Newsletter #8 – October 2025

In this issue

• Key outcomes from our project benefits assessment
• Climate impact assessment
• Latest on our stakeholder engagement
• Our Strategic Advisory Group meets again
• Update on our Customer and Community Engagement Program

The end of the year might be racing towards us, but the work is racing along too!

So, in this issue, we thought we would make sure you are across where we are at and the very significant work that has gone on. This work has not just been further refinement and assessment of the business case, but also our continued engagement with key stakeholders – Federal, State, Local, agricultural, business and community.

The primary supply source the State Government has asked our project to focus on is Purified Recycled Water (PRW) produced by the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme (WCRWS). Whilst we are happy to receive PRW, we are also seeking to price [ and base costs on] A+ is the minimum quality growers need. For either source, our goal is to secure the lowest possible “farm gate’’ price to growers.

We have also been advised by the State that the WCRWS remains part of the SEQ Water Security Program for drinking water and that our project needed to treat PRW on this basis. The WCRWS is significantly underutilised infrastructure. Its design capacity is 65,000ML a year. At most it has produced less than 10% of this volume annually in the 17 years since its construction and two-thirds of the scheme has been in care and maintenance since 2013. It has never been required to supplement SEQ drinking water, despite triggers being met on several occasions. PRW, with wastewater as the source water, is incredibly reliable when compared against other sources, including dams and rivers. Even in an extreme drought it is estimated wastewater only reduces by 30%.   The good news is that we have a use for the water, and we want it at an affordable price.

We understand the key to gaining State Government support to use PRW is to demonstrate the significant benefits delivered by re-activating the WCRWS for our project and other similar non-residential uses. We are the most advanced and there is very adequate potential supply.

Lockyer Valley and Somerset Water Security Scheme

Our project will deliver extensive and intergenerational benefits

We know our project is a “no-brainer”. It comes at a potential cost well below other State and Federal commitments in Queensland. Most importantly, we are not talking “theoretically” – the Lockyer Valley & Somerset regions are well known and established as food bowls. Our producers know their stuff and with more water they can grow more of their stuff! And everyone gains from that.

We have now finalised our initial benefits assessment and provided this evaluation to government. Our assessment highlights the key benefits of re-mobilising the WCRWS outside of drought.

These benefits include:

• Protect and enhance existing and future food security for Queensland.
• Use SEQ wastewater to deliver a significant economic benefit to Queensland. This includes:
  • Annual increase of agricultural production of almost $270 million (an increase of almost $70 million from the 2020 Detailed Business Case)
  • Total agricultural production yearly to increase to $1.7 billion.
  • An annual flow on benefit to the State of $175 million increase to Queensland’s Gross State product.
  • Secure existing 1800 jobs and delivering an additional 400 ongoing permanent roles (This does not include up to 2000 seasonal workers).
• Deliver generational water infrastructure that will secure supply and foster economic growth. (The government has identified this as a key outcome for the water portfolio)
• Significantly contribute to the delivery of the Queensland Government’s Prosper 2025 Strategy and its interim goal of boosting Queensland’s primary production output to $30 billion by 2030
• Allow the Queensland Government, if desired, to transition WCRWS to industry and agriculture over time by providing a large-scale foundation customer
• De-risk SEQ urban water security for existing demand and future population growth until alternative SEQ urban water supply is available
• Deliver significant environmental benefits, including to Moreton Bay, by aligning with the Council of Mayors (SEQ) Resilient Rivers Initiative.

Environmental benefits

There is the potential to design our project to generate substantial environmental benefits by implementing a critical sediment reduction program, thereby safeguarding essential water infrastructure and preserving the region's productive agricultural land in partnership with COMSEQ’s Resilient Rivers Initiative.

There is an opportunity to link the scheme to a riparian and gully restoration program to directly address the Lockyer Creek's role as the major source of sediment impacting water treatment processes and Moreton Bay sedimentation. Importantly such a program would require the agreement and support of growers.

Keeping high quality soil on the land and deliver reduce sediment flows down the Lockyer Creek, Mid Brisbane River and ultimately the bay would deliver a significant benefit to SEQ. The benefits to Seqwater through reduced treatment costs in “dirty water’’ extreme weather events could be as high as $6 million a year. Dredging cost savings for the Port of Brisbane could be as high as $10 million a year. Contributing to the future health of Moreton Bay and its commercial fishing and tourism

Impact of doing nothing

Importantly, we also highlighted what is at risk if nothing is done.  We know that current production has plateaued due to uncertainty and unreliability of water supply and that unless this vulnerability is addressed a significant expansion in production is unlikely. We know the Millenium Drought devastated the region with farm gate production halved. The estimated to cost to Queensland was more than $200 million in annual lost agricultural production until the region recovered. Given production growth since the Millennium Drought, this estimated cost to Queensland of a similar event would be in the order of up to $700 million/ year in lost production and over 900 jobs impacted over the duration of the drought.

Climate impacts

To reinforce the challenge and risk above, we also commissioned a climate assessment for our region to try and understand weather impacts over the next 40 plus years. Our region is already characterised by notably large year-to-year variability in temperature and rainfall.

Our assessment showed a high likelihood of increases in the size and frequency of more extreme events. This high volatility suggests that periods of drought are likely to be repeated and potentially more severe, exacerbated by associated long-term temperature increases. Specifically, there is a projected potential for a high number and duration of excessively hot days and dry days. This severe outlook includes the potential for the maximum number of consecutive dry days in the LVS to increase from a recent average of 34 days/year to potentially up to 70 days/year by 2049. We say our project is critical in protecting Queensland’s most important horticulture area against the intensifying impacts of climate variability. 

Pohlmans Nursery Employee

DID YOU KNOW?

There is a phrase used to describe how fast dollars generated by agriculture flow through a community.

The "velocity of the horticulture dollar refers to the  refers to the speed and extent to which generated economic activity and jobs from agriculture circulates through the local economy. We know when farmers are doing well, the community is doing well. I am reliably informed it was a phrase coined by our incoming Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner Rachel Chambers.

The importance of the horticulture sector transcends simple output statistics, serving as a profound driver of regional economic stability and community wellbeing.

Click below to find our detailed benefits assessment

WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN HAPPENING

Our mayors recently had the opportunity to brief a critical stakeholder in the Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki. Not only is he the Treasurer but also a shareholding minister of Seqwater which owns and operates the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, our project is seeking to utilise.

It was a very positive and productive meeting where the Treasurer acknowledged the importance of the region to the food security of South East Queensland and broader Queensland.  He also highlighted the importance of primary industries in underpinning economic growth in the regions and the critical role the horticultural sector played in the future prosperity of the Lockyer Valley and Somerset region.

The mayors shared the devastating impact of the Millennium Drought, not only on horticulture production and farmer incomes, but on the social fabric of the community. They reinforced that our project was first and foremost about shoring up existing production and existing farming enterprises and thus food security for our State, while acknowledging the significant expansion opportunities the project would deliver.

South East Queensland's population is on the rise again and the Treasurer noted that it would be regions, like the Lockyer Valley and Somerset, attracting young families and others seeking a rural lifestyle, that will be carrying much of this load. The Treasurer said the Crisafulli Government was committed to supporting the regions and the industry sectors which underpinned their future prosperity. The Treasurer said he was determined to see this growth supported and to make sure that the Lockyer Valley and Somerset regions were "getting their fair share'.

Our Chair also had the opportunity to brief the Director General of Department of Primary Industries Graeme Bolton to reinforce the contribution our project would make to the Government’s Prosper 2025 Strategy and Queensland food security. The water and primary industries departments will play a key role in supporting our project within government and Cabinet.

Briefings were also provided to senior advisors of both Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation Minister Andrew Powell and the Minister for Small and Family Business Steve Minnikin. Other briefings included the Department of Premier and Cabinet as well as the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

First Nations

We had the opportunity to catch up briefly with the representatives of the Yuggera Ugarapul People (YUP) Jinibara People Aboriginal Corporation.

YUP are the recognised Native Title Applicants of an area to the West of Meanjin (Brisbane) stretching to the Toowoomba Range, north to Gatton and nearly to Esk, south to the Logan River and east beyond Ipswich to the Oxley River catchment.

The four clans of the Jinibara are the recognised Native Title holders across the Maleny area, as well as parts of the adjacent Glass House Mountains. Somerset, Moreton Bay and Brisbane council areas.

We look forward to working with both First Nations groups as our project progresses and will be seeking formal meetings in early 2026.

Strategic Advisory Group 

Rachel Chambers, the new Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner

Our Strategic Advisory Group meet for the second time over October and contributed to the shaping of our initial benefits assessment. The SAG is proving to be excellent sounding board and advocacy cohort for our project. The SAG also welcomed its latest member Professor Ben Lyons from the University of Southern Queensland.

Professor Lyons is the director of the Southern Queensland Northern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub with a focus on building farmer resilience to the impacts of climate change on production and profit, including within the Lockyer Valley and Somerset region.

Congratulations also go to SAG member and Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers CEO Rachel Chambers for her appointment as the new Queensland Food Farmers’ Commissioner. Rachel has a fantastic understanding of our project and has been a long advocate for the horticulture sector and future economic and well-being of our regions. We wish her well. 

Click below to the media release announcing her appointment

Just a reminder that our SAG also includes the industry association for greenlife growers and retail nurseries, Greenlife Industry Queensland, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Regional Development Australia Ipswich and West Moreton, and the Council of Mayors South East Queensland.

National Food Security Strategy

Our project took the opportunity to lodge a submission into the Commonwealth Government’s National Food Security Strategy – Discussion Paper.

Our submission focuses on four recommendations for inclusion in the National Food Security Strategy:

• Recognition of the importance of the shared use of capital-intensive water infrastructure
• Greater alignment between urban and agriculture water supply planning, particularly relating to farming regions near large population centres.
• The need to finalise the national strategy in time to allow it to support and drive the Commonwealth’s target to of increasing agriculture exports to $100 billion annually by 2030 and the Queensland Government’s target of increasing annual primary industries production to $30 billion over the same period.
• Consideration of legislative changes and other changes to incentivize the increased use of wastewater for food production.

Click below to find the detailed submission.

Our awareness campaign is up and running

Finally, a reminder that our new Customer and Community Awareness Program is underway with new project LinkedIn and Facebook sites up and running.

If you haven’t already, please link into the sites below and follow and post as the program progresses.

There will be fresh content each week as we seek to ensure our local communities and potential scheme customers are aware of the project and the benefits it will deliver.

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.