level in more than 60 per cent of 99 tests.In Australia we have some of the cleanest and purest drinking water in the world. Most of the tap water we use every day comes from rain, collected and stored in large reservoirs.
The water is disinfected with chlorine before it travels to homes and businesses. All drinking water flowing from treatment plants conforms to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. NSW Health monitors Sydney Water and all treated drinking water providers' performance against these guidelines.
SE Queensland recorded an average use of 159 litres per day, per person. This water consumption varied between different regions, from 149 litres per person in the Logan area, to 175 litres per person in the Gold Coast. Litres per day per person: 159 SEQ Total.
| Dam | Full supply volume (ML) | % full |
|---|
| Cooloolabin View historical dam levels | 8, 183 ML | 64.2% |
| Enoggera View historical dam levels | 4, 262 ML | 98.6% |
| Ewen Maddock View historical dam levels | 16, 587 ML | 86.8% |
| Gold Creek View historical dam levels | 801 ML | 93.9% |
In Australia we collect our water from three main sources, groundwater, surface water and the ocean. Reservoirs are usually on high ground so that water can flow into underground pipes or water mains. The water in the mains flows into the house when you turn on the tap.
The SEQ Water Grid is our connected network of dams, water treatment plants, reservoirs, pump stations and pipelines. The grid allows us to move water around South East Queensland as needed. Connecting Beaudesert to the water grid will ensure we can continue to provide a safe, secure water supply to the Scenic Rim.
The project required an investment of $1.18bn (A$1.12bn). With a production capacity of 133ML of water per day, the plant can serve 665,000 residents.
For water to be classified as 'hard' the mineral content is high, anything above 60 milligrams per litre. Across Australia each city and state is different. Sydney's water is considered 'soft' with a hardness level of about 50mg/L while in Hobart, it is barely above 10 mg/L.
All Gold Coast beaches are closed today with the exception of Rainbow Bay, Greenmount and Currumbin.
Often county health departments will help you test for bacteria or nitrates. If not, you can have your water tested by a state certified laboratory. You can find one in your area by calling the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or visiting
General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard. Water hardness varies throughout the United States.
By its very nature, the Brisbane River is brown because it's an estuary and influenced by the tide. Water flows from the catchment upstream, bringing sediment with it and as the tide comes in from the opposite direction, it causes a lot of turbulence in the water, continually stirring up the sediment.
The following countries are said to have the cleanest drinking water in the world:
- DENMARK. Denmark has better tap water than bottled water.
- ICELAND. Iceland has stringent quality control, ensuring that they have a consistently high quality of water.
- GREENLAND.
- FINLAND.
- COLOMBIA.
- SINGAPORE.
- NEW ZEALAND.
- SWEDEN.
Brisbane is a safe and vibrant 24-hour city but in any big city, crime does happen. The safety of all residents and visitors is paramount to the QPS.
Brisbane water is treated with both Chlorine and Chloramine. Chlorine will evaporate or boil of quite easily. Chloramine must be either neutralised with Campden or filtered by slowly passing water through a carbon filter.
The answer given by most professionals is that the public tap water in Australia is “perfectly safe to drinkâ€. Of more concern to all health conscious Australians should be the fact that our tap water is only monitored for 70 chemicals, whilst there are over 300 known chemicals that should be of concern.
Redland City's drinking water is provided from a number of dams in the region and from an aquifer on North Stradbroke Island. About 27% of drinking water is supplied via the Eastern Pipeline Interconnector, as part of the SEQ Water Grid.
