Continuous improvement
pH level increase - water treatment enhancements
South East Queensland has some of the highest quality drinking water in the world, thanks to our effective water treatment processes.
Water undergoes regular and thorough testing through multiple water treatment processes carried out at Seqwater’s water treatment plants and within the water service providers’ networks to ensure drinking water quality meets the stringent standards outlined in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines set by the National Health & Medical Research Council.
Seqwater is enhancing water treatment processes at its Mount Crosby and North Pine water treatment plants to deliver water quality benefits to communities in Ipswich, Brisbane, Logan, Moreton Bay and some parts of the Scenic Rim. We anticipate introducing the enhanced treatment process in late April 2026.
The initiative is being undertaken in partnership with Urban Utilities, Logan Water and Unitywater.
- Logan Water: www.logan.qld.gov.au/water
- Urban Utilities: www.urbanutilities.com.au or watertalk.urbanutilities.com.au
- Unitywater: What's in your water (unitywater.com)
The upgrade will further improve and stabilise water quality, including during the summer months when water quality needs to be more closely managed within the South East Queensland climate.
A key result will be slightly increasing the pH level of water at the two water treatment plants from about 7.8 to about 8.4.
Water will continue to be delivered within the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and customers within the supply areas are unlikely to notice a change in their drinking water.
Some customers who already treat their water or have specific water chemistry requirements may need to make adjustments to allow for the slight change in pH. Water service providers will provide further information to customers to help them decide what adjustments might be required.
Frequently Asked Questions
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To maintain clean, fresh drinking water, multiple treatment processes are carried out at Seqwater’s water treatment plants and within the water service providers’ networks.
Seqwater regularly makes minor adjustments to the drinking water supply to enhance its quality in line with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
While well-established water quality management processes are in place, the enhancements will help maintain water quality into the future by further stabilising water disinfection.
pH is a natural part of water and measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is on a scale from 0 to 14. A pH of less than 7 is acidic, 7 is neutral and greater than 7 is alkaline.
Our everyday drinks vary greatly in pH – soft drinks are about pH2.5, orange juice pH3.8 and milk pH6.7.
Australian tap water varies in pH between about 6 and 10.8, as does bottled water.
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines’ recommended range for pH in the water supply is 6.5 to 8.5. This range is recommended to minimise corrosion in water networks and is not a health-based guideline.
Seqwater and water service providers will continue to supply drinking water to the Moreton Bay Ipswich, Brisbane, Logan, and some Scenic Rim regions within the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines’ recommended pH range.
To make water safe to drink, multiple treatment processes are carried out at Seqwater’s water treatment plants.
Chlorine is then added in a process called disinfection. Adjustments are made at the water treatment plant to regulate the pH level of the water.
Before the water is released into the SEQ Water Grid, chloramine is added to maintain disinfection as it travels through the water network to homes and businesses. This process is known as secondary disinfection.
A higher pH will help maintain the concentration of chloramine in the water for longer to protect the water as it travels through the network.
The Warrill View and Peak Crossing communities are connected to the South East Queensland water grid and will receive the water quality enhancements.
South East Queensland’s bulk water supplier, Seqwater, is leading this initiative. It is being undertaken in partnership with Urban Utilities, Unitywater and Logan Water.