Community & Business
18 March, 2026
Promises of water security made to shire
Southern Downs water security
Residents of the Southern Downs may be short of fuel, but two improvements to the water situation are, pardon the pun, in the pipeline.
The most significant revelation came during Premier Crisafulli’s recent speech in Stanthorpe where he promised that the Queensland government would be providing water security to the shire to the delight of those gathered, including MP James Lister.
“Southern Downs Regional Council has welcomed Queensland Premier David Crisafulli’s commitment to provide water security for the Southern Downs during his recent visit to Stanthorpe”, Mayor Melissa Hamilton reacted.
Mayor Hamilton told the Town & Country Journal that while there are as yet any specific details, she assumes that one or all of the water security proposals the SDRC submitted as funding proposals in the 2026-27 Queensland Government Budget will be activated. The proposals were also submitted as part of the federal budget.
The most likely scenario is a initiating a business case for a Warwick to Stanthorpe pipeline which would likely see infrastructure from Connelly Dam to Stanthorpe, following the path that water trucks took during the last drought. The mayor explained that when the dam drops to 70 percent, the water is reserved for Stanthorpe under the drought management plan.
Once a business case was finalised, council would have to confirm “if that provides sufficient water security”.
“Providing water is up to the state, and it’s up to the state with the Department of Water how to best achieve water security,” the mayor said. “It can mean a lot of things including agriculture, town water, and industry. We will look at what the proposal does. It may well be there’s not one answer as it’s complicated and has a lot of parts.”
Funding dam evaporation covers would save about 4,000 ML a year, and the mayor says that “we continue to push the state and federal government to provide funding for that.”
Finally, there could be a resurrection of Emu Swamp, the most expensive costing in recent regional water assessment undertaking, which could “widen” into a Sunwater project with allocations made on the open market.
“We applaud the commitment from the Premier to deliver a safe, reliable and resilient water supply for the Southern Downs,” Mayor Hamilton said.
Fallout from Cherrabah
While residents were relieved that the council blocked a development application allowing Joyful View Garden Real Estate, the entity that owns Cherrabah resort, from building an industrial building on site to bottle water, the owners still hold a 96 ML water license granted by the state some years ago.
The Town & Country Journal asked Minister for Water Anne Leahy specific questions about the license, how compliance would be monitored if it were used, and why the state would provide a free water license to take water away from a drought-stricken shire.
A spokesperson for Minister Leahy responded that the water license was “a bad decision” made by a former Labor Government. As a consequence, “the Minister has asked the department to undertake a review of the process used to grant the water license.”
No specifics or timelines were provided and a review does not guarantee the water license will be revoked. The language of the message, however, is indicative of revocation or significant change to the license.
