Summer storms threaten city water supply Brisbane residents could find themselves with only a 48-hours worth of drinking water if severe summer storms again wash silt down the Brisbane River, blocking the city's water supply. In January 2013 the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant - which turns raw river water to drinking water - was blocked by silt flowing downstream from the Lockyer Valley. In response Seqwater spent $1.63 million this year upgrading water pipelines between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and between Redlands and Brisbane. However, a report by Seqwater into the dramatic situation, where residents began to clamour for bottled water, confirms the city came within hours of running out of drinking water. The report found: the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant will not be replaced in the sort-term; the Mt Crosby Water Treatment must be shut-down when water turbidity reaches one-quarter of the levels reached in January 2013 and; the alternative sources of the 250 megalitres of drinking water Brisbane needs if Mt Crosby is again shut comes from Redlands, Gold and Sunshine coast councils as well as local reservoirs. If the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Centre is closed again the Seqwater report found that 36 hours of drinking water could be accessed by topping up local reservoirs with drinking water. An extra 12 hours drinking water could be drawn from the water grid using water from the southern Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Redlands. Seqwater has spent $1.63 million to upgrade the Southern Regional Pipeline (Brisbane to the Gold Coast) and Eastern Connector (Redlands to Brisbane) pipelines. "That will give us an additional 12 hours," a Seqwater spokesman said. The Eastern Connector is done and the Southern Connector is in the throes of being completed. However, Seqwater acknowledges this is a short-term situation, reporting longer-term solutions meant changes to land-use management in the Brisbane River catchment. The report says: "Significant catchment investment is not something Seqwater is capable of pursuing without the involvement from other stakeholders, including the state government, industry and individual landowners." Fairfax Media has been told a dispute remains between the three government ministers involved in the longer-term river management. The main question is whether a single catchment authority is best-placed to manage Brisbane's upper catchment. Seqwater is understood to be reluctant to be the "catchment champion" because it owns just four per cent of the land in the Brisbane Valley catchment, which is mostly privately-owned. Sources have suggested Healthy Waterways is best positioned to be the new "champion" to co-ordinate longer-term planning to prevent silting. Healthy Waterways CEO Julie McLellan has indicated she will comment on the situation on Tuesday. Ms McLellan previously worked at Brisbane City Council (BCC) for 15 years, where she was appointed the council's manager, Water Resources, City Planning and Sustainability.