With potential increases in population and visitations leading up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, its important Noosa’s water supply is sustainable. We understand from a visit to Lake Macdonald Dam in 2024 that the Noosa Shire has the highest consumption per head of water in South East Queensland (SEQ), considering this, we sought information on the following points from Unitywater:

  1. What is Unitywater actioning including strategic plans to deal with increased tourism/population and the Olympic Games for our area?
  2. How will water demand be secured, if Borumba Hydro Dam is cancelled, including for Data Centres that need a substantial amount of water?
  3. Taking into account that we have the highest consumption per head of water in SEQ as mentioned above, is there further details on what is contributing?

In response, the below information has been provided by Unitywater in italics.

Unitywater has planned for future population growth and increased demand associated with tourism in Noosa. This approach relies on population projections from instruments including the Noosa Plan and the Shaping SEQ 2023 Report. Unitywater aligns asset investment and renewal with projected growth and asset lifespans to ensure water and sewerage networks continue to meet future needs. To better understand the impact of the 2032 Games, including population tourism forecasts, Unitywater is meeting with key local and state government representatives. In addition, we continue to invest in infrastructure to support the region, including over $5M of capital works completed in Noosa in 2024-25, and a budget of over $11M for works this financial year.

Lake Borumba stores water for drinking as well as irrigation as part of the Mary Valley Scheme. This lake and dam is a Seqwater asset. The proposed Borumba pumped hydro project is a Queensland Hydro project. Data centres, depending on their size, are cooled either by water or air conditioning. While water cooling is becoming more popular as it is more effective, currently the data centre on the Sunshine Coast uses air conditioning and its water consumption can be compared to that of a residential connection. Unitywater is investigating recycled water use in preparation for future data centres as a means of water reuse.

Average usage in the Noosa region is 165 litres per person per day. There are several contributing factors that help explain why Noosa records some of the highest per capita water consumption rates in South East Queensland: Tourist behaviour: Research indicates that tourists tend to use significantly more water while on holiday than they do at home. An industry paper prepared by Griffith University estimates that average water usage per guest night is around 300 litres, which is roughly double the usage of a typical resident. Tourism volume: In the 2023–24 period, Noosa welcomed approximately 2.1 million visitors, out of a total of 4.3 million domestic overnight visitors across the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, and Gympie regions. Tourism-to-resident ratio: Given Noosa’s relatively small residential population, this high volume of tourists results in a much higher proportion of non-resident water users compared to other regions. This significantly contributes to the elevated per capita consumption figures for the area.

Sandy has requested information on if the announced review of the Shaping SEQ Plan 2023 is affecting Unitywater’ s planning. In addition, regarding the over $11 million for works this financial year, we have asked if they can confirm that this is all for the Noosa Shire and what this is planned to be utilised for.

With tourism identified as one of the contributors to high water usage, Sandy has written to Tourism Noosa asking if further campaigns targeted at our visitors can be investigated utilising waterwise messaging.

It is important to note that Lake Macdonald is not the sole source of water for the Noosa region, as it is connected to the SEQ Water Grid allowing Seqwater to move treated drinking water around the region as needed. There are twelve dams connected to the SEQ Water Grid, with the largest being Wivenhoe which can store 1,165,240 ML. Of the twelve dams, only two are smaller than Lake Macdonald with most dams considerably larger, providing water security for our region. More information on our grid is available at www.seqwater.com.au/seq-water-grid

We will update as more information is received and would appreciate any feedback from Noosa state electorate residents to inform our advocacy via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.

Further Information

For previous Noosa 360 updates on our water supply, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=water

Seqwater, who can be contacted on 1300 737 928, is the Queensland’s Bulk Water Supply Authority responsible for bulk water throughout SEQ. Unitywater manages the domestic water supply to our homes and is run by a board on behalf of its three shareholders: the Noosa, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay Regional Councils. To contact the latter, visit www.unitywater.com/about-us/contact-us. Unitywater are a statutory authority with three shareholders – Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Noosa Council – and is governed by an independent board. Matters relating to Unitywater do not come under the jurisdiction of State Government.