Following media interest, Redland City Council would like to reassure Redlands Coast residents that while the city’s water and wastewater systems are ageing, Council continues to provide safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater services for the community.
Maintaining and upgrading ageing water and wastewater infrastructure is not unique to Redlands Coast. It is something that numerous councils across Queensland are currently having to address.
In 2025, Council proactively commissioned a third-party report into the city’s water and wastewater assets, operations and infrastructure.
The review was not triggered by a failure or breakdown of the water and wastewater systems. It was future focussed – identifying where investment, workforce capability, planning and governance needed to be strengthened so Council could responsibly manage ageing assets, population growth and increasing compliance requirements.
This financial year, Council will invest more than $25 million in water and wastewater capital works as well as increase Council entity City Water staff levels with 24 new positions.
The investment supports critical renewal, replacement and upgrade projects across the water supply network, wastewater collection system and wastewater treatment infrastructure.
Council’s expenditure on the network over the past decade has been lower than some other local governments, due to this Council’s asset base being younger and not requiring significant expenditure during this period.
The work that is now underway is designed to give residents confidence that their water and wastewater services are being planned not only for today, but for the decades ahead.
City Water is responsible for delivering water to approximately 73,000 properties via 1325 km of reticulation pipes.
Council conducts regular verification monitoring as part of our Verification Monitoring Program to confirm that our water meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and is safe to drink.
