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A Step Closer to a Fruitful Economy

For many decades North and South Burnett irrigation groups, individuals and councils, and stakeholders have advocated for water security in the region.

After in-depth research and literature findings, November 2018 saw the Federal government invest $2 million as part of their National Water Infrastructure Development Fund (NWIDF). The funding was to assess a range of options that increased water supply and security in the North and South Burnett regions, thus underpinning economic growth.

The funding was administered by the Queensland Government, with the study being conducted over two Council areas to achieve economies of scale and whole of catchment understanding.

Phase 1 of the feasibility study (completed April 2020) – the “Strategic Business Case”, identified 28 options to potentially achieve increases in water supply and security across the two regions. The study stating “there may be several affordable initiatives available to the region in which the private and public sectors could invest”.

Phase 2 of the Feasibility Study – the “Options Analysis” undertook a structured assessment. It considered factors such as economic performance, social impact and affordability to further refine these potential options. In the end, four recommendations for advancing strategically important projects in the North and South Burnett were identified.

For the North Burnett the recommendations were to focus on pursuing a detailed business case of two high potential areas being:

  1. A re-regulating weir on the Boyne River
  2. A detailed business case for Coalstoun Lakes.

Phase 3 is to further progress these two by identifying proposed infrastructure locations and beginning preliminary engineering investigations.

Download the Options Analysis here: Water supply requirements in the North and South Burnett’ Options Analysis

Council looks forward to continuing our journey towards water security and reliability in the North Burnett.