Upon completion and commissioning the pipeline will provide:

• drought contingency supply to residents in the Southern Downs Regional Council towns of Warwick, Allora and Yangan, (and to Stanthorpe and Killarney, by carting); and
• a permanent water supply residents in the four Toowoomba Regional Council towns of Cambooya, Greenmount, Nobby and Clifton.

The new pipeline will connect to the existing raw water pipeline north of the Mt Kynoch water treatment plant, before traveling west around the perimeter of Toowoomba, and subsequently south towards the Toowoomba Regional Council townships of Cambooya, Greenmount, Nobby and Clifton. Within the boundary of Southern Downs Regional Council, the pipeline will travel south to the Warwick Reservoir near Leslie Dam, with a connection to Allora along the way.

Our team of expert engineers have been considering alignment alternatives for the pipeline along this route. While much of the pipeline will be located within the road corridor, there will be sections along the route where it will be necessary to traverse private property. In these areas, we will work closely with any affected property owners to ensure that impacts of the pipeline corridor are minimised.

The pipeline will be comprised of varying diameters (ranging anywhere from 350mm to 600mm) to ensure optimal water flow and pressure throughout the pipeline.

The pipeline will be predominately underground at a depth of approximately one metre (from the top of the pipe). There will be some sections, such as certain watercourse crossings, that may be located aboveground.

At periodic intervals, valves may be installed to control the flow of water and maintain the integrity of the pipe. These valves could protrude above ground, or may be located in underground pits, depending on the location.

Scour valves are essential for maintaining water quality by allowing the release of sediment and other unwanted materials that may have accumulated in the pipeline. Air valves are used to prevent the build-up of air pockets in the pipeline, which can cause pressure surges and reduce water flow.

The valves will be carefully designed to minimise any noise or amenity impact on the surrounding environment.

Once installed, the pipeline will operate quietly and efficiently, with minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

The pipeline alignment has been designed to use existing road corridors where available. However at certain sections of the alignment, local constraints required the alignment to enter private property. These sections typically include:

• crossover connections between parallel road corridors
• where road corridors in proximity to rail lines
• where road corridors have restricted available space due to existing services
• narrow road corridors with insufficient space
• high speed, high traffic volume roads
• unsuitable topographical conditions within a road corridor.

Seqwater will engage with landowners in these areas to negotiate the acquisition of fee simple or public utility easements over freehold, reserve and, if required, unallocated state land.

The pipeline will be designed to be laid underground in a stable environment.

While vibrations can cause some displacement, the pipeline is able to withstand these disturbances without significant damage. On the other hand, any dips or shifts in rail track caused by other collocated infrastructure can cause serious delays and even pose a safety risk for the train network.

Accordingly, rail operators are historically risk averse when considering the collocation of infrastructure within a rail corridor which may result in a dip or shift.

The Queensland rail corridor is managed by an independent rail operator (Queensland Rail), and we do not have the authority to make decisions regarding its use. We must respect the rights of the rail operator to use the corridor as they see fit, while prioritising the safety and reliability of our water pipeline.

As the pipeline will be situated underground for most of its route, it is highly unlikely that the pipeline will break or suffer any external damage under normal circumstances. In instances where the pipeline bursts or is leaking, flowmeters installed along the length of the pipeline will identify fluctuations in pressure and flow capacity which may indicate a leak in the system.

Surface water is also another indicator of a leak in the pipeline and therefore we request any private landholders or members of the community to report signs of a leak to Seqwater via [email protected] 

As part of the planning and delivery for this project, Seqwater has undertaken extensive ecological and other environmental investigations. Both desktop and field surveys were used in the investigations, to identify and ground-truth protected plants, important habitats for plants and animals, waterway environments at pipeline crossing points, and significant and locally important street trees.

We recognise that projects can have an impact on the environment and we are committed to ensuring we minimise our impact and demonstrate environmental responsibility by meeting any legislative and regulatory requirements.

The project has used publicly available information and field surveys to identify environmentally sensitive areas along the pipeline route, and these have been thoroughly investigated.

This has helped to inform locations to avoid for the pipeline route, where possible, as well as inform any mitigations needed to be in place during construction.

The project was referred under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in September of 2023 for assessment to ensure matters of national environmental significance are protected. The project will not proceed until approval is granted by the Australian Government Minister for the Environment.

Mitigation measures are planned to minimise impacts associated with construction of the pipeline.

These measures include but are not limited to:

• considering an ecologically sensitive design that minimises the removal of native vegetation and fauna habitat
• preserving ecologically sensitive areas
• engaging suitability qualified persons to undertake pre-clearance surveys in areas where habitat removal is required
• and, ensuring a fauna spotter/catcher is onsite during vegetation removal works.

Seqwater is engaging with the relevant Aboriginal Parties to ensure that cultural heritage is managed appropriately, in alignment with our duty of care obligations. The project is being designed to avoid heritage impacts, wherever possible.

The pipeline alignment will primarily be situated in road or rail corridors, however sections of the alignment and some infrastructure sites will be located within private properties. This will require the acquisition of appropriate rights over these properties from landowners and rightsholders.

Although the Co-ordinator General may have powers to compulsory acquire rights over these properties, Seqwater’s preferred approach is to purchase land and rights from landowners and rightsholders through genuine negotiations and mutual agreement.

It is only in cases where these negotiations prove unsuccessful that compulsory acquisition measures should be initiated by the Co-ordinator General to secure the land required for the project.

There will be temporary impacts during construction. While construction impacts are yet to be confirmed, it is expected there will be temporary impacts such as noise, dust and detours. We will work to minimise impacts on the community, where possible.

Seqwater will update the community once a head contractor is appointed and a construction schedule confirmed.
 

The project is expected to support an average of 400 jobs for the duration of the project.

If local businesses would like to tender for the project, opportunities will be made available via subcontractor releases from the appointment of our head contractor.

Contractors are invited to register their interest by visiting the project webpage and following our contractor registration portal.

Surveys for the Toowoomba to Warwick Pipeline included:

• ecological surveys
• contour and detail survey
• services location survey
• cultural heritage surveys
• geotechnical investigations.

These surveys are now predominately complete and supported the development of the detailed design. The latest alignment map is located in the dropdowns of the project website.