Somerset Region
The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, northwest of the City of Brisbane. The region has five major towns; Esk, Fernvale, Kilcoy, Lowood and Toogoolawah. Somerset was created in 2008 from a merger of the shires of Esk and Kilcoy, and is also known as the Brisbane Valley, owing to the Brisbane River which courses through the region. However, significant parts of the region lie outside the hydrological Brisbane Valley.
The original shires of Esk and Kilcoy were amalgamated to consolidate the water catchments (or reservoirs) of the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams. The Local Government Reform Commission identified that the long-term future of Somerset would be as a major water catchment area for the South East Queensland region, with farming constituting the main economic activity within a water catchment management regime. The "planning strategy and land use policies" implemented by the Somerset Regional Council are therefore "directed this end".
The Somerset Regional Council, which administers the region, has an estimated operating budget of A$100 million. (according to Council's 2026-2027 budget adopted in June 2026). The Somerset region comprises the primary water catchments for the Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams that form an essential part of the water supply grid for South East Queensland.
In the 2021 census, the Somerset Region had a population of 25,057 people.