West Coast Master Plan

Current

About the region

The West Coast region of Tasmania blends sparsely populated wilderness with historic forestry, mining and fishing towns. Many of these centres, like Queenstown and Strahan, have been reimagined to encourage tourism.

Current services

The region has five water and seven sewerage systems to support the region’s residents, businesses and farms.
A feature of the West Coast is its high rainfall, with an average of 70% wet days each year. This affects our sewerage systems through high levels of stormwater getting into our pipes, pump stations and treatment plants. In Queenstown, the sewerage and stormwater systems are combined so our treatment plant has to manage unpredictable inflows from an average of 2.4m of rainfall each year.

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Growth Areas

The West Coast population is not expected to grow over the next 50 years, though up to 330 lots could be developed if zoning allows. Large areas of Crown and private land remain undeveloped. Forecasting is uncertain, as changes in industry or tourism could drive rapid growth. TasWater will continue monitoring trends and adjust its Master Plan to ensure services meet future needs.

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Case Study: New water mains deliver gold for Queenstown

From its gold mining roots, Queenstown has evolved over the years to become a popular tourist destination and home to a community of 2,000. Until recently, something that hadn’t changed since the 1950s was the town’s galvanised iron water mains. These water mains had corroded to the point where they were affecting water quality at times. From 2024, TasWater began removing and replacing sections of old pipeline with high density polyethylene pipes - from Wilsdon Street in the north to Lynchford Road in the south.

About 6km of water main replacements were completed by late 2025, and TasWater plans to continue water and sewer main replacement programs in the town from 2026. We are also relining the steel storage tank in Bowes Street to enhance water quality. Water testing results and community feedback about the program has been positive; reinforcing TasWater’s commitment to providing all Tasmanians with access to clean, reliable drinking water.

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West Coast region key statistics

Forecast

The big issues

In developing our Master Plans, we have has considered challenges that our state will face in future, as well as ones that are unique to the West Coast region. We also thought about the flip side – what opportunities are there for us to better support local people, our environment, cultural heritage and the economy?

Dispersed small communities, making it hard to streamline systems
Ageing infrastructure, with many assets in poor condition
Very high levels of water loss in our systems
Variable water quality
High levels of stormwater getting into our sewers, causing overflows
Inundation of coastal assets as the climate warms and sea levels rise
High risk discharges from some sewage treatment plants

Challenges and opportunities

Climate change

Climate change in Tasmania is likely to bring warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather, impacting water supply, quality, and demand. These changes threaten water treatment and sewerage infrastructure, potentially requiring new solutions and adaptations.
Water security

Our drinking water comes from dams, rivers, and groundwater bores before treatment and delivery. Many rivers already experience low flows, and licensed allocations can’t meet growing demand. Drier conditions could further reduce river flows and groundwater levels, making unrestricted supply harder. TasWater’s Water Security Strategy guides long-term planning to avoid restrictions and promote water conservation at home and work.
Keeping up with growth

If population grows as expected, existing pipes, pumps, reservoirs, and treatment plants may lack capacity. Many assets are aging and need costly upgrades or replacement, prioritised by development timing, community benefit, and compliance. Some areas may require new water and sewerage connections to support growth, address climate impacts, or improve reliability. Service introductions follow policy, requiring community support and cost recovery.
Water where it belongs

About 44% of water produced in the West Coast region is lost due to leaks, theft, metering errors, or operational use. Efforts are underway to cut these losses and reduce stormwater infiltration into sewerage systems, aiming to delay costly upgrades and extend infrastructure lifespan.
Achieving compliance

TasWater must meet strict health and environmental standards for water quality and discharge. Aging infrastructure and past underinvestment mean some assets fall short of compliance, but progress is underway. On the West Coast, 6km of corroding iron water mains in Queenstown were replaced in 2024–25, improving reliability and drinking water quality for residents and visitors, reinforcing our commitment to safe, sustainable services.

Case Study: Sewer transformation for Hobart

The West Coast region’s sewerage systems are not designed to manage the high levels of stormwater inflow and infiltration that occur in wet weather. Inflow is where stormwater enters our systems through private plumbing that is incorrectly connected to the sewer while infiltration is where stormwater seeps in through cracked or unsealed underground infrastructure. When the amount of stormwater entering our systems exceeds their capacity, our pump stations and treatment plants have to work overtime, and there is the potential for overflows into waterways, parks and homes.

TasWater is working to reduce stormwater inflow and infiltration in all West Coast towns. In areas like Rosebery, smoke testing of our sewers has shown a large number of incorrect private plumbing connections. This ranges from roof downpipes connected directly to sewers, to overflow relief gullies lower than they need to be. We plan to introduce an improvement program to address these issues to benefit our infrastructure and environment.

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Future

Our 50-year vision for the region

After looking at a range of options to guide our long-term investment in water and sewerage infrastructure, our preferred approach balances climate resilience, water security, customer expectations, environmental and health compliance, and cost. Download the PDF for more details.

We believe our approach:
Tackles the most urgent issues right away.
Delays major spending until later, helping manage budgets and adapt to future changes.
Reduces the need for, and number of, complex projects like new dams, treatment plants and long pipelines.
Has a lower long-term cost (net present value) and development cost (capital cost) when compared with other options considered.