Upper Condamine

Upper Condamine

Scheme

Announced Allocations
High Priority A
100%
High Priority B
100%
Medium Priority
100%
Risk B
49%
Storages
Water Pricing
Read more about your scheme’s Fees and Charges

Scheme information

About

Leslie Dam is the main water storage for the Upper Condamine Scheme, which supplies irrigation and urban water supply to users in Warwick and Cecil Plains.

How the scheme works
  • Water from Leslie Dam is released to supplement natural flows in the Upper Condamine River system to supply irrigators.
  • Water is supplied to the Condamine River North Branch by the Yarramalong pump station and pipeline.
  • Four weirs operate in the scheme downstream of Leslie Dam including Talgai Weir, Yarramalong Weir, Lemon Tree Weir and Cecil Plains Weir.
 Water uses
  • Irrigation water for cotton, sorghum, maize, soybean, sunflower, barley, oats, wheat, canary and Lucerne.
  • Urban water supply for the towns of Warwick and Cecil Plains.

Scheme Management

Sunwater must comply with the conditions set out in the Upper Condamine Water Supply Scheme Resource Operations Licence (ROL), issued to Sunwater in December 2008 by the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (DRDMW). The ROL outlines the infrastructure details, environmental release rules and all Sunwater’s monitoring and reporting obligations. The ROL also requires Sunwater to operate in accordance with an operations manual that is approved by DRDMW. The operations manual outlines rules for the operation of infrastructure associated with the Upper Condamine scheme as well as water sharing rules and seasonal water assignment (temporary trade) rules.

The Upper Condamine Supply Scheme ROL Operations Manual was issued in February 2019.

Sunwater focuses our resources towards timely and cost-efficient delivery of water to customers in the Upper Condamine scheme. We collaborate with our customers to ensure we understand their needs, adapt quickly to changes in the environment and make the most of the available water supply. To best manage water delivery, arrangements for taking of water within the Scheme have been developed in consultation with its Irrigator Advisory Committee.

Taking water from the scheme

The water ordering system assists Sunwater in delivering water to its customers in an efficient and timely way, enabling them to plan and manage their water use.

Before taking any water, customers should place a water order so that Sunwater can release sufficient water and minimise losses.

Customers who take water without ordering may reduce Sunwater’s ability to supply customers who have ordered according to the above requirements.

To place an order

Customers can place their orders via:

Further information about ordering water is detailed in Upper Condamine’s Rules and Targets.

Delivery timing

Orders are processed on a daily basis at 6:30am. Orders received after this time cannot be processed until the following day. Please make allowance for these times when placing your order.

The travel time, the number of hours/days it takes from the morning after the order is placed to get water from the dam or weirs to your pump, is:

Upper Condamine Scheme Area Travel time after order is placed
Leslie Dam to Talgai Weir4 days
Talgai Weir to Yarramalong Weir8 days
Yarramalong Weir to Cecil Plains Weir14 days
North Branch18 days
Stopping or restricting supply

Sunwater may suspend or restrict supply in a number of circumstances, including:

  • during maintenance of Sunwater’s assets
  • during a peak demand period, when rosters or rations may apply
  • when the demand for water is so small it is impractical to supply it
  • when there is a need to make special releases to maximise efficiency at times of limited supply
  • during rain shutdown
  • infrastructure limitations which make delivery impractical
  • if supply could cause Sunwater to break the law
  • when operating under special notices or regulations issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines {e.g. Water Amendment Regulation (No.3) 2006}
Weather events and emergency shutdowns

Sunwater asks that customers notify their duty Water Officer [Link to contacts page], as soon as possible, of any rain event or other circumstances that substantially lessens their water requirements. When wide spread general rain exceeds 40 mm in a day over the Upper Condamine Water Supply Scheme, the duty Water Officer may shut the system down.

Customers are also asked to cancel orders if they no longer require ordered water.

For more information contact

If you experience an equipment or power failure emergency, please give immediate notice to Sunwater by calling Sunwater Customer Support on 13 15 89 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Upper Condamine’s Customer Advisory Committee

Sunwater is committed to open and transparent communication and collaboration with our customers. The role of the Customer Advisory Committee (CACs) is to provide customers and stakeholders with a diverse forum for collaboration and consultation with Sunwater on a range of strategic matters relating to Sunwater’s innovation, management and maintenance of assets to ensure the reliable and efficient delivery of service.

The primary purpose of the CACs is to:

  • Engage with customers to identify current and future water needs.
  • Provide a transparent view of Sunwater’s operating environment and assets, and how these influence our services to customers.
  • Build an understanding of our customer’s businesses to ensure future plans are considered in Sunwater’s strategic and operations planning.

Stay up to date with the Upper Condamine Customer Advisory Committee.

Announced Allocations

Water Year: 2023/2024
High priority A: 100%
High priority B: 100%
Medium priority: 100%
Risk B priority: 49%

Announced Allocations effective 1 July 2023 and will be applicable until revised and communicated by Sunwater.

Important message regarding water availability

In accordance with provisions of Section 6 of the Upper Condamine Water Supply Scheme Operations Manual, the High B and Medium Priority release (cut-off) rule will be activated when Leslie Dam is equal to or below 460.35 m AHD (volume 15,000 ML).

If this rule is activated, Sunwater will be unable to make releases to deliver any unused High B or Medium Priority allocation water, so the Announced Allocations are not guaranteed.

Customers are advised to obtain information about their remaining water allocation balance by accessing SunwaterOnline.

For more information or enquiries, phone 13 15 89 or email customersupport@sunwater.com.au.

History of Announced Allocations
Upper Condamine

AA history

Download
Operational reports

Sunwater releases periodic operational reports detailing Announced Allocation levels and individual storages’ breakdowns within each scheme, the latest of which can be found below.

Operational Report

effective 1 July 2023

Download
Operational Report

effective 1 July 2022

Download
Operational Report

effective 1 August 2021

Download
Operational Report

effective 22 July 2021

Download
Operational Report

effective 7 July 2021

Download
Operational Report

effective 1 July 2021

Download

Service and Performance Plans

Sunwater prepares an annual Service and Performance Plan (S&PP) for each irrigation service contract area. S&PPs replace the former annual Network Service Plans and annual Performance Reports.

We have updated the naming convention for S&PPs to improve clarity and alignment with plan content. The new convention references the year in which the S&PP is published (or should have been published). Publication should occur within six months of the end of a financial year.

For further information about this service, please visit the Service and Performance Plan page.

Upper Condamine Bulk Supply

2023 Service and Performance Plan

Download
Upper Condamine Bulk Supply

2021 Service and Performance Plan (originally published as the 2023 Service and Performance Plan)

Download
Upper Condamine Bulk Supply

2020 Service and Performance Plan (originally published as the 2022 Service and Performance Plan)

Download

Southern Downs drought resilience package

The Queensland Government in partnership with the Southern Downs Regional Council, Seqwater and Sunwater is implementing the Southern Downs drought resilience package, the intent of which is to safeguard the future of the region’s urban water supply.

The drought resilience package includes an initial $19.34 million for the following activities:

  • $8.1 million in preparatory works for the Toowoomba to Warwick pipeline, including detailed design, surveying and geotechnical works
  • $4.6 million in upgrades, including enhanced water treatment, to reconnect groundwater available to the Allora township, freeing up to 350 megalitres of additional Southern Downs urban water supply annually
  • $1.4 million to help Southern Downs Regional Council to move a range of industries from using precious urban water supplies to groundwater – including local processing and industrial businesses
  • $4.54 million to increase Leslie Dam’s usable water capacity by upgrading its pumps and water treatment systems, increasing usable storage capacity by an additional 1,700 megalitres
  • $700,000 to support Southern Downs Regional Council investigations into local groundwater supplies for Warwick, Allora and Stanthorpe and to support Sunwater’s efficiency and innovation investigations at Leslie Dam.

As part of this package, Sunwater is undertaking a market sounding exercise with its customers in the Upper Condamine Water Supply Scheme. An expression of interest issued via a survey*, requests that customers nominate the volume of water they would be interested in selling and the price per megalitre they wish to sell it for.

Participation in this survey is optional and in no way commits the customer to sell any water allocation, nor does it constitute a commitment to purchase the water allocation by local government.

Customers are free to deal with their water allocation as they see fit in accordance with the terms of their agreement with Sunwater. To participate in the survey, click here.

Note: Customers have been provided with the option to opt out of receiving the expression of interest survey.

Upcoming market sounding exercise

Southern Downs drought resilience package

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Operations Manual draft consultations

Draft Operations Manual

Upper Condamine

Download
Proposed amendment to MP water sharing rules fact sheet

Upper Condamine

Download

Scheme news

End of water year newsletter

2022-2023

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End of water year newsletter

2021-2022

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End of water year newsletter

2020-2021

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End of water year newsletter

2019-2020

Download
Information Bulletin

June 2018

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Customer update: electricity cost pass-through trial

February 2021

Download

Scheme history

Crops
Irrigation supports crops as diverse as sunflowers, fodder and cotton across the region.
Image courtesy of Natalie Fogerty and Goondiwindi Regional Council

Upper Condamine Water Supply Scheme

The scheme supplies Warwick’s town water as well as that of Cecil Plains, but it also underpins irrigation on the Darling Downs, serving about 100 bulk customers that use irrigation to grow crops including cotton, sorghum, maize, soybean, sunflower, barley, oats, wheat, canary grass and lucerne.

The area, with a heart that is all country, is home to one of Australia’s biggest rodeos while Australia’s greatest shearer, Jackie Howe, was born nearby and the city has erected a memorial to him.