State Infrastructure Plan

Water
Future opportunities–short-term
Opportunity 1
Provide clear, transparent and science-based
mechanisms to identify and make available water
resources to support resource, agricultural and
industrial expansion and development.
Opportunity 2
Work with local government on water supply solutions
for communities with projected water supply shortfalls
resulting from increased growth or drought.
Opportunity 3
Support and encourage innovative water efficient and
waterless technology for domestic, industrial and
agricultural use to delay or avoid the need to construct
costly additional water infrastructure.
Opportunity 4
Maintain water supplies to meet requirements,
minimise flood risks and keep dams safe.
Opportunity 5
Develop a long-term water infrastructure supply
and demand assessment which addresses water
infrastructure projects and opportunities.
Opportunity 6
In partnership with local governments and water
utilities, assess options to provide new water sources
to the northern part of SEQ where demand is forecast to
exceed supply beyond 2030.
Case study Improving infrastructure
efficiency through smart metering
technology
In order to produce accurate forecasts for water
usage, a good understanding of current water usage
patterns is needed. The residential sector consumes
about 70 per cent of the water used in SEQ, therefore
understanding usage patterns of residential water
customers is a key driver in producing accurate water
usage forecasts.
Many of the current assumptions used to forecast
water usage were established prior to or during the
SEQ Millennium Drought. There have been significant
behavioural and structural changes as a result
of this drought and therefore these assumptions
may no longer be valid. Forecasts based on these
assumptions are therefore unlikely to be accurate,
creating risks in terms of efficient infrastructure
investments and revenue generation.
Demand forecasts are critical to the planning of
future infrastructure, assessing demand management
measures and pricing. Differences between actual
and forecast usage can lead to potential overinvestment,
incurring unnecessary costs or underinvestment
that results to service shortfalls.
To address this situation Seqwater, in collaboration
with other SEQ service providers and Griffith
University, has commenced a trial of smart meters
on selected water connections. This will allow the
collection of more detailed data to better understand
residential water use behaviour, including changes
in daily use associated with rainfall and temperature,
and peak water demand patterns. In particular,
data from these trials will be used to monitor
changes in water usage due to changes in prices,
climatic conditions, population and demand
management measures.
The data will allow more reliable forecasts and
better decision-making in terms of future planning
for infrastructure investment. It will enable service
providers and Seqwater to accurately assess a wide
range of infrastructure utilisation options. The data
will also provide Seqwater with early awareness of
any ‘rebound’ in demand following the drought and
prepare for changes in demand, rather than
needing to be reactive.
State Infrastructure Plan Part B: Program
63