Six regional Queensland towns, including Stanthorpe and Warwick,  will soon begin carting drinking water as the state’s drought conditions worsen.

More than 65% of Queensland is now drought declared, the worst affected being Stanthorpe, ont rack to run out of water by Christmas.

Southern Downs Mayor Tracy Dobie is estimating a bill of up to one million dollars a month just to cart water to the town, a sizeable chunk for a regional council with only 19,000 rates-payers.