Rural producers on Australia’s Southern Downs win a council victory against a 96M-litre water bottling plant, but water licence concerns remain.
Farmers in Queensland’s Southern Downs have rallied against a controversial proposal to build a large-scale water extraction and bottling facility that would tap up to 96 million litres of groundwater annually from beneath drought-prone Elbow Valley. Local producers argue the plant threatens aquifer recharge, hurting their ability to irrigate crops and sustain livestock in one of Australia’s driest agricultural regions.
The property at the centre of the dispute, Cherrabah Resort, holds a state-issued commercial water licence dating back to the late 2000s. Originally approved for 25 ML per year, the allocation was later expanded to 96 ML by a previous government — a decision farmers now criticize, especially as regional drought intensifies. Although no commercial extraction has yet occurred, the developer sought council approval to rezone the land and build infrastructure for bottling, storage and export.
The well water has not been the same since test pumping on the neighbouring farm, Mr Keogh alleges. (ABC Southern Qld: Dan McCray)
In a major win for rural advocacy, the Southern Downs Regional Council unanimously rejected the development application for the industrial bottling facility. Council officials cited planning concerns including inconsistency with the rural landscape, insufficient technical evidence on groundwater sustainability and potential impacts from heavy-vehicle traffic around the site. Mayor Melissa Hamilton emphasized that exporting water from one of Queensland’s most drought-affected regions simply “doesn’t pass the pub test.”
Local farmers who attended the council meeting welcomed the decision but stressed the fight is far from over. Neighbouring landholder Peter Keogh said that although the application was defeated, the underlying 96 ML water licence remains in place, potentially allowing commercial exploitation in the future. Residents are now pushing for the licence itself to be reviewed or altered to restrict non-agricultural uses.
The dispute highlights broader tensions in water management across drought-vulnerable farming regions: balancing commercial water uses with agricultural needs, community confidence in resource stewardship and long-term climate resilience. As the council calls on the state government to scrutinize the licence, dairy and other primary producers nationwide are closely watching this fight over water security and rural sustainability.
Source: ABC News — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-24/farmers-rally-water-extraction-bottling-cherrabah-southern-downs/106358124
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