Flood-hit Scenic Rim residents in southeast Queensland are being urged to only use their tap water for drinking, after all the water treatment plants were knocked out in the region.
Mayor Greg Christensen surveyed major flooding from a helicopter on Friday morning, and said there was major inundation across most of the low-lying areas around Beaudesert and Boonah.
"Do not use your tap water for cleaning up after this event," he told ABC radio.
"Please only use your tap water for drinking and basic personal hygiene, put off the washing for a few days, everything you can do to put off using that water will be priceless to our community."
Record flood levels have been recorded in the Scenic Rim's main town of Beaudesert as the fallout from ex-cyclone Debbie continued.
The Logan River at Beaudesert reached 14.76 metres just after 5.30am - above the 13.9m record recorded in 1991 - and isn't expected to peak until after 7am.
The Scenic Rim Council has issued an emergency warning to residents in flood-prone areas to move to higher ground, although there is no evacuation alert in place.
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said some places in the Scenic Rim area had recorded more than 500mm of rain.
Cr Christensen said SEQ Water was working to get the plants back online. But they need to wait for floodwaters to recede first before flushing them out, a process which will take several days.
In the meantime, the mayor is urging residents to be patient, with several people reportedly receiving minor injuries when trying to use chainsaws to clear fallen trees from roads.
"Unless you've had proper training with a chainsaw, you might just need to be patient," Cr Christensen said.
"Clearing a road to get somewhere, you're probably not going to get far anyway, so just chill out."
The mayor said the area has been so inundated with rain it "mirrors" the nearby Wyaralong dam, with the flooding stretching a kilometre wide in some areas.
However, Cr Christensen doesn't believe there is any more rain on the way, and they expect the water to continue to recede into the weekend.
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