A reminder that critical repairs to Cairns’ primary water main began yesterday, 1 July, with Council crews shutting down and draining the pipeline that supplies the Freshwater Treatment Plant for 36 hours.
While leak is being fixed, the plant will be offline while water is instead drawn from the city’s reservoirs and supported by treated water from the Behana Treatment Plant.
With Brinsmead and Bayview reservoirs offline for remediation and the University Reservoir limited to 65 per cent capacity, the network is running with reduced storage. Residents are being urged to contact council if they notice lower pressure, discoloured water or brief interruptions.
Council is asking the community to conserve water in case repairs take longer than expected. That means avoiding garden watering, delaying high‑use tasks like washing cars or topping up pools, and keeping showers short.
Level 4 restrictions may be required if the damage is more severe than anticipated.
