South East Queensland bulk water service provider and prices
Urban bulk water prices for South East Queensland (SEQ) are set by the Queensland Government based on recommendations from the state's independent economic regulator, the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA).
The 5 SEQ council-owned water businesses are charged these prices by Seqwater.
Bulk water supplier
Seqwater, the bulk water supplier for SEQ, manages water supply assets and the natural catchments of the region's major water supply sources. This includes dams, weirs, conventional water treatment plants and climate resilient sources of water from the Gold Coast Desalination Plant and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme.
Seqwater also owns and operates a 600km reverse flow pipeline network enabling drinking water to be transported throughout SEQ as needed providing an important level of water security for SEQ households and businesses.
Bulk water supply code
Learn more about the Bulk water supply code (PDF, 260KB).
Setting bulk water prices in SEQ
The SEQ bulk water price charged by Seqwater is set by the Queensland Government based on recommendations from the QCA. The government directs the QCA to investigate and recommend to the government bulk water prices, which will provide Seqwater with sufficient revenue to recover the costs of providing treated bulk drinking water through its extensive network of dams, water treatment plants and pipelines.
The QCA review ensures that Seqwater is operating as efficiently as possible and bulk water prices are fair and as low as possible.
Until 2008, bulk water supply in SEQ was a local council responsibility, with each council area setting its own prices. When the government took over responsibility for bulk water supply in 2008, it established a 10-year 'price path' of annual price increases to gradually repay debt and achieve a common bulk water price across all SEQ councils. Because of their different starting prices, each of SEQ's 11 councils has a different price path to reach the common price.