Land

The Southern Downs continues to enjoy strong economic growth and business activity, bolstered by increased building construction across the region.  

Industrial Estates in both Warwick and Stanthorpe are expanding due to the continuing strong interest from a range of business interests wishing to expand or establish on the Southern Downs.  Business activity and the interest in quality industrial land have prompted Council to release more property in prime locations to the business sector.

Water

Council maintains urban water supply schemes for the towns of Warwick and Stanthorpe, and for many of the villages in the region.

Warwick’s water supply is sourced from Connolly Dam and Leslie Dam.  Connolly Dam provides 40 per cent of the required water and has a capacity of 2592 ML.  Council has an allocation of water from Leslie Dam (operated by Sun Water) of 2707 ML per year.  The Warwick water supply treatment plant services a population of around 14,000 residents and a number of commercial and light industry businesses.

Stanthorpe’s water is sourced from Storm King Dam, with a capacity of 2,180ML. The Stanthorpe township has an average daily consumption of 1.5ML.

Killarney’s water scheme supplies the village and several major industries including an abattoir, vegetable processing plant, sawmill and an active commercial centre.  Water is obtained from a weir on Spring Creek, treated and transferred to reservoirs.  Upgrades of the water treatment plant, including telemetry are being investigated.

The villages of Allora, Dalveen, Pratten, Yangan and Leyburn are serviced by systems of bores, supplying varying quantities and qualities of water.   Construction of a rising main from Warwick to Yangan to supply potable water is about to begin.

Karara water supply services the village residents.  Water is sourced form a weir on Canal Creek.  The water is untreated and is for non-domestic purposes only.

Council recognises the need to plan for the future to ensure the urban water supply needs of the community can be met; and to encourage further economic growth.  As part of their plan, the Council is investigating the possibility of building a dam at Emu Swamp on the Severn River, approximately 14 km south of Stanthorpe.

Wastewater

Treated effluent from the Warwick sewage treatment plant is supplied to local farms for irrigation purposes.  The treatment plant is being upgraded to allow a portion of the treated effluent (up to 50%) to be further treated to Class A quality with low nutrient concentrations.  This high quality recycled water will be used for irrigation of public access areas, including local sports and recreation clubs, school sports field and agricultural plots and council gardens.  The new tertiary treatment system will only be operated when there is demand for recycled water of this quality, otherwise all treated effluent will continue to discharge to farms.

The Stanthorpe wastewater recycling process takes treated wastewater from the Stanthorpe sewage treatment plant and supplies it for irrigation to local horticultural growers, local sports and recreation fields, the golf course, public high school and the cemetery.  Almost 100 per cent of effluent from the sewage treatment plant is reused.

This Effluent Reuse Scheme provides significant economic benefits to the community through increased agricultural productivity, and was the recipient of the 2005 Excellence Award from the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (Qld).

Transport

The Southern Downs is strategically located at the junction of the New England and Cunningham Highways – two of the most important interstate road routes in Australia.  The New England Highway is the major inland route from Brisbane to Sydney and the Cunningham Highway (Brisbane to Goondiwindi) links with the Newell Highway, the major route from Brisbane to Melbourne.

Travelling along the Cunningham Highway, Warwick is just two hours south-west from the Port of Brisbane and Brisbane International Airport.  Rail connections also link Warwick to major population and distribution centres in Queensland and interstate.

The New England Highway runs south from Warwick on to Stanthorpe, an easy 40 minute drive, and then on to Sydney.  Both Stanthorpe and Warwick have easy highway access to Goondiwindi and the Newell Highway to the west. 

The Region is serviced daily with freight deliveries to both the Brisbane and Sydney markets. General, refrigerated and livestock freight services are available.

Electricity

The energy supplier for the majority of the region is Ergon Energy.  Wallangarra, on the NSW border, is serviced by Country Energy NSW.

Gas

There is no natural gas infrastructure present within the Southern Downs.  Bottled gas services are available throughout the region from Origin Energy or Elgas.

Aerodromes

Warwick Aerodrome is located 10km North-West of Warwick at Massie and is fully sealed, capable of taking twin engine executive jets.  Business relocation opportunities exist at the Warwick Aerodrome with Stage 2 of the Aerodrome Development available for lease.

Stanthorpe Aerodrome is located an easy 7.5 kms from the Stanthorpe Post Office.  The runway is fully sealed and a program of improvements is currently underway.  Land is available for aviation related businesses for either purchase or long-term lease.