What’s in the water,
suburb by suburb.
Every network tap in the City of Ipswich pours the same Seqwater water from Mt Crosby. Suburbs differ in three ways: whether they are on that network, what the pipes add on the way in, and the state of the creek the stormwater runs to. We pulled the government figures together and scored each suburb. Yours takes two minutes to read.
Ipswich tap water at a glance.
Seqwater treats it at Mt Crosby. Urban Utilities delivers it. These figures cover every connected home and come from Seqwater monthly water quality report, City of Ipswich zone and the annual reports.
| Parameter | City of Ipswich | Guideline & source |
|---|---|---|
| Total hardnessHard or soft? Appliance settings ↗ | 80–115 mg/L as CaCO₃ · Moderately hardUrban Utilities describes South East Queensland water as hard to moderately hard. Zones supplied from Mt Crosby have reported around 115 mg/L in recent Seqwater zone reports, roughly double the softest northern zones. The current City of Ipswich figure is in the monthly Seqwater report. | 200 mg/L (ADWG aesthetic guideline)Urban Utilities: Water hardness |
| pH | 7.8 → 8.4Seqwater is lifting the pH of water leaving Mt Crosby from about 7.8 to a target of 8.4 from mid-August 2026, to extend disinfection in warm months, raise alkalinity and reduce corrosion in the network. The change covers Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and parts of the Scenic Rim. | 6.5–8.5 (ADWG)Seqwater: pH level of drinking water enhanced in parts of South East Queensland |
| Disinfectant | ChloramineMt Crosby water is chloraminated rather than chlorinated, which keeps a residual further down long mains. It matters to fish keepers and dialysis patients, who need to remove it, and it is gentler on rubber seals than free chlorine. | Total chlorine 5 mg/L (ADWG health guideline)Seqwater: What we test for |
| Fluoride | 0.8 mg/L Dosing range 0.6–1.0 mg/LAdded at the treatment plant to a target of 0.8 mg/L under the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 2008 (Qld). Every council on the SEQ Water Grid, Ipswich included, receives fluoridated water. | 1.5 mg/L (ADWG health guideline)Seqwater: Fluoridation of water supplies fact sheet |
| PFAS (PFOA in raw water) | 23–36 ng/LPFOA was detected in raw source water at Mt Crosby at 23 to 36 nanograms per litre in 2023–24, well below the health guideline. Seqwater reports all PFAS results in treated water below both the old and the tightened 2025 guideline values. | 200 ng/L (ADWG, updated June 2025)Seqwater: PFAS and drinking water |
| E. coli | Monitored monthlySeqwater samples the bulk supply and Urban Utilities samples the reticulated network every month. The annual performance report sets out the scheme's compliance against the 98% standard; the monthly Seqwater zone report lists the samples taken in the City of Ipswich. | No E. coli in at least 98% of samples (ADWG)Urban Utilities Annual Drinking Water Performance Report 2023–24 |
Source water: Brisbane River, drawn at Mt Crosby from the Mid Brisbane reach below Wivenhoe Dam. Disinfection: Chloramine (chlorine combined with ammonia), used across the whole South East Queensland Water Grid. Run the data refresh to pull the current monthly figures from Seqwater. Data last updated 2026-10-01.
Three rivers,
one grade between them.
Healthy Land & Water grades every South East Queensland catchment each year. The 2025 Report Card rated all three Ipswich catchments poor.
Bremer River catchment
The Bremer rises near Rosewood and Warrill Creek, runs through the centre of Ipswich and meets the Brisbane River at Barellan Point. Bundamba, Deebing, Ironpot, Western and Warrill creeks all feed it. Most of the City of Ipswich drains here.
34 of the 53 suburbs drain here.
Lower Brisbane River catchment
The tidal Brisbane River below Mt Crosby Weir, plus the creeks that feed it from eastern Ipswich: Woogaroo, Six Mile, Goodna and Opossum. Greater Springfield, Goodna, Redbank Plains and the riverside acreage suburbs drain here.
17 of the 53 suburbs drain here.
Mid Brisbane River catchment
The 65 km of the Brisbane River between Wivenhoe Dam and Mt Crosby Weir. Drinking water for Ipswich and Brisbane is drawn from this stretch, so its condition reaches every tap in the city.
2 of the 53 suburbs drain here.
Redbank Plains & surrounds
Where this site is run from. Along Redbank Plains Road and the Ipswich Motorway, 1980s clay drains sit a street from new-estate easements.
Greater Springfield
Master-planned suburbs south-east of Redbank Plains, where the first homes are now due for their first replacements.
Bundamba & the eastern corridor
Older suburbs along the railway and Bundamba Creek, with some of the city’s oldest earthenware drains. The creek has flooded them twice.
Ipswich Central & inner suburbs
Heritage streets and character homes around the Bremer, with century-old drains under mature street trees.
Brassall, Karalee & the north-west
North of the Bremer and along the Brisbane River: post-war streets on town sewer, then acreage on tanks and septic systems.
Ripley Valley & the south
One of Queensland’s fastest-growing corridors. Almost every drain question here concerns a home built in the last fifteen years.
Rosewood & the rural west
Historic townships and rural-residential blocks towards the Scenic Rim. Most properties manage their own water and wastewater.
The score next to each suburb is our composite of five indicators, out of 100, banded A to E like the Report Card. How we score, and its limits ↗. Suburb boundaries follow the ABS 2021 Suburbs and Localities.
Want someone to look at
the water at your place?
Tell us your suburb, whether you are on town water or a tank, and what you have noticed. We pass it to a licensed local plumber, who will tell you which filter, if any, would help.