Almost one-third of south-east Queensland's water supply could come from recycled water and desalination plants within 50 years, the Queensland Water Commission (QWC) says.
QWC chair Elisabeth Nosworthy will on Wednesday release the commission's draft south-east Queensland water strategy, outlining a plan for the next 50 years.
"By 2056 we expect 30 per cent of our water to be coming from climate resilient supplies, which are predominantly desalination and PRW (purified recycled water) supplies," Ms Nosworthy told ABC Radio.
The QWC has earmarked six sites for possible desalination plants.
They are at Marcoola and Kawana on the Sunshine Coast, Bribie Island in Brisbane's north, Lytton in Brisbane's east, and on North and South Stradbroke islands.
A desalination plant is already under construction on the Gold Coast.
Queenslanders should not be concerned with an increase in the use of desalinated water, Ms Nosworthy said.
"I don't think they should fear desalination plants," she said.
"Desalination is technology which is used all over the world, and the water is perfectly safe to use."
The QWC also plans to add recycled water to the North Pine and Hinze dams, as well as the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba water supplies.
"I think the public has come to the realisation that with climate change we have no choice," Ms Nosworthy said.
"We can't continue to rely on rain falling regularly enough that we can continue to meet all the needs of a growing population and a growing business population."
