A Year of Progress: What We Have Achieved and Why it Matters

Posted by Adrian Reed, President, June 2026

At a Glance

$327,000 forecast saving over the next ten years from salinity pump costs permanently removed from the levy. These costs should always have been Council's responsibility. Combined with the one-off pump replacement of $55,000, that is over $276,000 in historical charges that should never have been paid by residents. 

73% rate increase blocked - The proposed Canal Maintenance rate-in-the-dollar increase has been corrected to a revenue-neutral rate, a forecast saving of approximately $170,000 over the next ten years compared to what was originally proposed. 

CSO now CPI-indexed - The Community Service Obligation credit was being increased at just 2% per year while actual inflation ran as high as 7%. It is now correctly indexed to CPI, a forecast benefit of approximately $49,000 over the next ten years.Lock PLC upgrade funded. Remote access to the canal lock will significantly reduce the inconveniences caused by the lock freezing. 

Asset management plan committed for December 2026, underpinning a properly costed levy from 2027/28 onwards.NWRA formally recognised as a stakeholder in the Noosa Catchment Action Plan, giving residents a direct voice in the long-term health of the Noosa River system. 

Council has now issued its final annual letter setting the special levies payable by Noosa Waters residents for the 2026/27 financial year, covering both the Lock and Weir Levy and the Canal Maintenance Levy. Before that letter goes out to all ratepayers, I wanted to give members a plain-language account of what has been achieved: not just in this year's negotiations, but in the broader context of what has been happening to these levies over the past decade. The numbers tell an important story.

Understanding the Levy: A Decade in Context

To understand the significance of what has been achieved this year, it helps to step back and look at what was happening to the levy model over the past ten years. The salinity exchange system has been running on Noosa Waters residents' money.

The salinity pump and its associated infrastructure is a Council responsibility. This obligation was established in the 1983 Environmental Impact Study that underpinned the development of Noosa Waters. Yet for at least a decade, the annual running costs of the salinity system (electricity to run the pump, monthly maintenance, and servicing) have been charged to the Lock and Weir special levy and paid by waterfront property owners. 

The electricity cost alone ran from approximately $14,400 per year in 2016/17 to $23,559 in 2025/26, growing at around 5.7% per year as energy costs rose. Add the monthly maintenance charge, and the total annual salinity cost being incorrectly levied reached $27,909 in 2025/26. Over the full decade, the cumulative amount charged to waterfront residents for a system that is unambiguously a Council responsibility is approximately $221,000. On top of that, the one-off pump replacement cost of $55,000, also a Council obligation, was included in the levy model. 

That is over a quarter of a million dollars in costs that should never have been charged to residents. 

The Community Service Obligation credit has been understated for a decade.The CSO is the credit applied to the Lock and Weir levy to recognise that the Noosa Waters lake system serves a broader public purpose. Our canals function as a drainage basin for a 284-hectare catchment, of which the estate comprises only approximately 160 hectares. The broader community benefits from the infrastructure that Noosa Waters levy payers fund, and the CSO exists to compensate for that. 

For years, the CSO credit was being increased at a flat 2% per year. Actual CPI ran significantly higher than 2% for most of the decade, reaching 6.1% in 2021/22 and 7.0% in 2022/23. The compounding effect of this under-indexation by the Council is that by 2025/26, the CSO credit was approximately $2,566 per year lower than it should have been under proper CPI indexation. The cumulative undercharging to the broader community of ratepayers over the decade is approximately $10,000. A

As a result of our ongoing presentations to the Council, the CSO has now been correctly indexed to CPI for 2026/27, moving from $18,474 to $19,921. This is a meaningful correction, though it is worth noting that even the corrected figure does not fully close the gap accumulated over the decade. That is a matter we will continue to pursue through the asset management plan review process.

What Changed This Year

Against that backdrop, here is what our 2026/27 levy negotiations achieved. 

Salinity and Pumping - Salinity costs have been permanently removed from the levy. The salinity pump electricity and maintenance costs of $27,909 per year in 2025/26 have been removed from the levy and confirmed as a Council general rates obligation. This is not a one-year concession. It is a structural change to the levy model going forward that will save residents approximately $327,000 over the next ten years, growing with inflation. The one-off pump replacement cost of $55,000 has also been confirmed as a Council responsibility. 

The Canal Maintenance rate has been corrected - Council's initial proposal was to increase the Canal Maintenance rate-in-the-dollar by 73%, from 0.0000127 to 0.0000220. When applied to the new 2026 land valuations, this would have translated to Canal Maintenance Levy increases of between 100% and 130% for many waterfront properties. 

We proposed a revenue-neutral alternative: adjust the rate-in-the-dollar downward by the same proportion as the average land value increase in the estate (26.5%), so that total levy revenue remains flat in real terms. The formula is (1 divided by 1.265) multiplied by 0.0000127, which gives 0.0000100. Council accepted this position. The final rate is 0.0000100, with the minimum rate held at $11. For a property at the estate average, the Canal Maintenance Levy amount is essentially unchanged from last year. Compared to what was originally proposed, this correction saves residents approximately $170,000 over the next ten years. 

The CSO is now properly indexed to CPI.The CSO has been correctly indexed to CPI for 2026/27, moving from $18,474 to $19,921. Going forward, the annual benefit of correct indexation, relative to the 2% track that had been applied, is approximately $1,400 per year and growing. Over ten years, this is worth approximately $49,000 to the levy area as a whole.

A Seat at the Table: The Noosa Catchment Action Plan

An important step forward this year has been securing a seat at the table in a critical strategic process that will shape the long-term health of our waterways. 

The NWRA has been formally recognised as a stakeholder in the Noosa Catchment Action Plan (CAP) community consultation process, led by Resilient Rivers SEQ in partnership with the Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation and Noosa Council. 

The Noosa CAP is being developed to guide long-term investment in the health and resilience of the Noosa River catchment. It takes a whole-of-system, values-based approach that considers ecological, social, cultural and economic values together. We have been invited to participate in a targeted, invitation-only workshop on Wednesday 8 July at the Noosa Council Chambers.Why does this matter? The Noosa Waters lake system is directly connected to the health of the broader Noosa River catchment. Water quality in our canals and lakes is influenced by what happens upstream, including stormwater runoff, sediment loads, and nutrient inputs from the 284-hectare catchment that drains through the estate. For years, the NWRA has been making the case that the estate cannot be managed in isolation from the broader catchment. Being recognised as a formal stakeholder in the CAP process means we now have a direct voice in shaping the policies and investments that will affect our waterways for decades to come. 

This is a significant step forward for advocacy, for water quality, and for the long-term value of living in Noosa Waters.

What Is Still in Progress

The status of the 2024/25 carryover (approximately $32,902) will be reported through the quarterly process once Council's financial statements are finalised. And as noted above, the corrected CSO of $19,921 does not fully close the gap accumulated over a decade of underindexation. This is a matter we will continue to pursue as part of the asset management plan review process. 

Beyond the levy, there are a number of initiatives currently in progress with Council that will directly benefit all Noosa Waters residents. 

Noise attenuation barriers on Eenie Creek Road. We are working with Council on a review and action plan for the renewal of the noise attenuation barriers along Eenie Creek Road. This is a quality-of-life issue for a significant number of residents and we are committed to seeing it through to a funded outcome. 

Parks and open space strategy. We are developing a more structured plan for the parks that surround Noosa Waters, looking at the functional role each space plays in the daily life of residents and how those public assets can be better optimised. The goal is to ensure the open space network around the estate is working as hard as it can for the community. 

Entry sign refurbishment. We have identified 18 Noosa Waters entry signs that need attention, including pressure washing, painting, and minor refurbishment. We are working with Council on a collaborative project to lift the standard and visual amenity of the estate. First impressions matter, and the entry signs set the tone for the whole neighbourhood. 

Tidal salinity replenishment project. This is one of the most exciting initiatives currently underway. We have scoped a project to pump river water into the canals during high tide cycles, replenishing salinity levels in a way that works with the natural tidal rhythm of the Noosa River rather than against it. The expected benefits include improved water quality, better salinity levels throughout the canal system, and a meaningful reduction in turbidity. We will be seeking funding from Council and are optimistic about the outcome given the strong alignment with the broader Noosa Catchment Action Plan objectives.

Acknowledgements

This outcome reflects the work of a number of people on our small but mighty committee. Grant Holloway's independent financial analysis was central to identifying the Canal Maintenance rate issue and to developing the revenue-neutral compromise that Council ultimately accepted. The outcome for residents would have been materially worse without that contribution.

I also want to acknowledge the constructive approach taken by Shaun Walsh and Zach Morton-Adair and their colleagues at Council. The willingness to engage seriously with the issues raised, and to make meaningful changes to the model, is appreciated.