Seqwater is a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...

of the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

that provides bulk

water storage Water storage is a broad term referring to storage of both potable water for consumption, and non potable water for use in agriculture. In both developing countries and some developed countries found in tropical climates, there is a need to store p ...

, transport and treatment, water grid management and planning, catchment management and flood mitigation services to the

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

region of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Seqwater also provides

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

services to about 1,200 rural customers in the region that are not connected to the grid and provides recreation facilities. Seqwater was established on pursuant to the alongside three other statutory authorities: Linkwater, the SEQ Water Grid Manager and

WaterSecure 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 ...

. Since that time Seqwater has retained its bulk water storage and treatment, catchment management and flood mitigation assets and functions while acquiring additional assets and functions in two tranches: * On 1 July 2011 the South East Queensland Water (Restructuring) Regulation 2011 transferred to Seqwater the assets and operating responsibilities of WaterSecure over the

Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme The Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, a recycled water project, is located in the South East region of Queensland in Australia. The scheme is managed by Seqwater and forms a key part of the SEQ Water Grid constructed by the Queensland Gove ...

and the Gold Coast Desalination Plant, and the assets of Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd, principally the

Wyaralong Dam 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 ...

* On 1 January 2013 further legislative changes gave Seqwater the following functions: the management, operation and maintenance of

potable Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

bulk water pipelines previously provided by LinkWater; the water grid management services provided by the

SEQ Water Grid Manager 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, includin ...

; and the long term planning functions of the region’s future water needs, a function that was formerly undertaken by the

Queensland Water Commission 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. The agency was ...

. Seqwater is managed by a chief executive who reports to a Board of Management that are ultimately responsible to the Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing, and Minister for Water, presently

Glenn Butcher Glenn Donald Butcher (born 1961) is an Australian actor and writer. He first came to prominence as a member of the cult Newcastle-based comedy musical troupe The Castanet Club (1982-1991), in which he played parodic lounge singer Lance Norton. ...

and the Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Investment, presently Cameron Dick. The

Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy The Department of Resources is a department of the Queensland Government in Australia. The department is responsible for regulating mining, and resources in the state. The department's headquarters are at 1 William Street, Brisbane. Structure ...

and

Queensland Treasury The Treasurer of Queensland is the title held by the Cabinet minister who is responsible for the Queensland Treasury, and by extension, all financial matters of the Queensland Government. List of Queensland treasurers See also *Politics of ...

provides administrative oversight of the statutory authority.

Background and functions

The formation of Seqwater was part of the reform of water supply arrangements by the Queensland Government that commenced in 2007. As part of these reforms an integrated approach to catchment-sourced management across the South East Queensland region was adopted with the expectation that this approach would help to ensure the long term security and sustainability of the region's catchment-based water supply. Initially, Seqwater was established to manage bulk water facilities in the region, a function previously managed by 25 different local government, state government and corporate entities. Seqwater is responsible for 25 dams (including Wivenhoe Dam,

Somerset Dam 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 ...

and

North Pine Dam 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 ...

Hinze Dam The Hinze Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Nerang River in the Gold Coast hinterland of South East, Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water supply of the Gold Coas ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, and Baroon Pocket Dam on the Sunshine Coast), which provide as much as 90 per cent of South East Queensland’s drinking water supply. In addition, Seqwater owns 47 weirs, as well as operating 46 water treatment plant facilities and 14 groundwater borefields across South East Queensland. Seqwater is also responsible for a range of new water infrastructure projects and initiatives, including raising the dam wall of the

on the Gold Coast (completed in 2011), working with the Department of Infrastructure and Planning on the design phase of the Wyaralong Water Treatment Plant, and the fluoridation of the region’s drinking water supply. It currently manages more than $10 billion worth of water supply assets, including 600 kilometres of bulk water pipelines connecting the water grid from the Sunshine Coast in the north to the Gold Coast in the south, the Western Corridor Recycling Scheme and the Gold Coast Desalination Plant. On 6 July 2015 Seqwater released ''Water for life'', a 30 year plan outlining measures to ensure a secure water supply for South East Queensland over the period to 2045.

References

External links

Seqwater

SEQ Water Grid

WaterSecure
* {{Authority control Water companies of Queensland Water management in Queensland Government agencies of Queensland Australia Queensland seqwater 2008 establishments in Australia South East Queensland