Joyful View Garden Real Estate Development Resort Co Pty Ltd, owner of the 180‑km‑south‑west Warwick property, announced on 3 March 2026 that it would extend its commercial groundwater licence from 25 to 96 million litres per year to fund a new bottling and processing facility. The company said in a press release that the expansion would support local employment and meet rising demand for bottled water.
Farmers across the Southern Downs, led by Keogh of the Keogh family and Andrew O'Dea of Elbow Valley, argue that the extra extraction will deplete the aquifer that has supplied their 140‑year‑old wells, citing the cloudy water that appeared in 2019 after test pumping by a neighbour. They have stopped using the well, describing the water as muddy, milky and cloudy, and fear the new licence could trigger a drought earlier than usual.
A 2019 hydrology report filed by Joyful View claimed the Stanthorpe granite aquifer is isolated from the alluvial water tables used by local farms, a claim that the farmers dispute, pointing to the recent deterioration of their well water. The report concluded that extracting from the licensed source would not affect surrounding users, a view that has been met with skepticism by the farmer coalition.
The Southern Downs Regional Council has scheduled a review of the licence on 15 May 2026, with the decision expected to be announced shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, the farmer coalition has requested a state water authority inquiry into the potential impact on rural groundwater supplies.