DIRRANBANDI BOIL WATER ALERT CANCELLED

Published on 16 August 2026

Following a malfunction at the Dirranbandi Water Treatment Plant at 8pm on Saturday 15 August, Council acted immediately to protect the health and safety of the Dirranbandi community by putting in place a Boil Water Alert, which has now been cancelled.

The Boil Water Alert was swiftly communicated via an Emergency Alert to all mobile phones in the area, provided updates on the Emergency Dashboard and free bottled water was provided from the Dirranbandi Depot.

Council flushed the mains water reticulation system and undertook NATA-accredited and in-house water testing to ensure water supply from the Plant is in line with Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

All water testing showed negative results for coliform bacteria and were provided to Queensland Health and the water regulator, who advised that the Boil Water Alert can now be cancelled meaning it is safe for human consumption (drinking water).

Mayor Samantha O’Toole said Council did everything necessary to protect the health and safety of the Dirranbandi community.

“Although it was only a very minor amount of untreated water that made its way into the water reticulation system, the Council team acted immediately to ensure there was no impacts to the health and safety of the local residents,” said Mayor O’Toole.

“On Saturday night, the Council team coordinated an Emergency Alert, prepared and sent out, as well as Emergency News alerts from the Emergency Dashboard.

“On Sunday morning, the team had a pallet of free bottled water onsite at the Dirranbandi Depot, which I am informed was very well received by the local community.

“Both the NATA-accredited and in-house water testing showed negative results for coliform bacteria, which supports Council’s quick action to change the supply and flush the system.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this malfunction may have caused to local residents, and I commend the Council team for acting so swiftly to ensure our Dirranbandi community was kept safe.

“As a Council, we have now brought forward the full upgrade of the water treatment plant’s electrical switchboard, automated systems and controllers so we can prevent malfunctions like this occurring again.

“As the water supply will remain on bore water only during these system upgrades, Council will advise residents once the upgrades are complete and the water is shifted back to its normal blended water supply of treated river water and bore water.”