SEQ water-bottling bore ban extended for a year amid aquifer research

The extended ban does not apply to bores for farm, household and town supplies, which Tamborine’s 7500 residents rely heavily on, but those in which the water is intended to be sold to or extracted by commercial operators, such as Coca-Cola Amatil, for bottling.

Decisions around new and existing water-bottling facilities are managed under the local government development application process, but groundwater in both Tamborine and Springbrook is not regulated at a state level, with no entitlement needed to take water.

The Scenic Rim Regional Council received a brief on groundwater reserves as part of a three-year project with QUT in late 2019. It warned that without significant rain, advice from local water carriers suggested supplies…