The Queensland Competition Authority has recommended water price increases for most council areas, including Brisbane, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast - up to $52 by 2018.
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But residents in Somerset, Logan and the Scenic Rim should all see the "state bulk water charge" component of their bill shrink by 2018.
These changes are set out in the QCA's final report into south-east Queensland bulk water prices for 2015-18, which has been presented to the state government for approval.
The recommendations would see the bulk water charge on an average water bill in Brisbane rise from $363 this year to $392 in 2016-17, Ipswich prices jump $27 and bills on the Sunshine Coast jump $52 a year.
Prices in Somerset would drop $31, Logan residents would earn a $15 reprieve and Scenic Rim ratepayers would save $8.
"For historical reasons, bulk water prices vary from council to council," QCA Chairman Malcolm Roberts said.
"By the end of the decade, a single common price is expected to apply across south-east Queensland."
The report recommends that the common price be $2.82/kilolitre, 12 per cent less than set out by the Bligh government in 2013 but not as low as the QCA suggested in its draft report released last year.
The November 2014 draft recommended a $2.77/kilolitre common price, 14 per cent less than the 2013 prediction.
The common price would rise with inflation each year after 2017/18.
The impact of the state government bulk water charge on bills varies greatly from council to council but is about 30 per cent on average.
The rest of the bill is made up of charges from water retailers such as Unitywater, Queensland Urban Utilities and various councils, meaning decisions they make could have a much greater influence on actual bill prices.
Mr Roberts said a "significant part" of the savings could be put down to efficiencies created in the merger of bulk water providers to create Seqwater.
