How is Logan Water preparing us for water restrictions?

When the South East Queensland Water Grid dropped to 60%, we started preparing for the potential of water restrictions and encouraging Logan residents to be waterwise. It doesn’t mean water restrictions are inevitable but prepares the region for the possibility.

While water restrictions don’t apply at this stage, there are many things we can do to be waterwise at home, school, and work. For water saving tips, see Water saving tips at home.  

What is Logan Water doing to conserve water?

Logan Water understands the importance of water conservation.  We are increasing our efforts and using new technologies to detect and stop leaks in our network and fix leaks quickly when they arise.

We are continuously finding ways to improve the way we operate our assets and manage water more efficiently. 

Why are we being asked to save water?

South East Queensland’s largest drinking water storage – Wivenhoe – is at the lowest it has been in almost a decade. 

Water is our most precious resource and to support our community and environment in times of drought we all need to do our part to use less water. 

What difference can one person make?

You may feel that your individual water saving efforts don’t make a huge difference but if one million people in South East Queensland make a commitment to save just three litres of water a day, we could save 3 million litres of water a day! That’s more than an Olympic sized swimming pool holds. 

Everyone and every drop really does count!

How can I get ready for water restrictions? 

Check your water consumption on your water notice or take regular readings of your water meter to review your water use so you understand how you use water and where you could make savings.    

Start using water efficiently now so that you won’t need to make too many changes to comply with water restrictions when they are implemented - check out our water saving tips.

Keep up to date with what’s happening on our website and follow us on social media for the latest updates and information. 

How can I find out how much water I’m using a day?  

Your quarterly rates shows your average daily usage and provides a comparison to other users in your region.

For more tips on how to track your daily usage, see Water meter readings.  

When will water restrictions be implemented in Logan? 

Water restrictions are not required yet, but we are urging our customers to continue their water saving efforts. 

Dam levels are currently below 60% and we’re asking our residents to target 150 litres of water per person per day. 

Mandatory region-wide water restrictions will be introduced when the combined grid dam levels reach 50% capacity.  Residents will then be asked to target 140 litres or water per person per day. 

Why aren’t water restrictions implemented earlier? 

Water restrictions impact our community and the economy, so we only implement them when it becomes necessary. 

During the Millennium Drought we waited until the combined dam levels reached 40% before implementing restrictions. 

Lessons learnt from the Millennium Drought means water restrictions will now be implemented earlier when the combined dam levels reach 50%. 

Why do we need water restrictions? 

We need water restrictions to protect the amount of water we have in our dams.

If the combined dam levels continue to fall, it could lead to more severe restrictions, to ensure that we have enough water for everyone. 

Water is a precious resource and there is only so much to go around. Being water wise is always good practice. 

Dams like Wivenhoe are at their lowest levels since the Millennium Drought, currently around 40%.  

Have we been in drought before?  

Yes, Australia is the driest inhabited country in the world and prone to drought. 

The Millennium Drought, said by some to be the worst drought recorded since European settlement, affected most of Southern Australia.  It started with low rainfalls in late 1996.  La Nina weather conditions in 2010 rapidly ended the drought and led to floods in central and southern Queensland. 

Why don’t the South East Queensland water grid levels go up after heavy rainfall?  

The moisture of the soil around the water supply catchments is crucial to increasing the level of the water in the dams.  The drier the soil the more rain it soaks up before creating run off into the dams.   

Due to a dry 2020 across the south east, the soil in our catchments is extremely dry. Substantial, consistent rain, falling in the right place is needed to wet the soil in our catchments enough to create run off to have a positive impact on the dam levels. 

You can keep an eye on the South East Queensland water grid levels on the Seqwater website.  

Why are we being asked to conserve water when a lot of money has been spent on alternate water sources, like desalination and purified recycled water? 

The South East Queensland Water Grid and the availability of climate-resilient infrastructure like the Gold Coast Desalination Plant and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme has provided us with the means to better manage drought conditions. However, this infrastructure only mitigates the effects of drought - it does not prevent severe drought.

Seasonal rainfall is still important because it replenishes surface water in dams, which account for most of South East Queensland’s water supply.

It is important to remember that in South East Queensland, we live in a climate of extremes and need to be ready to adjust our water use when conditions change.

We are one region with one water supply. Everyone needs to be water efficient, even when parts of our region experience wetter conditions than other areas.

By better managing our water supply we can help delay and even potentially avoid the need for mandatory water restrictions. We understand water restrictions impact our lifestyle and economy, so being water efficient, whenever we can, will help delay restrictions.

How many levels of water restrictions are there?

There are 5 levels of water restrictions:

• Medium level
• High level
• Severe level
• Extreme level
• Essential minimum supply volume water restrictions.

When will the next level of water restrictions be implemented?

Water restrictions are implemented based on the level of the combined Water Grid dams as per the table below: