In November 2019, ABC News reported that Seqwater had ordered a sharp increase in output at the desalination plant in Tugun, Gold Coast, after combined dam levels in South East Queensland fell to 60 per cent, the lowest in 11 years. Since 2013, the plant had supplied only 10 to 20 million litres every two weeks. According to Seqwater manager Mike Foster, at full capacity it would produce 133 million litres and meet roughly 15 per cent of regional drinking water demand.
The report showed how the Tugun plant was ramped up as a reserve when dam levels fell; water restrictions were only planned once storage dropped to 50 per cent.
Source: ABC News