Council has a water licence from the Queensland Government that allows up to 20 megalitres (ML) a day to be drawn from the Mulgrave River.

The Mulgrave River intake will operate as a part of Council’s overall water supply network, which includes Copperlode Falls Dam and the existing Behana Creek intake.

Water will only be drawn from the Mulgrave River when required. For example, during the wet season when there is a lot of rain and water is spilling from Copperlode Falls Dam, there may be no need to take water from the Mulgrave River.

Council is committed to ensuring that flows are maintained in the Mulgrave River to protect the river system for the benefit of the communities, animals and plants that rely on it.

CWSS1 will take water from the Mulgrave River at Gordonvale. The water will be drawn from the river via a new intake, being built near the Desmond Trannore Bridge (Bruce Highway).

The intake will comprise up to 9 river wells that will be located approximately 100 metres apart and roughly 10 metres back from the top of the southern riverbank. The exact location and number of wells will be confirmed as part of the final project design in late 2024.

The wells will draw water directly from the river, through the riverbank, filtering it through the sand and gravel as it moves to the intake. The water will then be pumped to the new Water Treatment Plant being built at the end of Jones Road, Gordonvale.

This type of intake is known as riverbank filtration and is designed to minimise environmental impacts.

The Cairns Water Security Stage 1 project is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by Cairns Regional Council. The total capital cost of the project is $472 million.

Thanks to strong community and business support, Council has secured $195 million from the Queensland Government and $107.5 million from the Federal Government towards the project’s cost. Council is asking the Federal Government to increase its commitment to $195 million to match the State’s contribution.

If the Federal Government matches the State Government’s commitment, this will deliver $390 million, which is more than 80% of the project’s total cost, with Council to fund the remainder.

This delivers significant cost-of-living relief for Cairns households, of $404 a year for 15 years, compared to if Council needed to borrow the money to cover the cost.

The Cairns Water Supply Stage 1 project is complying with Commonwealth, State and Local Government environmental regulations, including Australia’s main national environmental legislation, the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

The project is being designed to reduce environmental impacts. This includes designing the water intake, water treatment plant and reservoirs to minimise the amount of clearing that needs to occur.

Flood protection works will be carried out at Council’s existing Behana Creek intake as part of the CWSS1 project, to improve the quality and resilience of that water supply.

Water from the Behana intake will be piped to the new water treatment plant being built at Gordonvale, where it will be treated before being supplied to the mains network. Council’s existing water treatment plant at Behana Creek will be made redundant by the new water treatment plant.

Cairns' residential water use is similar to that of other Queensland regional areas and is significantly better than that of comparable tropical cities such as Townsville and Darwin.

This is demonstrated in the following table which shows the average annual residential water supplied (kL/property) for a number of regional centres and cities. (Data source: Bureau of Meteorology April 2023, National performance report 2022–23: urban water utilities, part A).

* Average across following water service providers: Unitywater, Urban Utilities, Redland City Council, Logan City Council, City of Gold Coast

Cairns Regional Council is continuing to implement demand management initiatives to reduce water consumption across all sectors (residential, commercial, industrial and tourism). Council's demand management initiatives include Smart Water Meters, leak detection sweeps, bulk water meter audits and replacement, recycled water use, Council’s online Water Education Program, and permanent water conservation measures.

Rainwater tanks are a popular household water-saving option that can be used to replace mains water in some areas around the home. A licensed plumber can deliver rainwater tank solutions for applications in the laundry, toilet flushing, and the irrigation of small garden areas.

Cairns is a tropical city with highly seasonal rainfall. Over 60% of our total annual rainfall falls during the wet season in the first three months of the year. During the dry season, Cairns receives only 5% of our total annual rainfall, significantly limiting tank refill rates during this time. (Data source: Bureau of Meteorology, ‘Climate statistics for Australian locations’, Monthly climate statistics).

Council has had an active Water Demand Management Strategy (DMS) for close to two decades, with demand management activities, such as Smart Water Meters, water education, leak detection improvements, and effective metering and pricing, delivering a 35% reduction in water usage per capita over the 17 years to 30 June 2023.

The CWSS1 project is less costly – economically and environmentally – than building a new dam, and can be constructed faster.

The cost of CWSS1 is a fraction of that of a new dam. For example, the upfront capital cost of the proposed Nullinga Dam was estimated to be upwards of $1 billion. This did not include the cost of associated infrastructure, such as mains pipelines and treatment plant, needed to integrate the project with the Cairns urban water supply network.

The CWSS1 project also has a lighter environmental footprint than building a new dam. Council is committed to ensuring that flows are maintained in the Mulgrave River to protect the river system for the benefit of the communities, animals and plants that rely on it.

Cairns Regional Council has always aimed to deliver infrastructure as and when it is needed. Paying for infrastructure ahead of when it is required means you are spending community funds before you really need to. That’s not prudent financial or capital management. 2026 is the date we have been working to and we are well advanced in project design and planning.