A new water pipeline has been built to deliver water to drought-stricken Stanthorpe residents, with local goverment minister Stirling Hinchcliffe in town today to inspect the infrastructure at Storm King Dam.
The pipeline stretches between Storm King Dam and the Mount Marley water treatment plant and replaces a deteriorating cast iron raw water mainline and lead joints constructed 65 years ago.
It comes as preparations are made to begin to carting water from Connolly Dam to two 1ML storage tanks at Storm King Dam. A trial run is due to happen next Thursday.
The pipeline will then pump the carted water on to the water treatment plant.
The water carting follows a state government commitment in September, with about 34 truckloads of water per day to be carted from Connolly Dam to Storm King Dam.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state government was supporting communities like Stanthorpe.
"I have promised the 15,000 people of Warwick and Stanthorpe that I will not allow them to run out of drinking water, and I will keep that promise," she said.
"That's why I have given SEQ Water until the end of April to advise on the best option to build a pipeline to connect Warwick and Stanthorpe to the SEQ water grid."
The Storm King Dam pipeline project, delivered by the Southern Downs Regional Council, was funded through the 2017-19 Local Government Grants and Subsidies Program.
Mr Hinchcliffe said replacing the old pipeline would ensure that "every drop of that precious water is being utilised for the benefit of the community".
"This Council identified the need for the pipeline for this community and the environment, and it's a project that has, along the way, supported or created 15 jobs," Mr Hinchliffe said.
"This has been an enormous undertaking, constructing almost nine kilometres of pipeline between Storm King Dam and the Mount Marley Water Treatment Plant as well as enabling the Council to install two new storage tanks also connected to the pipeline."