The (then) Queensland Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (RDMW) initiated Regional Water Assessments (RWA’s) for priority catchments to apply a long-term view to sustainable water resource planning and development. This commenced with three agricultural-focussed regions—the Southern and Darling Downs, Bundaberg and Burnett, and Tablelands.

NCC was engaged to conduct a comprehensive demand and service need assessment across these three regions. This included detailed demand assessments to identify water supply needs that incorporated growth projections for industry, urban and economic development, and risks such as climate change and variability. Detailed stakeholder analysis was performed to engage key parties, ensuring their requirements were understood and fostering ownership of the RWA process. Additionally, regional-scale service need documents were developed that included Investment Logic Mapping (ILM) to link needs, benefits, strategic responses and required business changes. A benefits statement and register were also created for each region to provide clear visibility of the outcomes sought under each RWA.

This work ensures a strategic, evidence-based approach to long-term water security and regional development in these regions and a robust basis for future phases where options are considered through business cases.