Newsletter #15 – November 2026

In this issue

• Completion of the Optimisation Assessment Report
• The development of the final Investment Report
• Lockyer Somerset Water Ltd to be established
• Stakeholder engagement update
• Ongoing grower support

Major milestone deserves celebration

Our project reached a major milestone in October with the delivery of the final Optimisation Assessment Report (OAR) to the Queensland Government. It is a milestone that all those involved should take a moment to saviour.

The submission of the report is the culmination of three years of hard work by a range of technical and other experts. More importantly, it is also the culmination of a far longer journey to provide real water security to farmers in the Lockyer Valley and Somerset for the first time.

The OAR is a significant step forward to making the Lockyer Valley and Somerset Water Security Scheme a reality.

Thanks to the recent $5 million budget injection from the Crisafulli Government, we now have the opportunity to ground truth key data from the OAR, including environmental and cultural heritage, to finalise approvals required as well as refine and finalise our pipeline route to ultimately allow the project to move to construction.

This is incredibly important as it will allow the project, for the first time, overlay real water sales across a concept designed pipeline route.

This additional $5 million in funding will allow the project to provide greater certainty on the capital investment required from both the Queensland and Australian Governments. This will be at a level of certainty never before provided by a community/regional led project to government.

However, it is important to state that the next stage of the project does not change the strong investment case established in the OAR but will strengthen precision and delivery confidence prior to Final Investment Decision.

Our goal is to secure investment funding before end of 2027 and to have a fully operational scheme by the first half of 2031. This timing is important as it will allow a full growing season ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games and allow the region to expand production in time to be a major contributor to feeding the Games.

OUR PROJECT HAS GARNERED STRONG SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY

The OAR milestone can’t be celebrated without acknowledging the commitment of our Collaborative members - our Mayors, grower representatives and local industry – in advocating strongly and consistently for the project.

The project acknowledges the strong ongoing support shown by the Minister for Local Government, Water and Volunteers, the Hon. Ann Leahy, Primary Industries Minister, the Hon. Tony Perrett and local State Members, the Member for Lockyer, Jim McDonald and the Attorney General and Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington.

We also acknowledge the funding from the Commonwealth and in-kind from our councils' as part of the SEQ City Deal, which allowed the OAR to be undertaken. Our ongoing thanks to the Federal Minister for Environment and Water, the Hon. Murray Watt and local members, Assistant Agriculture Minister, the Hon. Anthony Chisholm, the Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann and the Member for Wright, Scott Buchholz.

The support from our Stakeholder Advisory Group has been invaluable in helping to shape our report. Our thanks go to the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers, the Council of Mayors of SEQ, Turf Queensland, Greenlife Qld, Regional Development Australia Ipswich and West Moreton and the University of Southern Queensland.

OUR ECONOMIC BENEFITS HAVE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY

The very, very good news from our Optimisation Assessment Report is that the key economic indicators have increased from our interim assessment last October.

The OAR demonstrates that our scheme will deliver a significant economic and food security return to the state and country.

Our scheme will be the largest, most innovative, most reliable, recycled water irrigation project in the nation and will deliver:

• A 25 per cent increase in food production or $346 million annually – up from $274 million. And it’s the staple crops which are driving the increase, including broccoli, cauliflower, beans, lettuce and tomatoes.
• It will take the yearly fresh food production value from the Lockyer Valley and Somerset to $1.8 billion.
• An expanded Lockyer Valley and Somerset production, in time to feed the 2032 Olympic Games.
• An increase to Queenslands' Gross State Product (GSP) of $239 million year on year, up from $174 million.
• Utilise almost a quarter of the more than 100,000ML of wastewater currently discharged into waterways and Moreton Bay to grow high-quality food.
• Turn a significantly under-utilised urban water asset - the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme (WCRWS) - into an economic generator for the state for the first time since its construction.
• Allow the Queensland Government to establish an additional customer base for the WCRWS, including industry, via a large-scale foundation of irrigation customers.
• Partner with the Council of Mayors of SEQ and its Resilient Rivers Initiative on a large-scale sediment reduction program. Contributing to keeping good soil on farming land, the long-term health of Moreton Bay, reduced water treatment costs for Seqwater, as well as dredging costs for the Port of Brisbane.

It is our water sales data which has driven the increase in economic benefits. We now know the detail of who wants to purchase the water, where they want it, and the high value crops they intend to grow with the new supply.

Based on the annual uplift in Queensland’s Gross State Product (GSC), the scheme delivers a significant Return on Investment of $13 for every $1 invested by taxpayers. The project could not identify any other irrigation scheme in Queensland which delivers such a return.

WE MEASURE UP EXTREMELY WELL AGAINST OTHER FUNDED WATER PROJECTS

One of the key Treasury measurements to secure Queensland Government funding for infrastructure projects is the Benefits Cost Ratio (BCR).

The good news for our project is that is measures up very well compared to other major Queensland water infrastructure proposals.

At a BCR of 0.59, it outperforms numerous regional water proposals—including the Nullinga Dam (0.11), Stage 2 Haughton Pipeline (0.30), Paradise Dam (0.40), and Urannah Water Scheme (0.54), while performing comparably to Rookwood Weir / Lower Fitzroy (0.60) and Burdekin Falls Dam (0.65).

The most recent bulk water project developed in a regional setting is the Rookwood Weir project (Lower Fitzroy River Infrastructure Project). Construction of Rookwood Weir, which is primarily for agricultural supply in addition to supplementing industrial and urban users, was completed in 2023 at a cost of $568.9 million. The Detailed Business Case for the project was completed in 2017 and returned a BCR of 0.6. The Queensland Government has also recently committed funding for the construction of the Barlil and Cooranga Weir projects in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. This is after the projects were assessed by the Bundaberg and Burnett Regional Water Assessment and returning BCR's of 0.3 and 0.5 respectively.

On any objective review, the OAR makes a compelling case for government support and investment.

PROJECT FARM GATE PRICE LOCKED IN

The OAR has locked in the farm gate price of $538ML as FY31 when the project anticipates first water flowing.

This is a project position yet to be determined by government, but it was incredibly important to ensure our OAR reflected grower expectation.

The project will continue to advocate for this farm gate price and its timing as well as the supply condition in drought, where scheme customers are treated the same as urban industrial customers.

The final farm gate price and supply conditions will be determined by the State and determined well ahead of any final binding contracts with growers.

Post FY31, escalations to farm gate price will occur. Like any water scheme, the level of escalation will be a negotiation between the local grower-led company operating the new scheme and the State.

What is for certain, the longer we wait, the more we will see project costs rise. That’s why we want the best and most accurate planning and business case!

GREEN LIGHT TO ESTABLISH NEW LOCAL WATER COMPANY

The Queensland Government has approved the establishment of the new Lockyer Somerset Water company.

The new company is aiming to issue invoices before end of November with deposits due by 31 December 2026.

Growers who have signed on to the scheme will be contacted by the company and provided the details required.

THE OAR TO SUPERCHARGE OUR ADVOCACY

With the completion of the OAR, the project will take the opportunity for another round of key ministerial and adviser briefings.

Our advocacy will make it abundantly clear that our project will be a major contributor to helping to deliver on the Crisafulli Governments' election commitments and Charter Letters provided to cabinet ministers. This includes increasing primary industries production via Prosper 2050, growing small and family businesses in the region, maximising the use and benefits of the State’s water resources and infrastructure, driving the Queensland economy, and revitalising and supporting regional Queensland.

Our Mayor's will again be at the forefront of these briefings.

Over September the Mayor's briefed Environment Minister, the Hon. Andrew Powell on the partnership the project has formed with the Council of Mayors of SEQ and its Resilient Rivers Initiative.

The Mayors formally briefed the Hon. Minister Leahy over November and handed over a copy of the OAR. The Minister again strongly indicated her support for the project.

Importantly, the project will also provide an update to the Board of the Council of Mayors of SEQ in November. The SEQ Mayors will be important advocates for the scheme as we look to lock in government investment.

Over September the Chair provided updated briefings to Federal Assistant Agriculture Minister, the Hon Anthony Chisholm, the Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann and senior advisers with the Federal Treasurer, the Hon. Jim Chalmers.

Planning is underway for the projects' next briefing trip to Canberra with a focus on the Federal Infrastructure Minister, the Hon. Catherine King and Federal Agriculture Minister the Hon. Julie Collins. In addition, the briefings will cover senior public servants responsible for national water infrastructure projects as well as those responsible for the development of the National Food Security Strategy.

No one could put it better than Hon. Minister Leahy when she told Parliament on 14 October 2026:

“We have also not forgotten one of the great engines of small business found out on the land: the mum-and-dad farms and businesses growing Queenslands' future. For them we have continued a 15 per cent irrigation pricing discount, because this helps genuine primary producers manage costs and invest in their future with confidence. We are also supporting the Water for Lockyer Collaborative, investing in new water supply options to support families and small businesses in Queenslands' salad bowl, as well as the Water for Warrill project. Let’s not forget that we are unlocking water right across Queensland, helping regional small businesses access water that they need to grow and prosper. Whether you plough a field, pour a beer or prune a fruit tree, we are working hard to drive down water costs for small businesses across this great state.’’

OUR ONGOING THANKS TO GROWERS

WHERE TO NEXT?

In many ways the next stage of the project is where the scheme gets very real.

For the first time the project will be able to overlay real grower demand via the water sales process against the scheme concept design to develop a final pipeline route. We will be on the ground with environmental and cultural heritage surveys, including some targeted Geotech, to understand in detail the approvals approach we will need to take.

We will also be engaging directly with landowners along the pipeline route and properties identified for potential scheme infrastructure. We will do this respectfully and transparently.

Demonstrating how we can best stage the rollout and construction of our project, design in a way that allows for future augmentation, will be important elements of our investment report. Our goal is clear – ensure we provide an option that the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments can support with funding.

The next stage of the project will kick off in November with a view of delivering a final investment report to government before the end of 2027. As always, it is our commitment to communicate clearly and regularly as our project proceeds.

OUR ONGOING THANKS TO GROWERS

OUR ONGOING THANKS TO GROWERS

Finally, a massive thanks to our customers for staying the course, supporting the project, and investing in our scheme.

Almost 130 food producers signed up as foundation customers for more than 17,000ML or almost 80% of the 22,000ML scheme.

In a tough farming year, including the impact from high fuel prices, and poor domestic prices, our customers committed almost $1.3 million in deposits.

It was an incredible show of support for the project and highlighted a willingness to invest that has not gone unnoticed by Government.

The LVSWSS forms part of the Water Initiatives in the Lockyer Valley commitment being delivered under the SEQ City Deal, a partnership between the Australian and Queensland governments and the Council of Mayors SEQ, with 29 commitments being delivered to generate long-lasting benefits for the fast-growing region.

The Water Initiatives in the Lockyer Valley commitment is comprised of the LVSWSS and the SEQ Agricultural Water Assessment (SEQAgRWA), which is developing longer-term water security planning for the region. The LVSWSS is funded with contributions from the Australian Government of $10 million and Lockyer Valley Regional Council and Somerset Regional Council of $0.8 million. The Queensland Government has committed $2.5 million to the SEQAgRWA.