Inside Water July/August 2025 by Prime Group

We’re Creating the Future of Water for climate, communities and our kids

Starting water conservation young

FROM FLOOD MITIGATION to longterm water security, our industry continues to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing Australian communities today.

In every state and territory, we’re seeing utilities, councils, researchers, and technology providers coming together to push boundaries, work smarter, plan longer, and design for resilience.

This issue of Inside Water reﬂects that spirit of collaboration and community. One of the most vital yet often overlooked aspects of sustainable water management is how we engage with the public and raise water literacy across generations.

Water literacy is emerging as a cornerstone of sustainable water management. At the recent Ozwater’25 conference, Zoe Walsh, National Director of Marketing, Communications, and Engagement at Sequana, co-chaired a workshop on building water literacy through community education. The session emphasised that improving public understanding of water systems is essential for fostering watersensitive communities.

Moreover, Walsh’s leadership in this area has been instrumental. Her e orts in promoting water literacy have not only raised awareness but also encouraged community participation in water conservation initiatives.

We also speak to Sydney Water and Water Corporation about their bold steps in advancing purified recycled water. From pilot-scale treatment to long-term planning, these utilities are investing in new solutions to diversify supply and build community confidence in future-fit sources.

Ozwater’25 o ered a platform for some of the sector’s most important conversations. Whether the topic was climate-smart infrastructure, First Nations water governance or

the future of regulation, the underlying message was clear: inclusive innovation is no longer optional – it’s essential.

That message came through strongly in our conversation with Gerard Brody, Chairperson of the Essential Services Commission in Victoria. Brody spoke about the need for economic regulation that keeps pace with environmental and social realities, emphasising fairness, trust, and transparent engagement with customers. In an era of rising cost pressures and climate risks, these principles will only become more critical.

At the heart of it all is the understanding that water isn’t just a resource – it’s a responsibility. Whether you’re managing networks, building infrastructure, or modelling stormwater systems, your work shapes the way communities live, grow, and recover. That’s why Inside Water will continue championing the people and projects driving meaningful change across the sector.

We’re always looking to hear from readers. If you have a story worth sharing or a perspective to o er, please reach out to our team. Your insights help keep this publication relevant, rigorous, and responsive to the industry we serve.

Until next time,

Chris Edwards, Inside Water Editor

Chief Executive O cer

John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

Chief Operating O cer

Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au

Publisher Sarah Baker sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au

Managing Editor Lisa Korycki lisa.korycki@primecreative.com.au

Editor Chris Edwards chris.edwards@primecreative.com.au

Design Alejandro Molano/Daz Woolley

Head of Design Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au

Brand Manager Adele Haywood adele.haywood@primecreative.com.au p: +61 403 500 544

Client Success Manager Louisa Stocks louisa.stocks@primecreative.com.au

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Cover image

Sequana/Zoe Walsh

Articles

All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

Inside Water is owned by Prime Creative Media and published by John Murphy. All material in Inside Water is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every e ort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Inside Water are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

Wanda the Water Warrior boosts children’s water literacy

A bedtime story could become a national movement for children’s water literacy through rhyme, resources and routine.

THERE ARE PLENTY of things kids ignore their parents about –vegetables, bedtime, the importance of sustainable water management –but every so often, the tables turn. A curious child asks a question, and a parent gives an answer, setting a story in motion.

The legacy behind the literacy Zoe Walsh never planned to work in water. Despite growing up with her father, Mike Walsh, a veteran of the sector, she admits she never really grasped what he did.

“When I was a kid, if someone asked what my dad did, I would say, ‘something in water’,” she said. “I couldn’t tell you if he worked for Mount Franklin or the local pool.”

It wasn’t until the Victorian Desalination Plant became a public ﬂashpoint in the media that her

interest was piqued – and even then, discomfort, not admiration, ﬁrst stirred her curiosity. But time, perspective, and parenthood have changed that.

“Looking back now, it never crossed my mind how important that work was for my future,” she said. “And for my daughter’s future.”

That personal transformation now underpins her work, combining family legacy with a professional mission to broaden public understanding of Australia’s water future. Walsh said that having a parent in the industry shaped her indirectly.

“Even if I didn’t understand it, the exposure was always there. I just needed the right trigger to care.”

Now, with Wanda the Water Warrior, she’s helping create that trigger for other families, using

Wanda the Water Warrior is the creation of Zoe Walsh, following the inspiration from her daughter Stella.

Images: Sequana

storytime to spark intergenerational conversations about water.

From brand communications to behaviour change

Walsh joined the water sector in January 2023, after 15 years in consumer public relations (PR) and marketing. Initially, she planned to assist Sequana with a rebranding e ort and enhance its external proﬁle. But as she became more involved in committees, volunteering, and cross-sector engagement, her focus shifted from brand strategy to behaviour change.

She said she quickly felt a sense of responsibility to apply her skills toward something more meaningful.

“The sector is full of brilliant people doing important work, but so much of it ﬂies under the radar,” she said.

“The more I learned, the more I realised I could help make that invisible work visible.”

Walsh joined several industry committees, including the Australian Water Authority (AWA) Victorian Branch, and became active in the Water Literacy & Education Specialist Network. The more she engaged, the more she saw a gap: the technical experts were there, but the messaging often didn’t connect with everyday people.

That realisation coincided with a shift in her personal life. Her daughter, Stella, was beginning to ask questions about the world. During National Water Week, those questions sparked something unexpected: a rhyme.

Wanda is born

“I made up a silly little rhyming story for Stella, just for fun,” Walsh said. “Then I read it out to a few colleagues on a bus ride to the Victorian Desalination Plant. They said, ‘You have to do something with this.’”

That something turned into Wanda the Water Warrior, a children’s book that introduces young readers to water literacy through rhyme, story and colourful illustrations. It wasn’t always going to be a warrior. The original character was Wanda the Water Fairy.

“One of the publishers suggested that might limit who the character would resonate with,” Walsh said. “So, I changed her to a water warrior, and had to redo all the rhymes.”

Finding the right publisher was key. Walsh said she wanted a local partner that aligned with her values. She landed on Boolarong Press, a Brisbane-based independent and family-owned publisher focused on supporting Australian authors.

From there, she collaborated with Melbourne-based illustrator Cat MacInnes, known for her work on children’s books such as What Noise Does the Baby Make? and My Aussie Plants and Animals. Together, they brought Wanda to life over the course of several months.

“I went through all of Stella’s favourite books to ﬁnd a visual style that felt right,” Walsh said. “Illustration is everything for kids that age.”

Simplifying the science

Making complex topics, such as desalination and recycled water, understandable to children is no small feat. Walsh relied on Sequana’s subject matter experts to validate the content and ensure accuracy.

“I needed to make sure it was factually correct, that it rhymed, and that it still worked as a story,” she said. “It was like a three-part puzzle.”

She said writing a rhyming book made edits more complicated. Any change in wording meant rewriting entire stanzas. Still, she said the challenge was worthwhile for the sake of accessibility.

The book also touches on pivotal moments such as the Millennium Drought. Walsh said she included it not just for historical context, but to show children what can happen without good water management.

“I still remember having a timer in the shower as a kid,” she said. “That was the reality, and it’s important for kids today to understand that history.”

Walsh said introducing terms like desalination early helps remove fear or confusion later. “If a child hears that their water comes from

Zoe used rhymes to teach Stella how to conserve water, which led to the creation of Wanda the Water Warrior. Wanda the Water Warrior was a hit at Ozwater’25.

a desalination plant, it won’t be scary. They’ll have a framework for understanding it.”

To support learning, the book ends with a two-page spread on watersaving tips and “Water Wisdom” facts, tying the story to real-world action.

The ecosystem around the book

The book could have been a standalone project. But Walsh, driven by her marketing instincts and background in brand development, wanted to create something bigger. She has created a complete digital ecosystem around Wanda. The website includes downloadable colouring-in sheets, quizzes, watersaving posters, and a teaching pack aligned with the Australian school/ education curriculum.

“It’s about meeting kids and parents where they already are,” she said.

“Story time. Bedtime routines. Simple conversations while brushing teeth or washing hands.”

COVER STORY Sequana

The book is designed for children aged three to eight, but Walsh said its impact reaches further.

“It surprised me that some adults reading it told me they had never heard of desalination,” she said.

“That just shows how far we still have to go.”

The teaching pack was developed with an experienced educator and aligns water literacy with curriculum areas such as writing, science, maths, and art. Walsh said this helps teachers integrate the topic without needing deep technical knowledge.

“We want to make it easy for teachers and fun for kids,” she said. “And it’s not just for schools. These posters can go on the fridge at home.”

There are also stickers, reusable water bottles, and jumpers for children, which help reinforce the message with tangible everyday tools.

“When Stella wears her jumper that says, ‘I’m a Water Warrior’, she gets so excited,” Walsh said. “She sees herself in Wanda. And we want every child to feel that.”

Supporting a greater cause To amplify its impact, Wanda the Water Warrior is tied to a philanthropic mission. Every copy sold makes a donation to WaterAid Australia, a global notfor-proﬁt organisation working to provide access to clean water in communities that still lack it.

“It was never about making money,” Walsh said. “We wanted to create something beautiful, high-quality and educational, and use it to support clean water access globally.”

She said the decision to align with WaterAid made sense personally and professionally. Sequana has supported WaterAid for years, and Walsh’s father, Mike, has long championed philanthropic projects across his career.

“My dad always supported others, often behind the scenes,” she said. “This project felt like a natural extension of that mindset.”

Walsh said the partnership also o ers children a broader perspective. The book includes a page explaining that not everyone in the world has clean water.

“It’s about helping kids see that water isn’t just a household issue. It’s global.”

She believes this early introduction to equity and global issues can sow seeds of empathy.

“Understanding that clean water is a privilege can inﬂuence how children value it,” she said. “It can shape their behaviours long-term.”

All merchandise, including books, bottles and jumpers, contributes to this e ort. As Walsh explained, it was essential to tie action to education.

“If we’re teaching kids that water matters, we should model that by supporting communities where it’s not yet guaranteed.”

Connecting across sectors

Sequana has also used community partnerships as a bridge into wider conversations. The organisation partners with groups outside the water industry, including the women’s sports club, the Darebin Falcons, and the Museum of Australian Photography.

“It’s about ﬁnding common ground,” Walsh said. “Gender

Reading multiple picture books a day to Stella helped Walsh develop Wanda the Water Warrior.

Sequana brought to life its partnership with the Museum of Australian Photography, based on their mutual focus on environmental futures, at Ozwater’24.

diversity in sport. Climate change in photography. Wherever the overlap is, there’s an opportunity to start a water conversation.”

She argued that these partnerships help water education reach further, engaging audiences who might not otherwise be interested in technical material. “Sometimes people are more open to learning when it comes from a place they already connect with,” she said.

An International Women’s Day panel co-hosted with the Falcons highlighted this crossover. The event featured women in engineering and professional sport discussing leadership and inclusion.

“There are real parallels between sport and water careers,” Walsh said. “Both have traditionally been maledominated. Both require teamwork, strategy and long-term thinking.”

She said these moments create opportunities for di erent industries to learn from one another and break down silos. They also help raise awareness of the water sector and the kinds of careers it o ers.

“If someone sees our logo at a football match and looks us up, maybe they start thinking about water di erently,” she said. “That’s the ripple e ect.”

Walsh said Sequana will continue looking for these partnerships, especially ones that support underrepresented groups or highlight environmental themes.

“The goal is to keep broadening the conversation,” she said. “Because water connects to everything.”

Changing the culture, not just in the classroom

Walsh thinks the key to lasting behaviour change is consistent, everyday messaging. She said that responsibility for water education shouldn’t rest solely with water

utilities or formal education teams.

“We can achieve so much more when marketing, communications and education teams work together,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be boring. It doesn’t have to be a worksheet.”

She pointed to creative initiatives like Sydney Water’s collaboration with The Wiggles or Melbourne Water’s 3D digital map experience as examples of how engagement can be both fun and informative.

“When you bring joy to learning, it sticks,” she said. “Gamiﬁed content. Cartoons. Storybooks. They all make the learning subconscious.”

She also praised programs like Yarra Valley Water’s Water Watchers, which blends science ﬁction storytelling with real-world water awareness. Kids follow a squad of space-faring heroes who monitor Earth’s water supply, learning to save water through engaging narratives.

“It’s clever,” she said. “It creates emotional investment. That’s what turns information into action.”

Walsh believes that excellent educational resources often go underutilised because they are siloed or lack promotion.

She suggested a national lens could help streamline e orts, reduce duplication and ensure consistent messaging across the country.

“There’s so much great stu out there,” she said. “But if no one knows about it, it can’t do its job.

“We can localise where needed, but having one centralised approach frees up time and energy to actually engage the community.”

Looking ahead

Wanda may not remain a solo act forever. Walsh said she’s already thinking about expanding the Wanda the Water Warrior universe to include more characters, themes and stories.

“We could go deeper into topics like desalination, stormwater, rivers,” she said. “I’m always jotting down rhymes. If someone has an idea, I’m happy to collaborate.”

She imagines future titles or digital extensions that focus on other critical areas of water education. The goal is to build on what Wanda has started and make it easier for families and schools to introduce these topics.

“It’s about making it part of the everyday,” she said. “From Book Week costumes to lunchbox stickers.”

Wanda made her exhibition debut at the Australian Water Association’s Ozwater’25 in Adelaide, speaking on a water literacy panel alongside representatives from Sydney Water, SA Water, and Water Corporation.

“We had 200 books available for sale, with 100 per cent of proceeds donated to WaterAid,” Walsh said. “Plus, free posters and stickers for parents and teachers.”

She hopes the conference will help spark even more collaborations.

“If other organisations want to use Wanda or create something similar, I’m here for it,” she said. “It’s not about ownership. It’s about impact.

“We can’t survive without water. It could not be more important. So, we need to drive the behaviour change ourselves, with small but powerful actions.”

For more information, visit sequana. co and wandawaterwarrior.com.au

Stella showcasing her Water Warrior jumper.

Overcoming installation challenges in digital water metering deployments

As utility providers evolve towards smarter water management systems, numerous challenges surface during the installation and rollout of digital metering infrastructure. Explore the practical obstacles encountered in the ﬁeld, strategic solutions, project execution insights, and evolving business models that support successful implementation.

TAGGLE HAS DEPLOYED more than 75 digital metering projects across Australia, acquiring extensive experience in overcoming installation challenges. In its operations, it typically finds that 70 per cent of installations are relatively straightforward, 25 per cent present moderate challenges, and the final five per cent can lead to significant complications.

In Australia, the shift toward digital metering is viewed as a crucial step in resource management. Digital water meters provide real-time data, enabling utilities to monitor water usage more e ectively and sustainably manage their resources.

The Australian Government has highlighted the need for improved water management practices, particularly in areas facing water scarcity and quality issues, emphasising that e cient water usage is paramount in urban planning.

Complete data collection from every property is essential not just for e ective demand management, but also for accurate reporting on water usage and quantifying non-revenue water (NRW). NRW refers to the water

that is produced but not billed to customers, often due to leaks, theft, or meter inaccuracies.

According to the Australian Water Association, NRW can constitute up to 20-30 per cent of total production in some regions, making

Dense foliage can block signal transmissions particularly when wet.

Images: Taggle Systems

Transmission devices placed at height may gain enough coverage to service the remote fringe areas.

e ective monitoring critical for maintaining supply consistency and operational e ciency.

Furthermore, local councils and water authorities have implemented stringent measures to address the challenges associated with digital meter installations, incorporating community engagement and education strategies to facilitate smoother transitions. As more Australians become aware of the importance of water usage due to growing environmental concerns, the emphasis continues to be placed on leveraging technology to enhance water resource management while promoting sustainable practices within the community.

Taking the environment into consideration

Australia’s climate ranges from lush rainforests to arid deserts, presenting unique challenges for digital metering deployments. These environmental factors inﬂuence the selection of meter types, communication networks, and installation methods.

For instance, freezing temperatures may require pit installations, while vast distances can complicate communication.

Successful deployments account for these variables from the outset.

Choice in radio networks

Each available radio network has its pros and cons. Flexibility in network choice is a major advantage. Where a narrowband Internet of Things (NBIoT) network exists, leveraging it is a logical choice.

However, the ability to supplement with Taggle’s Byron Network reduces the risk of signal dropouts in areas with low coverage.

In extremely remote locations, direct-to-satellite solutions can bridge communication gaps where deploying traditional infrastructure is not feasible.

Network planning and testing

Once the network has been chosen, there are challenges at the meter level to overcome, which can be identiﬁed through meticulous network planning. Many of the challenges arise from physical or geographical obstructions. On-the-ground testing is conducted before meter installation to identify any obstructions, such as dense foliage, metal lids on pits, or long distances, that might hinder signal transmission.

Pre-installation testing in the ﬁeld is crucial to ensure reliable connectivity, particularly in areas with limited coverage.

To solve these challenges, Taggle has a range of technologies and innovative solutions to ensure that water consumption data reaches its intended destination.

Metal lids on pits

Metal lids on meter pits are a problem for radio signal transmissions. To address this, the metal lids could be

replaced with heavy-duty, radiotransparent plastic lids. If using the Taggle Byron Network, a higherpower transmitter could meet the signal requirements, or an external, low-proﬁle antenna could be used to bypass the signal blockage.

Geographic distances or obstructions

Deployments in valleys, fringe areas, or remote terrains often encounter connectivity issues due to distance or obstructions, such as hills. Direct-tosatellite technology can be a valuable tool in these cases.

Alternatively, utilising high-powered devices on the Taggle Byron Network might also be e ective, particularly if the meter reading devices and receivers are positioned at elevated locations to improve line-of-sight.

Other obstructions might include dense foliage, which, when wet from rainfall, can block the signal from reaching its destination.

Consideration when installing the meters and performing a radio signal test can help identify potential signal blockers and allow for the selection of elevation or external antennas at installation time.

OHS and access barriers

Field workers may face di culties accessing water meters safely due to their placement or the surrounding environment. Prioritising extensive planning and site surveys can help

identify these challenges early, allowing the team to contact property owners and make access arrangements. This way, when the installers are on the ground, these can be quickly actioned and not hold up the project.

Taggle’s end-to-end advantage

With experience across some of Australia’s harshest climates, Taggle o ers a proven end-to-end solution for digital metering deployments. This includes not only robust hardware and ﬂexible network options but also seamless integration with Aqualus Water, Taggle’s Meter Data Management Platform and Customer Portal, ultimately driving achieved outcomes and improved water security.

Digital metering is a pivotal tool in modern water management, but its deployment is rarely a one-size-ﬁtsall approach.

Each environment, region, and property presents distinct challenges that require thoughtful planning, innovative solutions, and ﬂexible infrastructure.

By leveraging diverse technologies and ﬁeld-tested strategies, Taggle enables utilities to overcome installation barriers, ensuring reliable data capture and long-term operational success.

For more information, visit taggle.com

External antennas can solve the transmission problem from metal lids on pits.

FOCUS Remote Monitoring From bomb detection to clean water tech

Originally developed for counter-terrorism, this remote water monitoring technology is now safeguarding waterways with real-time environmental insight.

FOR YEARS, WATER professionals have battled the limits of delayed lab results and intermittent sampling. When nutrient levels in waterways can spike within hours after heavy rain or system failure, waiting days or weeks for test results is too late.

Eco Detection, a Melbourne-based startup led by Je erson Harcourt, is trying to change that with real-time water quality monitoring driven by rugged ﬁeld equipment and capillary electrophoresis.

“We’re about taking the laboratory into the ﬁeld,” Harcourt said. “There’s no point having lab data that’s a week old. Whatever’s happened has happened. We’re about providing information quickly so people can act and avert problems.”

Lab-grade analysis in the ﬁeld

At the heart of Eco Detection’s innovation is an on-site nutrient analyser capable of producing laboratory-accurate data in real time.

Instead of relying on grab samples or low-ﬁdelity sensors, the device uses capillary electrophoresis – a trusted separation technique that isolates ions in water and measures them with precision.

The unit draws in a water sample, separates ions using an electric ﬁeld and thermochemistry, and doses each sample with a calibration reference. This enables consistent, traceable results even months after deployment.

“Because it self-calibrates and has a lab pedigree, it stays within our accuracy tolerance for up to six months in the field,” Harcourt said. He said this design eliminates the typical problems associated with in-field probes, such as biofilm build-up and data drift. Instead, the instrument generates an electropherogram for every test run, which must meet strict quality markers before the data is accepted.

Je erson Harcourt is the CEO and Founder of Eco Detection. Images: Eco Detection

“The software won’t pass the results unless the separation is clean and the calibration markers are present,” Harcourt said. “It’s inherently faulttolerant.”

Real-time insight for sustainable catchment management

Eco Detection’s technology is already in use across diverse Australian landscapes, including catchments ﬂowing to the Great Barrier Reef. In Tasmania’s Derwent Estuary Program, eight systems captured nutrient data four times daily, compared to the traditional once-a-month grab sampling. Harcourt said that shift in resolution made a critical di erence.

“We could ﬁnally see short-term, high-load events with what’s sometimes called a ‘kill ﬂush,’ where surface nutrients are washed into rivers after rainfall,” he said.

“It’s impossible to catch that with monthly testing.”

These high-resolution insights have made the technology valuable not only for compliance purposes, but also for guiding remediation e orts. Operators now baseline conditions before and

after planting, riparian works, or wastewater upgrades.

“With that data, you can begin to quantify improvements and even generate nutrient or biodiversity credits,” Harcourt said.

The company is increasingly supporting clients with long-term monitoring strategies that include seasonal trends, land-use changes, and climate variability. By providing rich baseline data and ongoing analytics, Eco Detection enables utilities and environmental managers to identify anomalies, understand cumulative impacts, and validate investment in restoration programs.

Smart data and global reach

With deployments across Australia and New Zealand, Eco Detection has scaled up from its research roots to a growing customer base that includes utilities, research institutions, and industry. Key to that growth has been its ability to integrate data e ectively.

“We have our own visualisation platform, but we also integrate with client systems,” Harcourt said. “That includes SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), digital twins, and AI-enabled risk forecasting. It’s all about being able to predict issues, not just react to them.”

Eco Detection’s international expansion is gaining momentum. The company recently deployed systems to mining clients in Africa and entered the UK market, where changing legislation now requires continuous monitoring of 30,000 outﬂow sites.

“That’s a huge opportunity, but more importantly, it signals that infrequent manual sampling is no longer acceptable,” Harcourt said. “Society can’t a ord it.”

From bomb detection to environmental impact Eco Detection began as a research venture between Grey Innovation

and the University of Tasmania. Harcourt’s earlier work focused on trace explosive detection, using the same core chemistry now found in the company’s water analyser. The pivot to environmental applications, Harcourt said, was both strategic and deeply rewarding.

“We ﬁnished developing this labin-a-suitcase for counter-terrorism and realised the same technology could serve the environment,” he said. “I was staggered to learn that manual grab sampling was still best practice worldwide.”

That realisation led to the company’s mission: to make real-time, high-quality water data accessible and normalised. Today, Eco Detection’s systems help detect incidents, prevent ﬁnes, and protect waterways.

In one example, a wastewater treatment plant experienced an internal fault that went unnoticed by operators. Eco Detection’s outﬂow monitoring ﬂagged the issue.

“Within an hour, the plant diverted its discharge, and an environmental incident was avoided,” Harcourt said. “Later, we helped them ﬁx

Eco Detection’s on-site nutrient analyser has been rolled out in many environments. The initial installation of real-time water quality monitoring equipment has led to some positive outcomes.

the underlying problem, too.” The technology has also been used to demonstrate compliance during regulatory investigations. In one case, high-resolution data proved that a pollutant exceedance was short-lived and did not breach environmental load limits, avoiding penalties and enabling more constructive regulator engagement.

Beyond compliance

Although water utilities are often seen as risk-averse, Harcourt sees a growing appetite for innovation.

“Coming back from the Ozwater conference, I spoke to dozens of operators. I didn’t sense resistance to change,” he said. “They want insight, not just compliance.”

That has shaped Eco Detection’s dual o ering: support for regulatory reporting and deeper operational insight beyond the minimum requirements.

“When you baseline hourly for a month, you start seeing what’s really going on. And when you ﬁnd problems, they’re usually easy to ﬁx,” Harcourt said.

He said this dual lens of compliance and optimisation may be what propels the company’s next phase. Harcourt envisions a future where manual sampling is the exception, rather than the rule.

“Our goal is to be the front line. If someone’s doing a manual sample, it should be because we detected something worth checking.”

For more information, visit ecodetection.com

FOCUS Remote Monitoring

Smart trade waste metering takes o

Smart trade waste metering is helping councils cut costs, improve compliance, and unlock new water e ciency insights.

BILLING ERRORS, DELAYED meter readings and ine cient manual input might not sound like the makings of a tech transformation, but they are precisely what sparked one in Mackay. In a move that puts the regional council ahead of the curve, Mackay Regional Council is partnering with Dataright to roll out Automated Meter Readers (AMRs) for its trade waste customers.

While most AMR projects in Australia have focused on residential and general property water usage, Mackay’s decision to digitise trade waste monitoring signals a shift in how councils manage one of the most complex parts of the urban water cycle.

From compliance headaches to smart oversight

Trade waste customers, often in the hospitality or manufacturing sectors, discharge a range of materials into the sewer network. These discharges must comply with strict guidelines around volume and contaminant levels. Traditionally, council sta have

manually read these meters every six months, a time-consuming process that introduces several opportunities for error.

“The data would get read by a contractor, then entered into a spreadsheet, and then input again into our billing system,” said Paul Hudson, Senior Trade Waste Inspector at Mackay Regional Council. “That’s three points where a mistake can happen. And if it slips through, it’s not a good experience for anyone, whether it is sta or customers.”

By integrating AMR-compatible trade waste meters, the council will be able to receive near realtime data, eliminating the lag between water use and billing, and improving both accuracy and oversight.

Leak detection and early warnings

Although many trade waste meters are installed above ground, where leaks are more visible, AMR technology provides another layer of certainty.

Ensuring that trade waste is properly tracked is of considerable importance for Mackay Regional Council.

“It’s not just about catching leaks,” Hudson said. “We can also track high-volume usage, spot peak ﬂow periods, and identify trends that might suggest an issue before it becomes a problem.”

Hudson said that trade waste charges are based on the volume discharged and contaminant levels. Alerting a business to spikes in water use means they can take preemptive steps to adjust operations and potentially avoid penalty fees.

The quiet compliance advantage

One of the less visible, but no less signiﬁcant, beneﬁts is improved compliance enforcement. While council focuses on working collaboratively with businesses, the new meters allow for detailed tracking of discharge activity.

“If a business has been asked to stop discharging trade waste because their system needs maintenance, and they continue to discharge during that period, we’ll be able to detect it,” Hudson said.

“That’s not something we advertise to customers, but it’s a clear advantage to council.”

With hundreds of businesses requiring trade waste approvals,

monitoring ﬂow more closely strengthens the council’s ability to manage risk without increasing ﬁeld visits or sta workloads.

From retroﬁts to real-time

Rolling out AMRs in commercial kitchens, shopping centres and industrial properties is not as simple as it sounds. Many existing meters were installed in di cult-to-access areas like ceilings or under benches.

“These are in hard-to-reach places, so we need to work closely with each business to schedule access that won’t disrupt their operations,” Hudson said. “You can’t walk into a restaurant at 12.30pm and start changing meters.”

Dataright coordinates the installations and manages data integration. Each meter is logged, registered to the appropriate approval, and mapped into the council database for ongoing oversight.

After installation, Dataright continues to work with councils to ensure performance and calibration accuracy.

“We complete an audit of the system to read to ensure calibration is correct, then work with councils to monitor zero consumption meters and data loggers that aren’t transmitting,” a spokesperson from Dataright said. “This is an ongoing part of our meter maintenance solution.”

Engaging businesses through targeted outreach

Although the project is largely technical, customer engagement has been a key focus. Council has worked with its corporate communications team to deliver targeted messaging to a ected businesses through social media and direct outreach.

“Dataright will contact each

business directly, but we’re also using our inspectors to share information in person,” Hudson said. “The response has been positive so far.

For many businesses, this means no longer needing to arrange access or wait around for a meter read. That’s a welcome change.”

Smart metering supports sustainability goals

While accuracy and e ciency are major drivers, the AMR rollout aligns with council’s long-term water conservation strategy.

“By implementing smart water meters, the council can collect detailed, real-time data on water usage across the region,” a council spokesperson said. “This data allows for more accurate monitoring and management of water resources, helping to identify and address

leaks promptly, which reduces water wastage.”

The council also engages residents through MyH2o, an online platform allowing users to track their consumption. “This increased awareness and engagement leads to a reduction in per capita water consumption, which is essential for sustainable water management.”

Improved metering also helps the council make better infrastructure investment decisions by highlighting pressure points and network ine ciencies.

A shift in how councils work Mackay’s broader water network already uses smart metering for residential properties and nonresidential, including parks. Trade waste monitoring is one of the ﬁnal frontiers in council’s transition to smart infrastructure.

“In some of our commercial kitchens, we’ve got eight or nine meters under sinks,” Hudson said. “Before this project, we had to go in and read every single one manually. Now we can pull that data remotely, check for ﬂow anomalies, and issue bills without disruption.”

When asked whether other councils should consider smart trade waste metering, Hudson said the shift is not just about technology but also how councils deliver services.

“Less mistakes, more e ciency. That’s the beneﬁt. The fewer hours we spend reading and entering data, the more we can focus on helping customers and improving our network.”

For more information, visit dataright.com.au

Sta at Mackay Regional Council installing a new meter.

Len DeThomasis inspects an atuomated meter reader (AMR).

Images: Mackay Regional Council

Looking back, moving forward with inclusive water innovation

Smart meters, recycled water, climate risk and PFAS: Ozwater’25 spotlighted inclusive water innovation through technology, equity, and future-facing leadership.

AS THE AUSTRALIAN water industry gathered at Ozwater’25 in Adelaide, one message rang clear: inclusive innovation is now central to how Australia manages, governs, and futureproofs water.

Guided by the theme “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” the event brought together utilities, researchers, and decision-makers committed to reshaping the sector through collaboration, culture, and cuttingedge thinking.

Corinne Cheeseman, Chief Executive O cer of the Australian Water Association, opened the event by urging attendees to lead with purpose.

“Our sector is facing some of its most complex challenges yet, but we also have more tools and talent than ever before,” she said. “Ozwater’25 is about bringing that collective energy together to move our sector forward.”

The conference featured more than 225 exhibitors and attracted

thousands of delegates, showcasing how the sector is responding to shared pressures with practical collaboration, cultural insight, and technological advancement.

Smart metering leads the digital charge

South East Water’s (SEW) mass rollout of digital meters provided one of the most compelling case studies in large-scale digital transformation. Presented by Alana Jones and Ash Walsh, the program leverages more than a decade of foundational work and is now scaling toward the deployment of 751,000 Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) meters by 2029.

Rather than deploying meters geographically, SEW prioritised high-beneﬁt zones using customer insights and crossdepartmental planning.

“We didn’t want to roll out meters just for the sake of it,” Walsh said.

The Adelaide Convention Centre was full of people for Ozwater’25 who travelled from all points of the globe to attend this premier event.

Australian Water Association

“The strategy was to target key beneﬁt areas from the start: customer-side leaks, network losses, and data to support behavioural change.”

Initial results exceed expectations. Customer leak alerts are helping to reduce water usage by one and a half per cent, while network optimisation is delivering a further one per cent saving. Notably, the rollout allows SEW to identify and prioritise vulnerable customers, reduce operational disruptions, and generate strategic insights for planning.

“This was about more than just devices,” Jones said. “It was about transforming how we deliver services and how we listen to our communities.”

Planning for potable reuse in a changing world

Greta Zornes of CDM Smith delivered a data-rich presentation on how United States cities are rethinking the balance between non-potable reuse and puriﬁed recycled water (PRW). Drawing on master planning work in Ohio and Texas, she demonstrated why integrated reuse strategies are now essential, not just for sustainability but for long-term water resilience.

“You can’t a ord to plan in silos anymore,” Zornes said. “When industry and population needs shift, your infrastructure plans have to be ready to adapt.”

Zornes urged caution about overcommitting future supply to nonpotable reuse without considering the inevitability of PRW, particularly indirect and direct potable reuse (IPR and DPR). Case studies demonstrated how industrial growth, particularly in data centres, was accelerating demand for ﬂexible and reliable water sources.

“Recycled water is now a resilience strategy, not just a sustainability one,” she said.

Images:

The planning frameworks she described o ered Australian utilities a clear pathway for avoiding long-term infrastructure lock-in and ensuring value for future generations.

As utilities plan for future demand and design for long-term resilience, attention is also turning to water quality, speciﬁcally, the risks that traditional testing methods

bioanalytical tools to detect what’s hidden beneath the surface.

Detecting hidden threats

As emerging contaminants attract greater scrutiny from regulators and communities alike, a standout presentation by Dr Maddison Carbery of Hunter Water showcased a

The closing drinks at Ozwater’25 was a fantastic opportunity for people to talk about their achievements throughout the conference and further network.

biological e ect of chemical mixtures on organisms and human health. Across multiple wet and dry sampling rounds, Hunter Water partnered with Gri th University to run a suite of bioassays measuring toxicity, endocrine disruption, and oxidative stress, all potential consequences of PFAS (per- and polyﬂuoroalkyl substances), pesticides, and other persistent micropollutants.

“Most of our samples fell within global reference ranges for drinking and surface waters,” Carbery said.

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“But the wet weather batch triggered elevated dioxin-like activity, pointing to the potential mobilisation of chemicals during heavy rainfall.”

That spike prompted plans for follow-up surveys, including passive samplers to monitor long-term, low-concentration exposures. By comparing bioassay results to established e ect-based trigger values for both ecological and human health, the utility is building a layered understanding of risk across its water sources.

“We need to manage what we can’t always see,” Carbery said. “This approach lets us focus on the e ect, not just the presence, of contaminants.”

While emerging contaminants represent a hidden risk, climate change is a more visible and system-wide challenge. Another presentation that resonated at Ozwater’25 highlighted the urgent need to integrate climate impact assessments into asset planning and investment cycles.

Sewer programs built on trust and purpose

In Melbourne’s established suburbs, Yarra Valley Water’s Community Sewerage Program is resolving a long-standing issue: residential reliance on outdated septic systems.

Sally Crook and Dean Anderson explained how reframing the program around purpose, partnerships, and agility enabled them to exceed delivery targets while maintaining cost control.

The program delivered 3081 property connections, well above the initial goal of 2927, within six per cent of its $122 million budget. The success hinged on the “5Ps” framework: Purpose, Program, Partnership, Process, and People.

“Our partnerships matured into true collaborations,” Anderson said. “We

reduced contractor turnover, shared risks transparently, and worked from the footpath rather than the desk.”

The program prioritised community engagement, working to avoid unnecessary vegetation loss, fasttrack planning approvals, and ensure customer preferences were reﬂected in property works. It now serves as a model for scalable communitycentred infrastructure delivery.

Climate risk assessments across WA While much of Ozwater’25 focused on operational innovation and water equity, Water Corporation’s Matthew Stenhouse delivered a crucial reminder: climate change is reshaping risk across every asset class.

His presentation detailed the corporation’s systematic climate risk assessment, covering 2.6 million square kilometres and a $46 billion asset base.

“What’s changed is not just the science; it’s the expectation that we must act,” Stenhouse said. “Beyond drying climate, we’re now seeing risks from sea level rise, extreme weather, and bushﬁre across our infrastructure.”

The risk assessment evaluated multiple emissions scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) and considered ﬁve hazard categories, including

temperature extremes and long-term shifts in rainfall and evaporation. Notably, wastewater pump stations in low-lying areas were identiﬁed as being at high risk of exposure to sea level rise and storm surges. At the same time, inland water source assets were most vulnerable to long-term drying and extreme heat.

The ﬁndings are already informing design standards and capital planning, with results shared through an internal Power BI dashboard. By embedding climate risk into its business-as-usual framework, Water Corporation is turning spatial data and projections into practical investment decisions.

“Risk is no longer theoretical,” Stenhouse said. “We’re building resilience into every system, starting with how we assess and prioritise action.”

Basin reform meets investment opportunity Few topics at Ozwater’25 carried the economic and policy weight of the Murray-Darling Basin. Stuart Peevor of Waterﬁnd outlined how the Restoring Our Rivers Act 2023, coupled with ﬁnancial innovation and policy reform, is reshaping the future of water markets and sustainability in the Basin.

The posters from the papers on display.

“Reform now means opportunity,” Peevor said. “We need to stop viewing it only as a compliance burden. It’s also a pathway to investment, resilience, and productivity.”

With a projected 9.4 per cent reduction in the consumptive pool by 2027–28, stakeholders face immense pressure. But Peevor highlighted the rise of AgTech, water rights ﬁnancing, and smart trading platforms as essential tools for navigating the transition.

“Growers are already shifting to precision irrigation, using remote sensing tools, and planning with digital platforms,” he said. “Now we need capital markets and regulatory structures that match that innovation.”

The session also touched on urban greening, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander water rights, and liveability as emerging policy frontiers.

Improved water governance

One of the most compelling demonstrations of inclusive water

planning came from the Northern Territory (NT). Nerida Horner and Dr Susannah Clement from the O ce of Water Security shared how the Territory Water Plan is embedding Aboriginal interests at every stage of water governance.

Four key pillars shape the NT approach: access to safe drinking water, communication and knowledge-sharing, participation in decision-making, and access to water for economic development.

The plan’s early impacts include

SA Water used its space in the exhibition centre to support its work across a broad range of issues.

legislation to support safe drinking water standards, reforms to expand regulatory coverage to remote communities, and co-investment of more than $100 million in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander water infrastructure. The Aboriginal Water Reserve, an allocation of more than 70,000 megalitres (ML) set aside for Aboriginal-led economic development, was another key highlight.

With more than half of the Adelaide River Water Advisory Committee composed of Aboriginal representatives, and cultural water projects underway in Ti Tree and Adelaide River, the NT is demonstrating what cogovernance looks like in practice.

“This is about enabling selfdetermined water security,” Horner said. “Not just consulting but investing in shared leadership.”

Looking ahead, Ozwater’25 left the sector energised and equipped for action. From smart metering to Aboriginal co-governance, delegates gained fresh insights and a renewed sense of purpose.

As Corinne Cheeseman noted at the event’s close, the momentum behind digital solutions, sustainable infrastructure, and policy evolution is real – and growing.

The 2025 Australian Water Award winners represent a diverse group of individuals and companies across the water sector.

Celeste Morgan’s journey in integrated water management

A powerful voice in integrated water management, this award-winning leader drives collaboration, systems thinking, and sustainable change.

CELESTE MORGAN DIDN’T set out to win the Australian Water Association’s (AWA) most prestigious honour. But in 2025, the Arup principal and sustainability leader was named Australian Water Professional of the Year, a recognition she views as a tribute not just to her personal journey, but to a wider movement that has reshaped Australia’s approach to integrated water management (IWM).

“At ﬁrst I felt a little uncomfortable with the personal recognition,” Morgan said. “There are so many wonderful people working in integrated water management. But then I realised this award was really about heralding the change we want to see in the industry. I’m proud to stand as a representative of that.”

Reimagining the path to water leadership

Morgan’s career began in New Zealand, where she entered the

water sector as a young graduate. However, her early experience left her disillusioned.

“There was a real lack of female leaders, and an industry focused on predeﬁned briefs, not the big picture,” she said. “I felt boxed in and frustrated.”

At that time, only about 10 per cent of engineering professionals in her ﬁeld were women. The narrow focus of projects and the lack of strategic thinking led her to seek purpose elsewhere. She left the sector and moved to London and began working in planning and urban design, determined to shape outcomes rather than respond to them.

Her work on the regeneration of East London for the 2012 Olympic Games marked a turning point. The project revolved around the River Lee, transforming a neglected waterway into a green-blue corridor that became the centrepiece of Olympic planning.

Morgan won the AWA’s Water Professional of the Year Award

“It showed me how water can shape places,” Morgan said. “That project brought me to the concept of integrated water management.”

It was in this moment of rediscovery that she ﬁrst connected with Arup and began collaborating with Australian experts in watersensitive urban design. Impressed by the Australian approach, she eventually moved across the globe to join the movement.

“Over the past 12 years in Australia, I’ve been privileged to help the sector evolve,” she said. “I think we’re now world leaders in that space.”

Elevating integrated water management

The London Olympic Park, around the River Lea, is an example of integrated water management in a broader urban planning scheme.

Image: Arup

Today, integrated water management is at the heart of Morgan’s work. One of her most inﬂuential projects has been leading the development of an integrated water management plan for Melbourne. The initiative brought together more than 50 organisations across the region and created a shared vision that transcended traditional water service boundaries.

“It was a huge undertaking over several years, but it brought everyone on the journey,” Morgan said. “We created a shared vision across the water cycle and built

Celeste

at OzWater’25.

Image: Australian Water Association

trust. I think that work put the sector, and integrated water management, in good stead.”

The project exempliﬁed what she sees as one of Australia’s greatest industry strengths: public ownership of water utilities and a willingness to collaborate.

“We’re willing to share and go on the journey together,” she said. “I’ve seen the industry transform, especially when it comes to embedding cultural values and working with Traditional Owners.”

Recognition of stormwater as a key resource and opportunity to improve the places we live, which was once considered separate from core water authority services, has become a symbol of the sector’s maturity.

“At the start of my career in Australia, I never would have expected to be Water Professional of the Year coming from a stormwater background,” she said. “But the industry has come so far, and that’s something to be proud of.”

Morgan’s award follows in the footsteps of leaders such as Chris Hertle and Karen Rouse, who also pushed boundaries in their respective ﬁelds. She hopes her recognition signals continued support for strategic thinkers and systems-level approaches in the industry.

Learning from Country, challenging the norm

A deﬁning feature of Morgan’s recent work has been the integration of Indigenous knowledge into IWM practice. Collaborating with Traditional Owners has reshaped her thinking on both water and systems thinking.

“First Nations people have lived on and managed water in this country for 65,000 years,” Morgan

said. “Traditional owner thinking recognises nature is not separate from us. It’s an artiﬁcial construct to think otherwise. We need to deliver outcomes for Country as a whole.”

These perspectives have challenged the limitations of Western frameworks and helped her rethink what systems thinking should mean in a modern, connected world.

“Systems thinking, as we deﬁne it now, isn’t enough,” she said. “We still miss the human, cultural, and political layers that tie everything together. We need to get out of our spreadsheets and talk to each other.”

Her work involves more than just policy or planning. It is about reweaving the water cycle in ways that reﬂect cultural connections, memory, and stewardship across generations. In her view, recognising waterways as a living entity is not just a philosophical stance. It’s essential to creating truly sustainable water systems.

This holistic approach also includes adapting how water systems are monitored, managed, and maintained. Morgan is interested in shifting regulatory

Morgan presenting during Ozwater’25 Image: Arup

and operational models to make room for co-design with community groups, especially those representing First Nations interests.

“We’re only just beginning to understand the depth of knowledge that exists,” she said. “We need to be humble and open to learning.”

Where integrated water management can go next Morgan is adamant that the water sector cannot succeed alone.

Integrated water management, she believes, provides a platform for deeper cross-sector collaboration, particularly in areas such as energy, planning, and climate resilience.

“There’s so much potential to work across sectors,” she said.

“Whether it’s recycled water for hydrogen or managing water for new urban green space, integrated water management can unlock new beneﬁts.”

Her recent work has explored the links between IWM and the energy transition. Water is essential for hydrogen production, and future water strategies must consider how to manage demand from emerging industries, such as hydrogen and data centres.

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The impacts of integrated water management are already visible in projects that repurpose stormwater for cooling, improve liveability, and contribute to biodiversity.

“It’s not just about pipes and pumps,” she said. “It’s about creating healthier, more resilient cities that serve people and ecosystems together.”

Future-focused thinking, with the right questions

For all the talk of technology, Morgan believes the real innovation lies in asking better questions. Tools like artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) can be transformative, but only if they are applied with purpose.

“If we’re not careful, we’ll use AI to optimise the wrong things,” she said. “We can’t just use new tools to reinforce the same thinking. The question you ask is everything. That’s what drives the outcome.”

She wants the sector to move beyond narrow performance metrics and adopt multiple beneﬁt frameworks, including social, environmental, cultural, and economic.

Her call for better questioning is also a call for courage, to move away from the status quo, take risks, and explore new partnerships.

More importantly, she encourages the industry to keep people and

Morgan (right) is part of a team of dedicated integrated water managers at Arup.

Image: Arup

communities at the centre.

“It’s about broadening our idea of value,” she said. “We have to challenge what we optimise for.

“We’re in challenging times. We can’t face those challenges with old tools.

“Technology should support us; not replace the relationships and insights we build face to face.”

Advice for the next generation For early career professionals, particularly women in engineering, Morgan o ers both encouragement and challenge. Her own journey shows that sometimes walking away is part of ﬁnding the right path.

“My advice is to ﬁnd your passion,” she said. “That can take time. But when you ﬁnd something close to your heart, that’s where you’ll make the most impact.

“Surround yourself with people who challenge and inspire you. Work with teams that energise you.

“If you’re not loving your day-today interactions, make a change.”

At Arup, she now leads a team that is more than 75 per cent female or non-binary, which is a radical shift from the early days of her career.

“It’s a fantastic collaborative way to work,” she said. “And it shows how far the industry has come.”

Her closing reﬂection ties back to both cultural tradition and universal experience.

“A Traditional Owner at a recent women in water event reminded us that women have always had a deep relationship with water,” Morgan said. “We’re all carried in water by our mothers before we’re born. That connection with water begins with our mothers, and we should think of them and act with our hearts to make water healthy.”

For more information, visit awa.asn.au and arup.com

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF WATER WARRIORS

Introducing Wanda the Water Warrior, a captivating children’s book to inspire and educate young Australians about water conservation and sustainability.

Wanda the Water Warrior takes children on an engaging adventure through pivotal moments in Australia’s water history, from the Millennium Drought and demystifies innovative solutions like desalination and water recycling in a way that is informative and engaging for young minds.

To complement the book, the Wanda the Water Warrior website features a resource hub with free downloadable activities, colouringin sheets, and teaching notes, making it an invaluable resource for schools and families alike. In addition, a range of Water Warrior merchandise—including reusable water bottles and children’s jumpers—are available so children can embrace their inner Water Warrior.

A donation will be made to WaterAid Australia from all sales to support its mission to reach people around the world who still don’t have clean water close to home.

To become part of the movement and help inspire the next generation of Water Warriors, visit: www.wandawaterwarrior.com.au

FOCUS Trenchless Technology

Delivering impact through trenchless construction project

A trenchless construction project is transforming Queensland’s infrastructure with smart delivery and strong community ties.

IN THE FAST-GROWING corridors of the Sunshine Coast, delivering critical infrastructure ahead of population growth is more than a construction challenge – it’s a test of foresight, coordination and innovation.

Unitywater’s Aura and Harmony Water and Wastewater Program, in partnership with McConnell Dowell, shows what’s possible when trenchless technology meets collaborative project delivery.

With two 12-kilometre pipelines and a complex network of reservoirs, pump stations and water transfer infrastructure, the $190 million program serves the fastdeveloping communities of Aura and Harmony near Caloundra. These areas are expected to accommodate more than 70,000 residents by 2050, and the infrastructure now taking shape will serve them for decades.

Trenchless technology enables high-impact delivery

The decision to deploy trenchless construction techniques was driven by multiple imperatives: protecting high-density residential zones, reducing surface disruption, and accelerating delivery through di cult terrain.

A key method used throughout the program was horizontal directional drilling (HDD), which allowed engineers to install major pipelines beneath roads, driveways and natural features with minimal disturbance above ground. This approach proved particularly valuable when navigating sensitive areas, such as parks, school zones, and heavily tra cked pedestrian and cyclist zones.

Purdey Wikman, stakeholder and communications manager at McConnell Dowell, said the complexity of the works demanded both innovation and adaptability.

The Aura and Harmony Water and Wastewater Program is a showcase for trenchless technology and horizontal directional drilling.

Images: McConnell Dowell

“If complex construction projects were easy, everyone would do it,” Wikman said. “It’s truly the relationships that make the di erence. Responding quickly, ﬁnding solutions – this builds trust. The community saw that, and it has been critical to the project’s success.” HDD also allowed for the integration of broader environmental protections. Watercourse crossings and culturally signiﬁcant areas were completed with minimal ground disturbance, thanks to thorough planning and collaboration with traditional custodians, the Kabi Kabi peoples. Their involvement shaped a tailored Cultural Heritage Management Plan, integrating heritage considerations into daily construction practices.

Strategic planning supports rapid regional growth

The trenchless construction project supports Unitywater’s broader goal of futureprooﬁng water infrastructure to match population expansion in the Sunshine Coast region. With

FOCUS Trenchless Technology

projections indicating tens of thousands of new residents by midcentury, early investment in water and wastewater pipelines is vital to sustainable growth.

Joshua Zugajev, executive manager of strategic engagement at Unitywater, said planning played a key role in minimising future network strain.

“Every aspect of the infrastructure has been planned with this future community in mind, ensuring the network can meet demand for decades to come,” Zugajev said.

The program consists of three integrated works packages: Aura Water, Aura Wastewater and Harmony Water. In addition to the 12-kilometre water and wastewater pipelines, a dedicated 2.6-kilometre line was constructed for Harmony, accompanied by two 12-megalitre reservoirs and a new wastewater pump station. These assets connect to Unitywater’s broader regional systems and support reliable service delivery under peak load conditions.

While the bulk of the program was executed through trenchless methods, open trenching was also used strategically, particularly in areas where surface reinstatement could be carefully managed or where conventional installation o ered cost or timing advantages.

Community engagement enhances technical outcomes

McConnell Dowell found that the success of the trenchless construction project, like many others it has completed, was shaped not only by engineering, but also by the community trust it earned from the outset.

Before construction began, McConnell Dowell initiated faceto-face conversations with local residents, schools and businesses. The aim was to set expectations,

listen to concerns, and prevent the type of surprise disruptions that can often erode public conﬁdence.

“From the very start, we focused on speaking to as many people face to face as possible,” Wikman said. “We shared information across di erent platforms, helping people understand both the purpose and beneﬁts of each of the projects, as well as the potential impacts.”

Designs were regularly reviewed through a community lens, particularly in areas near schools or pedestrian routes. In several cases, plans were revised to address community input, even when technically feasible designs had already been ﬁnalised. According to Wikman, Unitywater’s openness to adjustment was crucial.

“Having a client like Unitywater, who genuinely embraces that approach, has made a real di erence,” she said. “It has allowed us to adjust aspects of construction to minimise disruption and achieve better outcomes for local residents.”

This community-ﬁrst approach extended to frontline construction activity. In one instance, access routes were modiﬁed to accommodate a resident with limited mobility. On another site, crews adjusted fencing to preserve a young boy’s collection of stone towers built beside the project boundary. Such gestures deepened engagement and transformed residents into project supporters.

Partnerships and legacy drive long-term impact

Inclusion and social procurement were key performance areas embedded in the project. More than $120 million has already been returned to the local economy, exceeding the original $80 million target. Over 85 per cent of employment was sourced

The team at McConnell Dowell worked seamlessly with Unitywater to roll out this project on the Sunshine Coast.

locally, and more than $5 million in spending was directed to First Nations businesses for services ranging from protective equipment to cultural training.

One of the most powerful legacies came from a partnership with The Compass Institute, a Sunshine Coastbased social enterprise supporting people with disabilities. Compass trainees contributed more than 600 hours to maintaining the site garden and vehicles, while also gaining hands-on workplace experience. The collaboration deepened through access and inclusion training for project sta and culminated in McConnell Dowell receiving the 2024 Compass Heritage Spirit Award.

“It has been wonderful to witness the positive impacts, on the ground and through our collaborations with construction partners and local community groups,” Zugajev said. “It has also delivered positive outcomes for Unitywater and McConnell Dowell, the most signiﬁcant being inclusivity in action.

“Team members formed friendships with the trainees, and there was a genuine sense of belonging. It improved understanding, broke down barriers, changed mindsets, and left a lasting mark on the culture of the project team.”

Community engagement is key to such signiﬁcant projects.

For more information, visit mcconnelldowell.com and unitywater.com

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FOCUS Recycled Water

How a recycled water pipeline is helping elephants thrive

A recycled water pipeline for zoo habitats is securing water resilience, supporting elephant care, and unlocking future supply options for one of Victoria’s fastest-growing regions.

ELEPHANTS NEED A lot of water but providing it sustainably in a drying climate and growing city is no small feat. At Werribee Open Range Zoo, that challenge has been met with a solution that’s as forwardthinking as it is quietly complex: a new recycled water pipeline built by Greater Western Water (GWW) in partnership with Jaydo, designed to deliver hundreds of millions of litres each year without touching local river allocations or drinking water supplies.

The new infrastructure is part of a broader push to make recycled water more widely available for ﬁt-forpurpose use. In this case, it is helping to create a new home for elephants while laying the groundwork for the sustainable expansion of the zoo and the broader region. It also reﬂects a growing recognition across Victoria that alternative water sources are essential to long-term resilience, especially in areas facing strong population growth.

Tricky crossings and trenchless tunnelling

Spanning 2.5 kilometres, the pipeline links the Werribee Recycled Water Plant to the zoo. While the distance isn’t vast, the journey was anything but simple.

“One of the key technical challenges was getting under the Werribee River,” said GWW Senior Project Manager Allison Newland. “We had to navigate a 20-metre escarpment and protect environmentally and culturally sensitive areas.”

To solve the problem, the team selected horizontal directional drilling (HDD) as the best-ﬁt trenchless solution. The ﬁnal bore stretched 400 metres beneath the river, traversing layers of gravel, clay, and basalt, with this geological complexity making planning essential.

“It was one of the longer drills we’ve undertaken,” Newland said. “We did deep bore testing that went down about 20 metres at multiple points to ﬁnd a consistent stratum and avoid

Elephants exploring the new pool habitat.

Image: Zoos Victoria

Allison Newland is the Senior Project Manager at Greater Western Water, working on this project at Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Image: Greater Western Water

surface breakout. That was critical for protecting the river and cultural heritage zones.”

The HDD section was made of polyethylene pipe 710 millimetres (mm) in diameter, while the rest of the line is made of mild steel with a 600 mm diameter. These materials were selected for their durability and their compatibility with the area’s varied soil conditions and hydraulic requirements.

“We also had to avoid frack-outs from drilling ﬂuid,” Newland added. “That meant engaging contractors with specialised experience in mixed ground conditions and long directional bores.”

In addition to technical demands, the crossing required comprehensive environmental planning and cultural heritage management. The team worked closely with Traditional Owners to preserve and document artefacts, ensuring the project respected the area’s deep Indigenous signiﬁcance.

Coordination on every front Environmental protection wasn’t limited to the river crossing. The pipeline also had to avoid disrupting the zoo’s operations and animals during construction.

“Working inside a zoo is a unique experience,” said Newland. “We built along a back access track and had to coordinate very closely with sta .

Construction was carefully timed to avoid peak visitor periods and to ensure animal welfare was not compromised. The collaboration extended to planning vehicle movements, managing noise impacts, and providing emergency access, which was always available.

The project team also worked around a four-and-a-half metre diameter Melbourne Water trunk sewer by constructing a short aboveground bridge segment.

That solution required careful design and negotiation with Parks Victoria, whose land was also traversed.

Stakeholder collaboration proved central throughout the project’s design and delivery.

“Because we crossed land owned by several organisations, we needed early and ongoing engagement to ensure the pipeline aligned with everyone’s long-term plans,” she said.

Engineering for now and later

The pipeline currently supplies around 150 million litres of recycled water per year, with the capacity to expand to 400 million litres to meet the zoo’s future needs. But that’s just the start.

“The pipe was sized for its ultimate capacity, not just for the zoo, but for future customers further up the line,” said Newland. “We’re already thinking about the next stages of supply across the region.”

GWW also worked with Zoos Victoria to stagger demand through nighttime irrigation and matched the zoo’s on-site storage to help balance pressure and avoid unnecessary peaks in the network. This hydraulic optimisation is increasingly common in integrated water systems, helping maximise plant utilisation while lowering energy demand.

While the recycled water system already complies with Victorian water quality standards, GWW maintains regular testing and maintenance schedules to keep it performing over the long term.

“We didn’t have to make changes to the water quality for this project,” Newland said. “What we supply already meets the zoo’s needs. We just needed to ensure it was delivered reliably and maintained well.”

Utilising horizontal directional drilling avoided disturbance to the Werribee River.

Image: Greater Western Water

Long-term asset management is built in, with routine inspection protocols and remote monitoring expected to provide early warning for any pressure, quality, or ﬂow anomalies.

A natural ﬁt with recycled water strategy

The pipeline is more than a standalone asset. It aligns with Greater Western Water’s role in the Werribee and Maribyrnong Integrated Water Management Forums, prioritising coordinated infrastructure that makes the most of alternative water sources.

“This was actually listed as a priority action in the Werribee Catchment,” Newland said. “It ﬁts perfectly with our commitment to using ﬁt-for-purpose water and supporting the integrated water management framework.”

The recycled water used for the elephants’ habitat would otherwise be discharged into Port Phillip Bay. Redirecting it to the zoo supports animal welfare and reduces pressure on local waterways.

“Because the zoo no longer draws from the Werribee River, they can use that allocation for environmental ﬂows across their property,” she explained. “In particular, they’ve earmarked it for the core river that runs through the zoo as well as the Savannah billabongs in the southern part of the site.”

That balance between conservation and supply, infrastructure and ecology make the project such a powerful case study for what recycled water can achieve when delivered with the right partnerships and planning.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Newland said. “This is why I work in the water industry, knowing what you’re doing is providing lasting beneﬁt to the community.”

For more information, visit gww.com. au/werribee-zoo and zoo.org.au/ werribee.

Events

How trenchless technology is transforming infrastructure in Australia

From local manufacturing to global reach, trenchless technology in Australia is reshaping how water and wastewater networks are delivered.

THERE’S SOMETHING UNMISTAKABLY practical about the way Keith Edmunds sees the world. “Keep it simple, stupid,” he says matter-of-factly, echoing the mantra that has guided KRE Engineering since it ﬁrst entered the Australian trenchless market in 1991.

As the industry prepares to descend on Melbourne for NoDig Down Under 2025, Edmunds’ philosophy feels especially relevant. Amid global conversations about digital disruption, KRE is making a name for itself by going in the opposite direction – delivering robust, low-tech solutions to some of the world’s most complex underground challenges.

A robot, not a computer KRE Engineering was born out of frustration. Back in the early 1990s, Edmunds and his colleagues were importing robotic equipment from Europe and the United States, only to ﬁnd the products poorly suited for Australian conditions.

“They were that unreliable, we decided to start manufacturing our own,” Edmunds said. “There was no

real rehabilitation industry in Australia at the time, so we stepped in to ﬁll that gap.”

Since then, KRE has quietly dominated the trenchless robotics space, supplying about 85 per cent of the Australian and New Zealand market and expanding its footprint across Asia and Africa. From major reticulation programs in Singapore and Hong Kong to ongoing projects in South Africa and Malaysia, KRE’s approach to pipeline rehabilitation has found global traction.

The key to that success, according to Edmunds, lies in simplicity.

“You couldn’t wish for a worse environment to put electronics in than a sewer pipe. It’s highly corrosive,” he said. “That’s why we keep everything low-tech. The contractors main goal is to get paid for getting the liner in the ground –not for cutting laterals – so it has to be quick and cost e ective .”

A return to No-Dig

KRE Engineering has been a ﬁxture at No-Dig Down Under since the event’s earliest days. For Edmunds, its appeal is clear.

“It’s industry-speciﬁc. You’re not standing next to someone selling water pumps or portable toilets. You’re talking to the right people –the decision makers,” he said. No-Dig Down Under, run in partnership with the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT), brings together contractors, consultants, researchers, and suppliers from across the globe. The technical program includes case studies, training sessions, and CPDaccredited presentations, all housed alongside a 4500-square-metre exhibition hall.

While Edmunds has attended similar events in Dubai, Singapore, and even Germany’s ROKATECH, he sees No-Dig Down Under as uniquely valuable for fostering local and international relationships.

“You get everyone under one roof,” he said. “You’re not ﬂying around the country trying to get 20 minutes with someone. Everyone’s there, and you can have real conversations.”

What’s on show

At this year’s event, KRE will be showcasing redesigned cutter units and several new features, including a water washdown system, reversing camera functionality and a 4th axis addition for enhanced maneuverability and precision. The

The exhibition at No-Dig Down Under is always a hubbub of activity.

Image: Prime Creative Media

updates are small but purposeful, aligning with the company’s ethos of straightforward utility.

“We’ve had people ask for a washdown camera system and a 4th axis for years, and now we’ve delivered it in a simple, e ective way,” Edmunds said.

KRE will also share its stand with partner IMS Robotics Australia and celebrate IMS Robotics’ new distribution partnership with New Zealand-based Burrow-Tech. In addition, KRE will spotlight its recent collaboration with NordiTube Group’s Australian subsidiary, reﬂecting their commitment to strategic international partnerships.

The plan is to manufacture NordiTube’s full product range in Sydney, creating opportunities to market Australian-made solutions across North America and Europe, and reinforcing their position as a competitive global supplier.

Puriﬁed recycled water plans gain momentum

Puriﬁed recycled water initiatives are reshaping future water security with new infrastructure, public engagement, and treatment technologies.

IN THE FACE of housing growth and an increasingly unpredictable climate, Sydney Water is spearheading a shift in how Greater Sydney secures its water future.

With demand now equalling or surpassing rainfall-reliant supply, the utility has turned to once-marginal solutions – puriﬁed recycled water (PRW) and desalination.

What was once a backup concept in other cities, PRW is now central to a bold strategy that aims to reshape water security, sustainability and system resilience for decades to come.

Building conﬁdence through innovation

Sydney Water’s journey with PRW began at Quakers Hill with the development of a small-scale Discovery Centre. This half-megalitre-

per-day test facility serves dual purposes: validating the safety and performance of membranebased treatment technologies and inviting the community to see the process ﬁrsthand.

According to James Harrington, Senior Project Manager at Sydney Water, transparency is key.

“Our Discovery Centre gives people the chance to see, interact with, and eventually, we hope, taste the water. That’s been the single biggest insight from global leaders like Singapore and California,” Harrington said.

“It’s not enough to explain it. People need to experience it. Once they do, the conversation changes.”

The facility also anchors Sydney Water’s broader case for a fullscale PRW plant, supporting an Environmental Impact Statement that is now underway.

James Harrington is the Senior Project Manager at Sydney Water, and focusing on the puriﬁed recycled water demonstration plant in Quakers Hill.

Images: Sydney Water

“We’ve spent the year in active community engagement to determine whether there’s support for PRW - and it’s clear from our data that there is,” Harrington said.

Treatment technologies built on proven models

Sydney Water’s approach is grounded in a membrane-based treatment train comprising ultraﬁltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection with advanced oxidation, and chlorine contact. These technologies, used globally in cities like Singapore and Los Angeles, have been selected for their robust safety proﬁles and compatibility with existing infrastructure.

“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel for the ﬁrst rollout,” Harrington said. “We’ve run membrane plants for years and have discharge capabilities for brine. That makes this a practical choice.”

In parallel, the team is evaluating innovation in monitoring, controls and real-time data. Harrington said a focus on smarter sensors, digital twins, and predictive analytics helps Sydney Water to operate proactively rather than reactively.

As the technology advances, Sydney Water is positioning itself to act as both an operator and a demonstrator for the wider industry. Insights from its pilot projects are informing broader planning discussions across the state and serve as a practical model for regional utilities considering similar schemes.

Community acceptance as a cornerstone

Despite technical readiness, PRW still confronts the so-called “yuck factor.” Sydney Water is addressing this through a transparent and educational engagement strategy. Community events, ministerial site visits and pop-ups across all of

Greater Sydney are all part of a plan to normalise PRW as a viable option.

“We’re not saying this is the only option. It’s part of a portfolio,” Harrington said. “Once people understand what the process involves and how it’s controlled, they’re far more comfortable.

“We want to support informed decisions, not just acceptance.”

The utility’s long-standing local recycling schemes, from industrial reuse to purple pipe systems, have laid the groundwork for this shift. PRW’s promise lies in augmenting raw water supplies at scale. This approach reaches a broader audience across multiple areas by integrating supply at the top of the network.

Sydney Water is also taking deliberate steps to engage with underrepresented communities in the decision-making process.

“We’ve prioritised multicultural engagement and broad geographic reach so that louder voices don’t skew our data,” Harrington said. “We want to know what all of Sydney thinks.”

Infrastructure alignment and economic viability

PRW is also proving compelling from a planning and cost perspective. Stage 1 of the Quakers Hill scheme could provide up to 36 megalitres per day, with an ultimate capacity of 86 megalitres per day. PRW opportunities could provide up to 25 per cent of Greater Sydney’s water supply by 2056.

It is a meaningful shift, especially when paired with the prospect of feeding into the Prospect Reservoir, a hub that supplies 80 per cent of Greater Sydney.

“From an energy standpoint, PRW uses about a third less power than desalination,” Harrington said. “And because it can be deployed in the western highlands and ﬂow back

toward the city, geography and logistics work in its favour.”

Compared to building new dams, which require signiﬁcant capital expenditure and environmental costs, PRW presents a more balanced longterm investment.

“We’ve reviewed the numbers. Quakers Hill stands out as one of the most economical new rainfallindependent supplies we can pursue,” he said.

Coordinating policy, environment and market forces

Sydney Water is working with multiple regulatory bodies to pave the way for rollout. Ongoing collaboration with NSW Health has shaped monitoring and reporting frameworks. Engagement with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is helping align PRW with new nutrient discharge targets. Discussions with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure focus on broader water recycling policy.

“Policy, regulation and design need to align,” Harrington said. “The demand is growing, the environment is changing, and the market is busy. Strategic partnerships are critical.” Those partnerships extend beyond government. Sydney Water collaborates with technology providers, research institutions and engineering consultants to trial new devices and reﬁne monitoring protocols. Many of these partnerships run live pilots at the Discovery Centre and other strategic locations across the network.

By supporting these partnerships, Sydney Water is helping create a pathway for commercial innovation that beneﬁts the entire sector.

The demonstration plant at Quakers Hill is providing unique insights for local communities to see how PRW works.

“We want to build something that not only works for us, but sets a foundation others can build on,” Harrington said. PRW would only be introduced to Sydney’s water supply system following community consultation and stringent Government approvals. At this stage, no decision regarding PRW has been made by the New South Wales Government.

A stepwise roadmap for Greater Sydney

Sydney Water’s long-term vision involves a staged implementation. After Quakers Hill, ﬁve additional sites have been earmarked for PRW conversion through to 2040 and beyond. All are aimed at strengthening the Prospect Reservoir supply zone.

“It’s not a big bang. It’s incremental, it’s measured, and it’s constantly validated,” Harrington said. “We start small, prove the model and scale up with conﬁdence.”

As puriﬁed recycled water transitions from possibility to practice, its success will depend not just on engineering but on public trust and policy alignment.

Sydney Water’s approach –technically rigorous, socially engaged and strategically integrated – may well become the blueprint for other Australian utilities navigating the uncertain waters of tomorrow.

“Normalising manufactured water is the single biggest shift we can make,” Harrington said. “Once it’s standard practice, the question becomes, what’s the best tool for the job?”

For more information, visit https:// www.sydneywater.com.au/ education/drinking-water/puriﬁedrecycled-water.html

Recycled water in Perth helps secure future supply

Recycled water in Perth is supporting groundwater replenishment, climate resilience, and long-term investment in sustainable infrastructure.

WHEN RAINFALL PATTERNS

collapsed in Western Australia, Perth faced a stark choice: adapt or run dry. The southwest of the state has experienced one of Australia’s most pronounced climate shifts, with average inﬂows into metropolitan dams dropping by more than 80 per cent since the 1970s. At the same time, population growth and economic development placed additional pressure on infrastructure and traditional water sources.

In response, Perth began to reimagine its entire urban water cycle. What was once seen as waste became an opportunity. Recycled water in Perth evolved from a fringe concept into an important strategy for securing the city’s future. Rather than relying solely on rainfall, authorities embraced an integrated approach that balanced desalination, groundwater use, and wastewater recycling.

This wasn’t just a technical or engineering challenge. It required political vision, community engagement, and long-term investment across multiple levels of government. Through education campaigns, demonstration projects, and strong regulatory oversight, Perth succeeded in building public trust in the safety and value of water recycling.

Today, recycled water in Perth is a foundation of water security. It supports a shift toward climate resilience and a more circular economy, where water is reused and reintegrated rather than discarded. From aquifer recharge to irrigated parks, Perth is proving that recycled water can serve drinking and nondrinking purposes at scale. Strong public trust has also supported its growth. As population growth and climate change intensify, the city’s example is drawing national attention.

The Kwinana Water Reclamation Plant provides ﬁt-for-purpose recycled water for industrial processing.

Perth’s path to water independence

Decades ago, Perth relied heavily on surface water from dams. However, declining rainfall and rising demand have created an urgent need to diversify. Water Corporation led the response by introducing desalination, expanding groundwater sources, and accelerating the uptake of recycled water.

“Historically, we saw wastewater as something to be treated and discharged,” a Water Corporation spokesperson said. “But as conditions changed, we started seeing it as a resource. That’s when things began to shift.”

In 2017, Perth commissioned Australia’s ﬁrst full-scale Groundwater Replenishment Scheme. The Beenyup Advanced Water Recycling Plant treats wastewater to a level that exceeds drinking water guidelines. The water is then recharged into underground aquifers, which serve as natural, climate-independent reservoirs.

The scheme’s second stage, completed in 2022, doubled its capacity to 28 billion litres annually. A 13-kilometre pipeline and additional recharge bores now service sites in Neerabup and Wanneroo. These upgrades help stabilise Perth’s long-term supply.

“Groundwater replenishment supports the sustainability of our aquifers, which we know are also heavily impacted by declining rainfall,” the spokesperson said. “It’s reliable, sustainable, and e cient.”

Beyond engineering, government policy played a critical role.

Early alignment between Water Corporation, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, and WA Health helped streamline regulatory approvals and public engagement.

According to research from the

Images: Water Corporation

National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, this collaborative governance has been key to Perth’s leadership in water recycling.

Inside the Beenyup recycling process

The Beenyup facility is a technical milestone in recycled water in Perth. It employs a three-barrier process: ultraﬁltration removes particles and pathogens, reverse osmosis eliminates dissolved salts and chemicals, and ultraviolet light provides ﬁnal disinfection.

“The result is puriﬁed water that’s rigorously monitored and tested,” the spokesperson said. “Every batch is assessed in real time, and the system is built to exceed Australian standards.”

As of early 2025, more than 100 billion litres of puriﬁed recycled water have been recharged into Perth’s aquifers. The water remains underground for months or years before being extracted, treated, and supplied to homes.

The facility’s design minimises energy use. According to Water Corporation, it requires around 25 per cent of the energy used by seawater desalination. Independent reviews by Monash University, CSIRO, and WA Health have conﬁrmed the system’s safety and reliability.

“Community trust has been key,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve invested in communication, transparency, and third-party oversight. That’s made a real di erence.”

This trust has been reinforced through open days, school programs, and public tours. These initiatives helped demystify the recycling process in the scheme’s early days. Stakeholder engagement has moved beyond compliance and is now a platform for education and empowerment.

Expanding reuse beyond drinking supply

Recycled water in Perth goes well beyond groundwater replenishment. Treated wastewater supports irrigation, industrial processing, wetland restoration, and other nondrinking uses.

A major upgrade is underway at the Woodman Point Water Resource Recovery Facility to increase organic waste processing and renewable energy generation. The site treats more than 150 million litres per day and will soon recover even more resources in the form of biogas and biosolids.

In Osborne Park, water from road sweepers and workshop wash bays is reused for street maintenance. New developments are trialling third-pipe systems. These systems allow recycled water to be used for toilet ﬂushing, garden irrigation, and laundry.

“We aim to recycle 35 per cent of wastewater by 2035,” the spokesperson said. “There’s more to be done but we’ve got the roadmap.”

This roadmap includes the Waterwise Perth Action Plan, which encourages localised reuse, integrated water management, and water-smart urban planning. Together, these initiatives support a circular economy that values water at every stage of its cycle.

The broader implications for urban design are gaining traction.

According to Infrastructure WA’s State Infrastructure Strategy, precinct-scale recycled water networks could play a vital role in future-prooﬁng high-growth

The Advanced Water Recycling Plant in Beenyup is at the cutting edge of water recycling. The water is regularly tested against Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

corridors, including areas such as the northern suburbs, Joondalup, and the Morley–Ellenbrook line.

A national example of smart water reuse

Perth’s success with recycled water is inﬂuencing the national water strategy. The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering recently highlighted groundwater replenishment as a best-practice model for other cities seeking drought resilience.

“Recycled water in Perth is not just a fallback. It’s a future-focused solution,” the Water Corporation spokesperson said. “It’s coste ective, publicly accepted, and environmentally responsible.”

They added that while every region has its own context, the core lesson is clear. Investing early in diverse, climate-resilient water sources pays o .

“Cities that start small and scale carefully build the technical and community foundations they need. That’s been our approach, and it’s working.”

For more information, visit watercorporation.com.au

Family supplies granular activated carbon to Australia

Granular activated carbon remains essential in water treatment, with sustainable supply chains now a key industry priority.

AUSTRALIA’S WATER SECTOR has always depended on reliable access to ﬁltration media, but with climate change, stricter PFAS (perand polyﬂuoroalkyl substances) guidelines, and growing urban demands, the stakes have never been higher.

At the heart of many treatment systems lies granular activated carbon, a material critical to removing contaminants and safeguarding public health. For more than four decades, James Cumming and Sons has quietly helped utilities, councils and engineers meet these challenges, backed by a uniquely local legacy.

The family-owned company, now in its fourth generation, is one of the only Australian manufacturers of granular activated carbon. James Cumming and Sons Managing Director John Cumming said the business has long focused on practical innovation, not marketing hype.

“We work closely with engineers, independent labs, and regulators to make sure our carbon performs where it counts,” he said. “Whether it’s removing algal toxins or dealing with a PFAS spike, our customers know we deliver a consistent product they can trust.”

The company’s approach is driven by technical performance and a deep understanding of operational realities. Cumming said that many regional operators face challenges that go beyond the lab.

“Our goal is to deliver ﬁltration media that ﬁts the real-world needs of water treatment facilities, whether in metro Sydney or a drought-prone area in outback Queensland. We back that up with testing support, transparent data, and honest communication.”

James Cumming and Sons also plays a key role in reinforcing national supply chain resilience. With geopolitical pressures a ecting global imports and natural disasters disrupting logistics, Australian-made

The bags are sent out to di erent companies who can utilise James Cumming and Sons products in their facilities.

solutions are more critical than ever.

“Being local means we’re not waiting for shipping containers to clear customs,” Cumming said. “We can step in quickly and keep plants running smoothly, even when the unexpected happens.”

A legacy rooted in filtration James Cumming and Sons began in the early 1900s when John’s great-grandfather emigrated from Scotland, bringing milling equipment to Western Sydney. Originally focused on iron and steel minerals, the company pivoted in the 1980s after Sydney Water requested that it develop a local alternative to imported anthracite for filtration. The result was Australian Filter Coal, produced from bituminous coal with a hardness and stability profile suited to municipal water treatment.

“That project marked a turning point,” Cumming said. “From there, we invested in testing, reﬁning, and scaling production. We still run that same site in Western Sydney, and we’ve expanded to become Australia’s largest supplier of Australian-made ﬁltration media.”

Since the late 1990s, James Cumming and Sons has also produced coal-based granular activated carbon. Its direct activation process uses longer kiln residence times than overseas methods, creating a pore structure ideal for removing large molecular weight organics, geosmin

James Cumming and Sons is in its fourth generation as a family business.

Images: James Cumming and Sons

(a naturally occurring compound that gives o a distinct earthy or musty odour), and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB).

The company is Australian Made certiﬁed, and Cumming said its emissions from carbon activation are signiﬁcantly lower than those of many global suppliers.

Delivering carbon with a di erence For many treatment operators, sourcing ﬁltration media is about more than just price. It requires reliability, quality, and a supply chain that can handle both routine needs and emergencies.

James Cumming and Sons works with councils, contractors and utilities across Australia, supporting water treatment plants in major cities, remote towns and desalination facilities.

“We work hard to understand what our customers are trying to achieve,” Cumming said. “That means listening to plant operators, understanding their design specs, and delivering to exact requirements. Our products aren’t just ﬁt for purpose; they’re engineered to improve outcomes over the long term.”

The company’s Australian Filter Coal has been used in projects such as the Mount Crosby Eastbank upgrade in Brisbane, where a transition from mono-media sand to dual-media ﬁltration helped triple production rates. Sydney Water installed a

custom granular carbon formulation at the Cascades site to support PFAS mitigation.

These solutions are backed by in-house and independent testing, ensuring each application meets relevant Australian drinking water guidelines.

Sustainability through manufacturing and innovation

James Cumming and Sons is one of the few carbon suppliers with ISO14000 certiﬁcation, earned after a major environmental overhaul in 2023. Changes include electric forklifts, better energy timing, and local sourcing where possible.

These measures are part of the company’s broader sustainability drive, which provides for packaging reuse and low-emission activation.

It’s why innovation remains central to its model.

“We allocate two per cent of annual revenue to research and development,” Cumming said.

“That might be testing for new contaminants, improving production yields, or designing carbon products for specialised ﬁltration challenges. We work with partners who understand the science and invest in solutions that work on the ground.”

This hands-on approach extends to logistics. With decades of experience supplying metro and regional areas, the company has

The range of ﬁlter coal or granulated activated carbon (GAC) suits a vast array of industries.

built freight networks to handle urgent orders and tricky deliveries. This capability has proven valuable during ﬂoods, droughts, and tasteand-odour events, when rapid carbon deployment is critical.

Balancing heritage and growth

Maintaining tradition in a modern industry requires more than historical pride. For James Cumming and Sons, it means applying long-term values to evolving challenges.

“Our tradition has always been to look forward,” Cumming said. “If we weren’t adapting, we wouldn’t still be here. But we haven’t lost sight of what matters: honesty, humility, and the courage to make hard decisions that serve the bigger picture.”

That mindset is fuelling new initiatives. The company is expanding its Western Sydney plant, launching new carbon products, and exporting to Southeast Asia and Europe. With a roadmap targeting 30 per cent growth this year and more ahead, its ambition remains grounded in its founding principles.

“We’re proud to be an Australian manufacturer supporting critical water infrastructure,” Cumming said.

“The impact we have is long-term, and we’re excited to keep building on that.”

For more information, visit jamescumming.com.au

Wastewater pump servicing drives expansion

From stock to service, wastewater pump servicing is entering a new era of speed, precision and digital insight.

KSB’S BUNDAMBA FACILITY doesn’t just reﬂect an operational upgrade. It signals that the wastewater pump servicing landscape on Australia’s east coast is shifting. Amid growing market pressures for faster turnarounds, smarter diagnostics and lower emissions, the expansion of the Queensland site represents a timely answer to an increasingly complex set of expectations.

It’s not often that a facility upgrade can tick boxes for supply chain resilience, sustainability, and digital transformation all at once. But KSB’s expanded Bundamba footprint, now spread across two neighbouring lots, delivers just that. The real story isn’t the added space. It’s what the company plans to do with it.

Smarter storage, shorter lead times

KSB Australia’s Managing Director, Philippe Olivier, said the decision to expand wasn’t made lightly but quickly.

“In the last three years, our business volume has continuously grown, and it became clear that our available production and service areas would become a constraint,” Olivier said. “We needed a solution that supported both our strategic goals and our ability to serve customers across the East Coast.”

The additional ﬂoor space allows for a much larger stockholding of KSB’s water and wastewater product lines, many of which are manufactured in Europe. By warehousing high-demand models closer to the customer, KSB expects to signiﬁcantly reduce delivery times and improve responsiveness.

“We’re now able to manufacture and repair equipment on-site without delays caused by space limitations,” Olivier said. “The primary advantage for our clients is a much shorter lead time. Increased inventory ensures prompt deliveries, and that’s often the deciding factor.”

It’s a direct response to a problem many utilities and industrial users have faced in the post-pandemic period: extended international lead times and limited availability of spare parts. This expansion, Olivier said, is about reinforcing dependability. “This shows our commitment to long-term investment in Australia.”

Test bay gets a digital facelift With more pumps moving through the shop ﬂoor, the need for reliable, real-time testing has also grown. KSB Mechanical Engineer Hiran Doolwela said the facility’s upgraded pump test

KSB’s expanded Bundamba facility, featuring rooftop solar panels, boosts sustainability while increasing service capacity across the east coast.

Images: KSB Australia

bay now sets a new benchmark for accuracy, automation and customer transparency.

“The pump test facility has undergone a major transformation,” Doolwela said. “It’s no longer a manual operation. It’s now an integrated, automated system with upgraded SCADA control, real-time monitoring and remote diagnostics.”

The upgrade includes new pressure and ﬂow sensors, vibration and temperature probes, and automated test sequencing. The system supports live streaming, allowing customers to monitor performance testing from anywhere, whether in the workshop or halfway across the country.

“We’ve also added point-tiltzoom (PTZ) cameras with pan, tilt and zoom to view several angles during tests,” Doolwela said. “It’s a fully transparent experience, with validated data and complianceready performance metrics.”

That transparency matters. As asset owners are increasingly asked to justify capital decisions and maintenance schedules, access to validated test results, delivered digitally and instantly, o ers a signiﬁcant value proposition.

A sharper focus on wastewater For Business Development Manager Tobias Knop, the expansion is about more than just physical infrastructure. It is an indicator

and sign to the market that KSB is deepening its presence in wastewater.

“We have seen a clear increase in demand for wastewater products in recent years,” Knop said. “This investment allows us to respond to that demand. Not only with more inventory but also by adapting our product portfolio as trends emerge.”

The company’s strategy includes increasing the stock of popular wastewater pumps, mixers, and other sewage treatment plant components and introducing new products such as the Amarex Pro, a high-e ciency submersible pump designed for advanced wastewater handling.

“We can also test these products locally,” Knop said. “That’s important for utilities and operators who want to assess performance in realworld conditions.”

And critically, it positions KSB to meet short-notice supply requirements, even as international supply chains remain volatile.

KSB SupremeServ doubles down on local support

The beneﬁts of expansion aren’t just being felt in inventory. For KSB SupremeServ, the company’s after-sales and service arm, the added space means a safer, cleaner and more e cient workshop. KSB SupremeServ General Manager Brett Lewis said the site was operating at full capacity before the upgrade.

“We were running at 100 per cent capacity, and sometimes over,” Lewis said. “We’ve now doubled our floor space, introduced defined areas for every stage of repair, and dramatically improved the process flow.”

That includes separate zones for strip and assess, parts cleaning, rebuilds, testing, paint and dispatch, and a new clean room for sensitive tasks such as bearing ﬁtment and digital diagnostics.

“The clean room is a game-changer,” Lewis said. “It’s not just about precision, it’s also a space where we can showcase our digital tools like KSB Guard, SES, and Sonolyzer.”

Those tools help customers identify faults, optimise performance, and plan proactive maintenance, which delivers value long after the pump has left the shop.

Lewis also highlighted the inhouse refurbishment of mechanical seals and the introduction of additive manufacturing for reengineered parts.

“We’re keeping more processes in-house, which means faster turnarounds and greater reliability,” he said.

Perhaps most importantly, the changes are making the workshop a better place to work.

“The decluttering and staging improvements don’t just help e ciency,” Lewis said. “They create a safer, cleaner environment for our team. And our people are our greatest asset.”

Looking west, thinking long term

While Bundamba is the current focus, KSB is already eyeing its next steps. Olivier conﬁrmed that further growth is on the horizon, with plans to expand the company’s Western Australia footprint by increasing stock and service capacity.

“We want to be closer to our major customers, wherever they are,” he said.

The Bundamba site now spans two adjoining lots, o ering increased ﬂoor space for faster repairs, local inventory, and real-time testing capabilities.

But the Bundamba upgrade isn’t just about geography. It reﬂects how KSB views its role in the broader transition toward smarter, leaner, and more sustainable water infrastructure.

“The investment in Bundamba allows us to provide high-quality products and services, delivered locally, with the responsiveness that Australian customers expect,” Oliver said. “This is not just an expansion. It is a foundation for the future that puts reliability, e ciency and safety at the centre of everything we do.”

For more information, visit ksb.com.au

KSB Australia

Managing Director

Philippe Olivier.

Creating value from biosolids reuse

Biosolids reuse has long played a role in Australia’s wastewater management. But today, the challenge isn’t simply disposal – it’s how we shape a circular economy roadmap that responds to emerging contaminants, community expectations, and the sector’s carbon footprint reduction goals, all while unlocking long-term value from waste.

IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT, the conversation is shifting from waste disposal to resource recovery. Often considered a liability, biosolids are now central to closing the loop on waste. With utilities under pressure to decarbonise and regulators tightening the reins, the sector is rethinking biosolids as a catalyst for broader circular economy outcomes.

Rachael Nuttall, senior water professional at SUEZ, says the barriers ahead are more than just technical – they’re social, regulatory and market-demand driven.

“Biosolids have an image issue,” she said. “They come from human waste, so there’s a ﬁrst barrier to overcome. But they’re packed with nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. It’s a valuable product, not a waste.”

Balancing treatment, cost and compliance

Across Australia, the regulatory landscape for biosolids is fragmented. Every state has its own requirements for how biosolids can be treated, transported and applied to land. That inconsistency creates uncertainty, particularly with emerging contaminants like PFAS (per- and polyﬂuoroalkyl substances).

For SUEZ, the opportunity isn’t just about managing biosolids, it’s about recovering their value. This means ﬁnding ways to repurpose materials that are productive, local, and aligned with broader sustainability goals.

“We have good regulations in Australia, but they’re not consistent. Some states are further ahead than others, but it has left many utilities unsure of what’s coming. The key is doing it in a way that communities and customers can support,” Nuttall said.

The concern is not whether solutions exist; they do. It’s whether they can be implemented without placing unsustainable pressure on customers.

“Whatever the state’s environmental protection body comes up with, we can meet it technically. The challenge is balancing that with the cost to society,” she said.

SUEZ-run biofactories showcase how innovation can make the economics of biosolids recovery work. For example, the hydraulic piston press SUEZ Dehydris™ Twist increases the solids content before solar drying, reducing transport costs and creating a more versatile, soil-ready product.

Pushing technology further with a circular mindset

Anaerobic digestion is already in play to stabilise sludge and produce biogas. But the next wave of innovation goes further. SUEZ is actively exploring thermal treatments

that can reduce volume, recover energy, and produce by-products like biochar or ammonia.

One of the most promising pathways is hydrothermal gasiﬁcation, an advanced technology that not only recovers resources but destroys PFAS and other emerging contaminants in the process.

“We’ve partnered with Pyreg in Germany to combine our sludge dryer with pyrocarbonisation. It’s one of the few solutions we’ve found that can be energy neutral,” Nuttall said.

“However, you have to weigh whether the beneﬁts, including carbon credits and contaminant management, complement a total-plant solution for its lifecycle. It’s not about a single silver bullet. It’s about combining solutions that align with energy, carbon and circularity goals.”

One option is hydrothermal carbonisation, which produces a 70 per cent dry solids product and generates its own power. While it doesn’t destroy PFAS or microplastics, it shows how combining technologies can deliver energy-neutral outcomes. The future may lie in the creation of hybrid approaches.

“If we can combine processes that reduce volume, recover energy, and still produce a usable end product, we can meet multiple objectives, whether they are environmental, economic or regulatory,” Nuttall said.

Real markets and local solutions

Realising the full circular potential of biosolids depends on viable, sustained end markets. That’s where partnerships play a crucial role.

“We’ve traditionally designed solutions around treatment needs, not market demand. That’s changing, but slowly,” Nuttall said.

South Australia o ers a positive example. Together with SA Water, SUEZ operates ﬁve wastewater treatment plants, where biosolids are

Biosolids processing with anaerobic digestion, Italy.

Images: SUEZ

reused for agricultural production. Nuttall said it works because of close collaboration between each stakeholder.

“Some Victorian utilities have paused land application altogether while waiting for PFAS clarity. We need regulatory support that gives industry conﬁdence to invest.”

Nuttall perceives this situation as a valuable opportunity for fostering long-term thinking. Rather than just addressing immediate concerns, she advocates for a broader perspective that considers the potential consequences and beneﬁts that may emerge over time. By prioritising long-term strategies, individuals and organisations can navigate challenges more e ectively and ensure sustainable growth and development. This approach fosters a mindset that values patience and foresight, enabling informed decisionmaking that aligns with future goals rather than merely reacting to present pressures.

“If we can build end-user trust, deﬁne marketable biosolids grades, and establish aligned regulatory incentives, we’ll see stronger uptake across agriculture, landscaping and even industrial sectors,” she said.

Local partnership in action

This is where SUEZ’s partnership with SoilRegen provides a practical case study of the circular economy in action. John Lawson, director of SoilRegen, has worked with SUEZ to repurpose lime residuals from Sydney’s Prospect Water Filtration Plant. Although not directly working with biosolids, the project delivers tangible beneﬁts to soil health and farm productivity.

“We’re not dealing with biosolids per se,” Lawson said. “But the principles are the same. We apply them to pasture land with real soil beneﬁt. We’re turning something that used

to be waste into a valuable asset for landowners.”

The process involves drying and transporting the residuals to farms, where they are then applied using GPS-calibrated spreaders. Each site is tested to avoid over-application of nutrients.

“What we do is beyond minimum standards. We optimise soil fertility and work with farmers committed to sustainability,” Lawson said.

With long-term contracts in place, such as those with SUEZ, SoilRegen has been able to invest in precision equipment that drives both environmental and economic impact. “It’s a model that delivers environmental value and helps close the loop on waste,” he said.

Beneﬁts start with design For both SUEZ and its partners, designing for beneﬁcial reuse is key. Upstream decisions, such as whether to use aluminium or iron in treatment, can make or break the circular potential of a residual product.

“Sludge treated with aluminium can’t be reused on land. But iron-treated sludge can be beneﬁcial,” Lawson said. “It’s not just about technology. It’s about making choices upstream that enable circular outcomes.

SUEZ can run any system. The water authority makes the design choices.”

That’s a point with which Nuttall agrees.

“Circular economy thinking starts at the design stage,” she said. “We must build systems that make recovery possible from the outset.”

Policy,

investment and the path ahead

Despite strong technological progress, policy inconsistency and limited end-user conﬁdence remain key barriers to scaling circular solutions for biosolids.

Left: Rachael Nuttall is a senior water professional at SUEZ.

Right: John Lawson is the director of SoilRegen, who works with SUEZ.

SUEZ is helping lead that charge, not just by treating biosolids e ciently, but by rethinking what’s possible. A current copper recovery initiative through the P&T Alliance is exploring how to extract and repurpose metals from water treatment residuals – an example of value creation beyond conventional applications. The next phase will focus on how to generate new products from the extracted liquid copper substance, extending the circular economy lens even further.

While there is no shortage of innovation, building the frameworks and partnerships within di erent regulatory jurisdictions to enable market uptake remains a work in progress.

At a recent Australian Water Association (AWA) biosolids conference, Nuttall noted the stark contrast between states and the uncertainty this is generating.

When conﬁdence exists, progress follows. SUEZ has co-developed solutions that align product timing and treatment with market needs.

“Our job is to provide a consistent, high-quality product. From there, it’s about ﬁnding the right local solution,” Nuttall said.

Looking ahead, she sees momentum in this space building.

“The conversations we’re having today weren’t happening ﬁve years ago. Utilities want solutions that are energy-e cient, resourcepositive, and socially acceptable. Our continuous pursuit of technical solutions that can manage emerging contaminants, create market demand, extract the nutrients from biosolids, and apply them safely – that’s where we’re heading – future SUEZ Biofactory circular economies,” she said.

For more information, visit suez.com.au

Engineering a generational legacy

Interﬂow’s new Sustainability Framework is everybody’s business, according to Sustainability and Environment Manager Pam Johnson. It’s about leaving a better legacy for future generations.

AS SHE AND her colleagues have been communicating the new Sustainability Framework and plans across all levels within Interﬂow, Pam Johnson, Interﬂow’s Sustainability and Environment Manager, has become increasingly aware of the importance of bringing the Framework to life for individuals, their families and for the communities in which they live and work.

“While aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) provides important direction for Interﬂow, it is easy to feel that they are disconnected from our day-to-day decisions,” Johnson said. “But practical examples bring them to life. For instance, we know if sediment or pollutants are discharged into a stormwater drain, that directly relates to SDG 14: Life Below Water, which focuses on protecting aquatic ecosystems from pollution.

“It’s important to remember that our work is directly connected to real-world environmental impacts. In this same example, discharging pollutants into a waterway will contribute to degraded ecosystems, impacting our local communities, including our families, and reducing access to clean, safe water. So yes, applying the SDG Framework is all very relevant for governments and for industry, but it’s also very relevant for individuals and communities.”

When Johnson joined Interﬂow, she recognised that some good foundations had already been established to drive meaningful and positive sustainability outcomes.

What the organisation now required was structure, clarity and momentum.

That’s what the Sustainability Framework delivers, she said. It’s a live document that will be updated regularly to reﬂect changing regulations, stakeholder input and expectations, technological shifts and evolving best practice – and that creates a shared language and understanding across the business, it sets a clear course for the future.

Sustainability Framework: Why now?

Sometimes, Johnson said, sustainability is mistakenly reduced to just environmental management, particularly in operational or projectbased industries. Instead, Interﬂow’s latest Sustainability Framework deliberately connects ecological protection, social considerations, governance, ethical practices and economic sustainability.

It brings Interﬂow’s purpose to life, that is “to improve the lives of the people we work with, the communities we serve and the environments we work in, for generations to come.”

Designed to serve numerous purposes – including for internal education, as a guide for prioritising action, and as a way of clearly articulating Interﬂow’s commitments to other stakeholders and external partners – the Framework lays the foundation for governance and accountability. It ensures action and follow-through, with each piece having an owner, deliverables and timelines.

Pam Johnson is the Sustainability and Environment Manager for Interﬂow. Image: Interﬂow

While the broad focus of the Framework is on the UN SDGs that will help improve global outcomes such as Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action and Clean Water and Sanitation, Johnson and her team are working to translate its pieces into personal, relatable outcomes for all members of the Interﬂow family.

Interﬂow’s key areas of sustainability focus

The new Sustainability Framework identiﬁes three pillars:

• environmental stewardship;

• social responsibility, and;

• governance.

From an environmental perspective, this entails a commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Interﬂow is also committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity by the end of 2026 and achieving 100 per cent decarbonisation of light vehicles by the end of 2031.

Less than 20 per cent of the company’s emissions come from operations, with over 80 per cent coming from Interﬂow’s supply chain. And so, the Framework will also help to guide action and

inﬂuence within that supply chain and with business partners.

It will help Interﬂow embed sustainability and net-zero considerations into its procurement processes and identify partners that are decarbonising their businesses and supply chains.

“There is going to be an increased focus on supplier prequaliﬁcation and engagement,” Johnson said. “We want to be working with suppliers that share our sustainability values. It’s not necessarily going to be onesize-ﬁts-all, but for us to achieve our goals, we’re going to need to bring our suppliers along with us.”

In terms of social responsibility, there is a strong focus on health and wellbeing amongst Interﬂow people and its communities, as well as diversity and inclusion.

Current programs include Indigenous and reconciliation initiatives, such as Interﬂow’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), Indigenous procurement targets, partnerships with organisations like WaterAid, The Smith Family and the GO Foundation, and a relentless focus on safety. Momentum has long been building around equity, diversity

and inclusion within Interﬂow, and will continue to be actively driven and measured, to ensure even greater success.

These types of priorities are being communicated out to Interﬂow’s teams, including through toolbox talks amongst ﬁeld crews. Feedback has revealed positivity around the Framework, a sense of pride in what the organisation is doing, and broad engagement.

“It’s no real surprise that people are supportive,” Johnson said. “As I said, it’s about making our e orts relatable for our families and communities.”

From the governance perspective, the Framework outlines a robust structure that underpins everything, ensuring that every agreed-upon idea is translated into actionable steps and tangible outcomes.

The Framework is driven by the Interﬂow leadership team, which is responsible for oversight and integration into the business’s strategy and decision-making processes. Johnson then leads execution, working with regional managers, team leaders and business partners to ensure implementation at all levels.

The Framework provides a fantastic opportunity to continue providing clean water for all. Image: lovelygirl12/ stock.adobe.com

Transparent reporting is a key focus, she said. That reporting will be aligned with Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards and, moving forward, with the Global Reporting Initiative.

“We need to measure and document what we’re doing and what we’re achieving, so we can continually improve,” Johnson said.

Join the journey

Most importantly, Johnson said, the Sustainability Framework is an invitation. It asks all stakeholders to join the organisation on the journey.

“Sustainability isn’t the responsibility of one person or one team; it needs to be woven into the work of so many within the business, from site crews to executives and outside the business, including our suppliers and customers,” Johnson said. “That’s why Interﬂow’s message is clear; that this is a journey we take together.”

And so, whether a part of the Interﬂow team, a customer looking to partner on greener infrastructure or more sustainable projects, or a supplier with a shared vision for a better way of doing business, there’s a role for everyone in delivering on these worthy ambitions.

“This Sustainability Framework is going to be my handbook,” Johnson said. “It’s something I can go back to and hold myself, and the organisation, accountable to.

The whole team at Interﬂow is committed to sustainability. Image: Interﬂow

“And as the Framework says, as a business and as partners, we can drive meaningful change, create shared value and improve lives for generations to come.”

For more information, visit interﬂow.com

Investing in Western Sydney’s water future

Western Sydney’s water future must align with population growth, climate resilience, and economic opportunity to unlock its full potential, according to an alliance of mayors.

IN THE HEART of Australia’s fastestgrowing urban region, a generational opportunity is unfolding. Anchored by the $5 billion Western Sydney International Airport, the Western Sydney Aerotropolis has the potential to deliver more than 200,000 new jobs and become a national hub for advanced industry, research, and liveability. But that promise rests on a critical caveat: infrastructure must arrive ahead of the people.

“We can’t a ord to repeat the mistakes of the past, where suburbs have been built without sewerage, green space, or drainage,” said Todd Carney, Mayor of Penrith and Chair of The Parks Mayoral Forum.

The Parks is an alliance of eight local governments that partnered with the Australian and New South Wales Governments in 2018 to deliver the 20-year Western Sydney City Deal. Those councils are Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairﬁeld, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Penrith and Wollondilly.

The region is one of the fastest growing in Australia – already contributing $59 billion to the national economy and is forecast to absorb 34 per cent of Sydney’s population growth by 2041.

“What sets this region apart is its capacity,” Carney said. “We have the land, the workforce, and the appetite to get on with the job, but we need enabling infrastructure to match.”

He believes Western Sydney is uniquely positioned to showcase Australia’s leadership in watersensitive urban design and integrated utility coordination.

“There’s a real hunger here for smart infrastructure that does more than the basics,” he said. “We want precincts where stormwater becomes a resource and where every new development is future-proofed from the start.”

That vision depends on investing in Western Sydney’s water future, not just through traditional systems, but by embedding integrated water

management into every element of planning. The goal is to ensure that infrastructure delivers long-term value and public beneﬁt, not just short-term ﬁxes.

“We’re talking about setting standards that future generations can be proud of,” Carney said.

Water infrastructure must come ﬁrst Without water and wastewater services, no amount of visionary planning will be enough. Water infrastructure forms the foundation for every other essential service in a growing community. In rapidly expanding regions such as Western Sydney, it is the di erence between balanced growth and unsustainable sprawl.

“If you don’t have safe, scalable water systems, you can’t build highdensity housing, clean-tech precincts or manufacturing hubs,” Carney said.

“We’ve got greenﬁeld development ready to go, but many areas are still operating with infrastructure that’s outdated or at capacity. We can’t leave water as an afterthought.”

He said the consequences of underinvestment are already visible in parts of the region, where

Todd Carney is the Mayor of Penrith and the Chair of The Parks Mayoral Forum.

Images: Penrith City Council, The Parks

The Bargo railway viaduct crosses the Bargo River in Wollondilly.

fragmented stormwater networks and limited ﬂood mitigation infrastructure have contributed to urban heat, degraded waterways, and public health risks.

The risks are not only environmental but also economic in nature. Without early investment in essential services, the region risks missing out on billions in potential private sector development. “Developers won’t invest without certainty,” Carney said. “If we can’t o er modern water infrastructure, we can’t attract the kind of industries this region is capable of supporting. It’s that simple.”

Building a liveable city starts with a secure, adaptable water network. Investing in Western Sydney’s water future means supporting housing, business growth, and climate resilience in equal measure.

It also requires embedding accountability into planning decisions, ensuring that infrastructure funding is allocated transparently and reﬂects real community priorities.

Circular systems for a changing climate

In Western Sydney, climate pressures are intensifying.

“Integrated systems that recycle water, harvest stormwater, and restore creeks don’t just improve amenity,” Carney said. “They reduce reliance on potable supply, help manage ﬂood risk, and support biodiversity.”

He said projects like the South Creek Corridor and Cranebrook Wetland restoration demonstrate that early investment in green-blue

infrastructure pays o .

“Every drop of recycled water, every metre of restored creekline, is an investment in our long-term wellbeing,” he said.

Other examples include Campbelltown’s master plan to reconnect with its river spine, and Camden and Penrith’s Nepean River precincts, which combine ecological and recreational beneﬁts. As climate extremes intensify, these projects also deliver critical resilience dividends.

“We know what works — now it’s about scaling it up and embedding it into how we do business,” Carney said.

Laying track for more than trains

The North-South Rail Link is more than a transport project. “It should carry our future water, energy and digital infrastructure,” Carney said. He advocates for utility co-location along the corridor to unlock development across Liverpool, Campbelltown, Camden, and Penrith and said it’s the kind of smart planning we need more of.

“Shared corridors, early collaboration, and a mindset that sees infrastructure not as a cost, but as a platform for everything else.”

Infrastructure corridors like this can also reduce environmental disturbance and speed up delivery timelines. “It’s more e cient and ultimately better for residents and ratepayers alike,” Carney said.

Shovel-ready, community-backed Across the eight councils that form The Parks, dozens of watersensitive urban design and

Mountain View Reserve is located in Penrith and is considered a hidden gem of the region.

stormwater projects are ready to go.

“Campbelltown is ready to deliver thousands of homes if wastewater infrastructure is funded.,” Carney said. He also cited swim site developments and sports facility upgrades as near-term opportunities. These projects don’t just create jobs, they build conﬁdence. Carney believes that they show that the region can deliver. These initiatives are backed by years of planning and strong local support.

“We’re not starting from scratch — we’ve got the groundwork done, we just need the green light,” Carney said. “People here want neighbourhoods that are safe, cool and connected. They want jobs close to home and rivers where they can swim. Water infrastructure underpins all of that.”

Planning now to avoid paying later From degraded creeks to heatvulnerable suburbs, the legacy of delayed infrastructure is evident.

“The message to federal and state governments is simple,” Carney said. “Invest early, and you avoid locking in problems that cost more down the line.”

The Parks councils are calling for joined-up planning across federal, state and local levels. For Carney, that isn’t just good policy. It’s a promise to future generations.

“We’re not just advocating for pipes and pumps. We’re ﬁghting for a fairer, greener Western Sydney that ﬁnally gets its fair share.”

For more information, visit theparks.nsw.gov.au

NO-DIG DOWN UNDER

South West water wisdom central to climate resilience

With the election season over for 2025, the newly appointed Minister for Water in Western Australia has penned this piece about how Western Australia will continue to grow its resilience in the face of climate change.

WATER IS FUNDAMENTAL to us all and critical to Western Australia’s future, so I am incredibly proud to accept responsibility for this portfolio in the Western Australian Government’s new Cabinet team. I am committed to ensuring the sustainability of Western Australia’s most precious resource in the face of climate change.

As the minister also responsible for Climate Resilience, I will work closely with all ministers to ensure we are innovative and nimble in our response to the drying climate and how we, as a state, are adapting to a future with less rainfall.

Water security is among our state’s greatest challenges today, but I also believe it’s one of the biggest opportunities.

Western Australia (WA) is a global leader in developing climate-resilient water sources such as desalination and puriﬁed recycled water.

It’s a proud legacy that we were the ﬁrst state to introduce largescale desalination with the opening of the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant in 2006. Five years later, we commissioned our second such facility in my hometown of Binningup. In 2022, we announced that WA’s third desalination plant would be built in Alkimos, a $2.8 billion investment in the future water security of some 2.5 million Western Australians.

The future Alkimos plant will allow Water Corporation to reduce groundwater draw by 30 billion litres a year, helping preserve healthy wetlands, parks, forests and green spaces in our northern suburbs.

It’s by no means just Perth feeling the impact of climate change. In communities across southern WA, traditional surface water sources are becoming increasingly unreliable.

Don Punch is now the Minister for Aboriginal A airs, Water, Climate Resilience, and South West. Images: Western Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet

The tyranny of distance poses considerable challenges to water security.

However, I’m pleased to say we’re rising to meet those challenges through signiﬁcant investment in new infrastructure and initiatives to support communities across the state.

For example, the Community Water Supplies Partnership Program is enhancing non-potable water supplies in regional communities, and the WaterSmart Farms program is assisting farmers in building resilience during droughts.

This commitment extends to all Western Australians.

For too long, Aboriginal communities have had substandard water services. This, however, is something our government is determined to change.

On 1 July 2023, we announced the transfer of water service responsibility in 141 Aboriginal communities from the Department of Communities to Water Corporation.

Under its Aboriginal Communities Water Services Program, Water Corporation will progressively upgrade water infrastructure and enhance water quality over the next decade.

As WA’s new Aboriginal A airs Minister, I am very proud of this transformative program, which improves the long-term health and wellbeing outcomes for residents in Aboriginal communities and makes positive steps towards Closing the Gap, the national strategy aimed at addressing the disparities in life outcomes between Aboriginal and

As the Member for Bunbury, Don Punch (right) has an a nity for water and climate resilience.

Torres Strait Islander Australians and non-Indigenous Australians.

Finally, as Minister for the South West, where the impacts of a drying climate are most visible, I am committed to helping build a fabulous future for this region.

I want to acknowledge the work of my predecessor, the Hon Simone McGurk MLA, and thank the hydrologists and supply planners at Water Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, who are among the best in the world.

The Western Australian Government will continue to support their important work by listening to the science and investing in water projects that allow our people, communities and state to thrive.

Water pricing regulation for future resilience

Reshaping how services balance community needs with long-term challenges is the focus of this government entity, seeking to manage water pricing regulation while providing future resilience.

IN AN INDUSTRY often deﬁned by engineering benchmarks and capital projects, Victoria’s Essential Services Commission is steering the conversation in a new direction.

Under Chairperson Gerard Brody, water regulation is continuing to focus on fairness, transparency, and resilience, placing the long-term needs of consumers at the centre of pricing decisions.

Embedding consumer protection

“The ESC’s purpose is to promote the long-term interests of Victorian consumers regarding price, quality, and reliability of essential services,” Brody said.

With a career grounded in consumer advocacy, Brody is focused on proactive, evidence-led regulation. He believes in using data to identify risks early and acting before systemic issues escalate. Central to this approach is ensuring essential services remain inclusive, a ordable, and responsive to all Victorians.

“There’s a strong community expectation for regulators to act decisively when industry conduct causes harm,” he said. “We’re not just reactive. We aim to be forwardlooking and preventative.”

Brody’s emphasis on accessibility reﬂects a broader shift in how

Gerard Brody is the Chairperson of Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ESC).

Images: Essential Services Commission

essential services are regulated – one that sees fairness and dignity not as optional extras, but as fundamental performance benchmarks.

Updated standards for better service

The Water Industry Standards were last updated in 2022 and came into e ect in March 2023. According to Brody, these updates are crucial in ensuring equity and responsiveness in service delivery.

New provisions require retailers to o er tailored support to residential and small business customers facing payment di culties. Utilities must now communicate using preferred methods identiﬁed case-by-case and shift the tone of reminders to be more sensitive rather than threatening.

Another critical reform was codifying that water supply restrictions or legal action must only occur as a last resort. The ESC has also introduced mandatory selfreporting of utility non-compliance, giving regulators earlier visibility of emerging issues.

“These changes give customers more breathing room and give businesses more responsibility to do the right thing before consequences escalate,” Brody said.

Supporting vulnerable customers

Addressing vulnerability isn’t just a box-ticking exercise – it’s embedded in the Commission’s work.

One example is the ESC’s ‘Safety by Design’ initiative, developed in partnership with Thriving Communities Australia, Safe and Equal, and the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety.

The project aims to reduce risk for customers experiencing family violence and build sectorwide capability for inclusive service delivery.

“We’re working across the water and energy sectors to make safety a design principle, not an afterthought,” Brody said. “We’ve had substantial guidance from the water sector, and a recent report called Design to Disrupt proposed changes to embed safety into the very architecture of service design.”

These e orts reﬂect a more profound cultural shift toward trauma-informed practice and service equity. For regulators, that means not only setting expectations but also fostering partnerships that lead to long-term systemic change.

Monitoring performance and pricing

The ESC uses public transparency and structured accountability to keep water businesses on track with their promises. Each year, it publishes comparative performance data across a range of indicators, including service reliability, recycled water use, billing trends, and greenhouse gas emissions.

This data is now available through interactive dashboards to support utility benchmarking and public awareness. A central part of the ESC’s regulatory framework is PREMO, which stands for Performance, Risk, Engagement, Management, and Outcomes. It connects water pricing with business performance and customer value.

“Incorporating performance measures into pricing makes explicit the connection between performance and pricing outcomes,” Brody said.

Businesses must report annually on how they’ve delivered against

agreed customer outcomes. These outcomes are developed through customer engagement and submitted as part of ﬁve-year pricing proposals.

“It’s about drawing a direct line between what businesses promise and what they deliver,” he added.

Engaging stakeholders

“Engagement can’t be transactional. It needs to be ongoing and meaningful,” Brody said.

ESC commissioners regularly travel to meet with water utilities across the state, and they recently visited Wodonga to meet with North East Water.

Brody has also participated in forums with the chairs of Victoria’s water corporations through VicWater and hosts a community sector roundtable to include consumer advocates’ voices.

Alongside direct engagement, the ESC recently conducted an independent review of PREMO implementation. The ﬁndings are now being used to guide a new 18-month engagement program that will build shared understanding of the pricing framework and explore areas for improvement. These stakeholder conversations are not just procedural. They are part of a longer-term strategy to ensure that the regulatory process is not siloed but embedded in the realworld experience of both providers and customers.

Encouraging innovation and sustainability

The PREMO framework also rewards ambition. Utilities demonstrating

Brody (right) with the other ESC Commissioners (from left to right), Jess Young, Elly Patira, and Rebecca Billings.

high customer value, e ciency and innovation can access higher returns, not to inﬂate pricing, but to reinvest in long-term improvements.

“Sustainability and climate resilience are increasingly integral to what water businesses put forward,” Brody said. “From alternative water sources to circular economy initiatives, we expect proposals to be backed by clear evidence and community consultation.”

This approach reﬂects a growing maturity in how infrastructure planning intersects with environmental responsibility. But Brody is careful to emphasise that innovation must always translate to tangible outcomes for customers.

“We’re not interested in technology for its own sake,” he added. “It has to connect back to what matters for customers.”

Preparing for future challenges

As the ESC ﬁnalises its new strategic plan, it focuses on accountability and impact. The plan, launching mid-year, outlines a vision of fair and dependable essential services both today and into the future. It includes core focus areas such as equitable access, e cient pricing, resilience, sustainability, and institutional trust.

“Our vision is for fair and dependable essential services today and tomorrow,” Brody said.

“We’re committed to promoting the long-term interests of Victorian consumers through proactive, inclusive, and transparent regulation.”

For more information, visit esc.vic.gov.au

Removing PFAS from recycled water safely

Removing PFAS from recycled water using ozone nanobubbles and granular activated carbon (GAC) holds promise, as evidenced by emerging Australian-led research.

IN AUSTRALIA AND around the world, the safe removal of per- and polyﬂuoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from recycled water remains one of the most pressing challenges facing water utilities.

These so-called “forever chemicals” are widely used and persist in the environment, resisting traditional treatment methods.

However, a new collaboration between Monash University and Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) is bringing together international expertise and cutting-edge technology in a promising trial involving ozone nanobubbles and granular activated carbon (GAC).

Why PFAS are so di cult to treat PFAS are a group of thousands of synthetic compounds used in everything from ﬁreﬁghting foams to non-stick cookware. Once in the environment, they are di cult to break down and even harder to remove from water.

For researchers like Dr Arash Zamyadi, senior lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Monash University, this issue has long been personal.

“I was born and raised in Iran, a water-scarce country. After studying in Canada, I moved to Australia, another place where every drop of water counts,” Zamyadi said. “That journey shaped how I think about water reuse and treatment. I want to make sure our recycled water is safe for irrigation, the environment, and public health.”

While conventional treatment methods can reduce PFAS levels, they often come with trade-o s, including high energy use, separation

challenges, incomplete destruction, and the transfer of contamination to di erent media, such as solid waste.

This new project aims to take a di erent approach by combining ozone nanobubble technology with granular activated carbon (GAC) to both capture and remove PFAS molecules from water.

How ozone nanobubbles and GAC work together The mechanism behind this technique is surprisingly intuitive. PFAS molecules are naturally attracted to bubbles. Ozone nanobubbles, which are less than 200 nanometres in diameter, create an enormous surface area and di use e ciently throughout water, o ering a contact-rich environment for PFAS capture.

“Nanobubbles give us extended contact surfaces and di use very well in the water,” Zamyadi said. “They’re small, but when added together, the surface area becomes signiﬁcant. This helps us target PFAS molecules even at low concentrations.”

Once the PFAS molecules attach to the nanobubbles, the next step is to transfer them to GAC via a packed column system. The GAC acts as an adsorptive medium, concentrating the contaminants. Pyrolysis then destroys the PFAS. “There’s also an added beneﬁt,” Zamyadi said. “Ozone nanobubbles may help break down organic matter on the carbon surface, which can enhance the overall performance of the GAC. It’s not just about removal; it’s about sustaining that removal over time.”

The ozone nanobubble system installed as part of a pilot program in conjunction with the Intelligent Water Networks.

Images: Monash University

Practical considerations for water utilities

The project is focused on treated wastewater in Victoria, a challenging water source that often contains a mix of municipal and trade waste. This ensures the pilot operates under demanding realworld conditions.

“Given regional di erences and current uncertainties, treated wastewater could represent a challenging scenario for PFAS treatment — providing an important focus for our initial e orts,” Zamyadi said. “If we can make it work here, there’s real potential for broader application.”

Of course, any new technology must be scalable, cost-e ective, and energy-conscious. While ozone generation and nanobubble di usion add some energy costs, Zamyadi believes the trade-o s are worthwhile.

“Lab results have shown a 15 to 20 per cent increase in PFAS removal compared to GAC alone. That’s a signiﬁcant improvement,” he said. “You’re also using lower concentrations of ozone than in traditional ozonation methods, which reduces energy consumption and safety risks.”

The ﬁltration process following nanobubble interaction is gravityfed, further minimising operational costs. However, Zamyadi said that practical integration into existing treatment chains will require thoughtful planning.

“It’s not just about performance in the lab,” he said. “You need to ﬁnd the right footprint and injection process within a real treatment plant. That’s where working with utilities becomes essential.”

The power of global collaboration

The IWN-Monash project isn’t operating in isolation. It draws on support from the Water Research Foundation in the United States, oxidation experts from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and analytical capabilities from Europe and local laboratories in Melbourne.

“Without international collaboration, this project simply wouldn’t exist,” Zamyadi said. “We’re not just learning about new science. We’re learning how to apply it in practical, innovative ways.”

Zamyadi said that this research builds upon earlier work involving cyanotoxins and antimicrobial resistance genes, indicating that nanobubble-based treatment could have a signiﬁcantly broader future.

“We’re even testing portable nanobubble systems that could be deployed to speciﬁc sites,” he said. “That scalability is a game-changer.”

These insights have grown from a close working relationship with IWN. Zamyadi credits IWN Program Director Jason Cotton for helping bridge the gap between academic research and industry application.

“Every six months, we hold a Monash-IWN sharing day. It’s an open environment where we talk about challenges and test ideas,” Zamyadi said. “The PFAS project emerged from one of those sessions. It’s the kind of thing that only happens when people actively listen to each other.”

IWN’s role as a convener of utilities, researchers, and technology developers has been central to making this type of cross-sector collaboration possible. By fostering trusted relationships, facilitating transparent knowledge sharing, and backing pilot projects that carry both technical and reputational risk, IWN acts as a catalyst for innovation in the Victorian water sector and beyond.

“Jason and his team have created a

Arash Zamyadi presenting on the impacts of his project.

Image: Monash University

IWN Program Director Jason Cotton discussing Zamyadi’s ozone nanobubble project.

Image: Intelligent Water Networks

space where industry and research can come together without the usual silos,” Zamyadi said. “They understand that to solve complex issues like PFAS, we need open dialogue, real-world testing, and shared investment in ideas that might not work the ﬁrst time.”

Turning innovation into implementation

For Zamyadi, the success of this work will hinge not just on what happens in the lab, but on what happens next. Pilot studies are already underway, and the next phase will focus on how utilities can implement this process at scale.

He believes the water industry’s willingness to try something new is essential to progress.

“Everybody says PFAS removal is hard, and it is, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try,” he said.

“Be open to new technologies, talk to your peers, and build trust with researchers. That’s where real innovation starts.”

For more information, visit iwn.org.au and vicwater.org.au

The perfect storm circling Queensland’s dam safety

The Queensland Water Directorate (qldwater) is working tirelessly to ensure that dam safety across Queensland continues to be of high concern to governments of all stripes.

IN QUEENSLAND, DAMS whose failure would pose a threat to public safety are regulated under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008. There are more than 200 dams in Queensland, and more than half are referable, that is, those dams whose failure would put two or more people at risk (often referred to as PAR – population at risk).

Queensland’s dams provide essential services, including a reliable (not secure) water supply, managing ﬂood risk, controlling environmental ﬂows, providing recreational facilities and increasingly hydropower generation.

Historically, dams have been built to o er beneﬁts to their owners and the wider community, including irrigators and miners.

An emerging question is whether the risks are starting to outweigh the beneﬁts, particularly when considering newer technologies and infrastructure replacing the beneﬁts of dams (such as desalination and water grids, which can provide both water reliability and water security).

In addition, many of the prime sites for dams in Australia have already been developed.

Then there are the costs of maintaining ageing dam infrastructure when considering climate changes and the associated daily management such as harmful algal blooms, tightening internationally-driven regulation and engineering requirements, rising insurance costs (where and if insurance can be sourced) and,

critically, the risks of failure posed to growing populations downstream.

Background to dam safety

The Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) is the national engineering standards body that prepares guidelines for the construction and operation of dams in Australia.

The PAR in ANCOLD’s Consequence Category Guidelines includes all those persons who would be directly exposed to ﬂood waters, assuming they took no action to evacuate.

This is not uniquely a Queensland or Australian issue. Many large dams built in the dam boom of the 20th century are approaching the end of their lifespan, raising concerns about the risks of potential failure to the increasing populations downstream. The risks and costs associated with ageing infrastructure are nothing new to Queensland’s urban water sector. The sector has long been

The slipway of a dam needs to be properly assessed to ensure that the supporting infrastructure is maintained properly.

Images: qldwater

documenting the infrastructure cli , and across the state, detailed infrastructure condition assessments have commenced quantifying the sheer scale of the job at hand.

However, a fast-emerging issue for urban water providers is the magnitude of work required to manage the risk of ageing dams and the associated costs for communities.

This conﬂuence of events requires immediate management and resourcing, along with clear answers regarding who is responsible for the costs.

Cressbrook Dam as a case study Cressbrook Dam is a referable dam and currently has an intolerable risk level. Toowoomba Regional Council, its owner, is proactively taking steps to reduce the risk by increasing the width of the spillway and raising the embankment at a cost of more than $266 million.

The works include enabling works such as road improvements to manage the construction work program.

Toowoomba is also actively investigating techniques for reducing risks through other activities, such as land acquisition (to relocate PARs from the impact zone) at an additional cost. It is essential to note that the Cressbrook system is located upstream of several Queensland Government-owned assets, including Seqwater’s Wivenhoe Dam.

The essential dam safety works are currently being funded by the Toowoomba community. Council is prioritising Cressbrook upgrades by reducing available budgets for other vital maintenance and improvement works, such as roads and community services.

The costs of dam maintenance to meet strengthening international standards must not be borne by individual communities – it is simply unfair.

Many local councils have referable dams (39 of the dams requiring review are Local Government owned) and will be subject to necessary upgrades and high levels of expenditure.

How do we manage the risk of the capacity to pay for dam upgrades?

In a 2022 review, the Queensland Audit O ce (QAO) questioned the government’s risk prioritisation, which does not include “capacity to pay” as a risk factor. And what about the imposition of dam safety costs onto other communities, even those who do not have their own dam but purchase bulk water from one of the state’s bulk water providers?

The Queensland Government is yet to provide an adequate policy response to the QAO recommendations, and this is leaving the owners of large dams and their communities in limbo.

Queensland’s farmers and irrigators have long been threatened with the pass-through costs associated with dam safety and dam insurance being imposed on their water prices.

Currently, the Queensland Government subsidises irrigation customers by providing a community service obligation (CSO) payment to make up the di erence between the revenue received from irrigation customers and the irrigation share of allowable costs, and to cover the costs of the irrigation share of dam safety upgrade capital expenditure.

The recent report from the Queensland Competition Authority (Rural Irrigation Price Review 20252029) recommended that the bulk water providers should recuperate su cient revenue to recover prudent and e cient allowable costs and an allowance for dam safety upgrade capital expenditure (CAPEX) through a combination of irrigation

prices and CSO payments. This approach has not been replicated for communities and urban water users.

To date, there is no clear policy on the e ects of urban water pricing from the Queensland Government and bulk water providers. The investments required present a signiﬁcant cost of living pressure for communities.

Looking into the future and other jurisdictions

The recent draft decision on urban water pricing from Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) of New South Wales may be cause for further concern for Queensland’s water service providers. IPART refused Sydney Water’s submission, which proposed a $220 (or 18 per cent) plus inﬂation increase. Instead, IPART recommended a

The ﬂip bucket at the bottom of Cressbrook Dam needs to properly manage water ﬂow, given its upstream location.

proposed bill increase of $73 (or six per cent), plus inﬂation.

It is rare for an Australian price regulator to decline a final decision and substitute an interim arrangement that maintains the status quo for three years. IPART’s move reflects a loss of confidence in the reliability of cost estimates, echoing concern about inadequate concept development and a consequent spotlight on corporate capability, risk management, and asset planning. We also need to ensure that the Queensland Government’s imposition and interpretation of dam safety requirements are indeed proportional to their risk.

Presently, the interpretation of ANCOLD by Queensland’s regulator appears to be more stringent than in other states, and the Queensland Water Directorate questions the department’s overall philosophy of dam safety and the application of an appropriate risk framework.

Dam safety is not just an engineering challenge. It’s a policy and investment issue that needs a strong partnership between all levels of government.

Cressbrook Dam is an example of a dam that has an intolerable risk level.

The Directorate continues to call for a transparent review of how dam costs are being imposed on individual councils and their communities, seeking clarity on how dam safety costs will be considered in a future urban water pricing policy. Dam safety must be recognised and regulated in perpetuity as a public beneﬁt.

For more information, visit qldwater.com.au

Rethinking stormwater ﬁltration solutions

Smart stormwater ﬁltration is reshaping how urban environments manage runo and protect critical water infrastructure.

AS WATER UTILITIES, councils, and regulators search for long-term solutions to water quality, one question rises above the rest. How can cities better protect the rainfall they already receive?

For Craig Rothleitner, Founder and Director of ARI Water, the answer lies in rethinking stormwater ﬁltration from the ground up, literally. Rothleitner’s invention, the result of nearly two decades of research and development, is a deceptively simple device installed at the drain itself. Its purpose is clear – capture the worst of urban contaminants before they reach stormwater infrastructure, while using existing networks to do the heavy lifting.

“There are about a billion drains worldwide,” Rothleitner said. “About 350 million of them are connected to waterways and oceans; none are built to stop contamination at the source.”

From steelworks to stormwater Rothleitner’s journey began with a close call. A workplace accident in high-rise construction led to his ﬁrst patented product; a plug allowing bidirectional ﬂow of water and air.

When the Global Financial Crisis hit, Rothleitner turned his attention to another long-standing concern: the sediment, vegetation, and

construction debris clogging Australia’s stormwater drains.

“All of this waste, which I’d seen in dredging years ago, was being reintroduced through the stormwater system,” he said. “We were repeating the same environmental damage every generation.”

ARI Water was born out of this realisation. Over the years, Rothleitner has opened more than 16,000 drains across Australia and internationally, analysing sediment loads and water quality in the ﬁeld. In collaboration with Curtin University, ARI Water’s ﬁltration material underwent a PhD-led study that drew international attention.

According to Rothleitner, this research was the most controversial PhD submission ever seen by Elsevier, prompting the publisher to assign its entire five-person review panel instead of the usual two to three reviewers. Despite the scrutiny, the study was upheld, and the technology received Curtin’s Chancellor’s Award for science and engineering. The outcome validated the material’s ability to capture fine sediments and pollutants under high-flow conditions, establishing it as the only scientifically and infield proven at-source solution fit for government use.

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, needs to be captured and ﬁltered out at the earliest opportunity.

Fit-for-purpose infrastructure protection

Rothleitner sees stormwater ﬁltration not as a silver bullet, but as a foundational layer in urban water management. Without protection at the source, he said Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), living streams and swales are doomed to fail.

“We’re seeing expensive systems clog up within 12 to 18 months,” he said. “And the cost of removing that sludge often exceeds the cost of putting the system in the ground.” By contrast, primary ﬁltration at the drain can extend the operational life of WSUD systems while reducing their maintenance burden. This helps councils protect the infrastructure they already own rather than spend on unnecessary replacements.

Rothleitner also highlighted broader beneﬁts to communities.

“If people walk outside and see trees and clean water, they feel better,” he said. “That translates into lower stress, lower health costs, and more resilient urban environments.”

Re-engaging

with rainfall

Rothleitner’s biggest challenge is cultural. He believes Australia has become too focused on manufactured water sources, such as desalination, while neglecting the value of natural rainfall.

“Rainfall is Earth’s only natural water replenishment mechanism,” he said. “But every drop that hits our cities is contaminated twice; once

when it lands on hard surfaces, and again when it enters the stormwater system.”

He is particularly concerned about rising levels of contaminants such as microplastics and PFAS (per- and polyﬂuoroalkyl substances), and the spread of cyanobacteria in urban waterways. The latter, he said, is a neurotoxin linked to serious human health conditions.

“We now have clusters of Parkinson’s disease and dementia appearing around contaminated water bodies,” Rothleitner said. “The science is showing that airborne cyanobacteria can travel for kilometres and remain viable.”

With global biodiversity loss accelerating, he believes action on water contamination must begin at the source.

Looking beyond the drain

Rothleitner is equally passionate about bridging gaps between infrastructure maintenance and environmental health. He believes the current system often ignores ecological concerns in the name of progress.

Without viable at-source solutions, many councils and developers install expensive end-of-line treatment systems doomed to fail.

“We’ve created a cycle where infrastructure is built, ignored, and replaced at enormous cost both ﬁnancially and environmentally,” he said. “But this doesn’t need to be the norm.”

By addressing contamination at the drain, Rothleitner says we can reduce the footprint of downstream systems, extend their lifespan, and make it easier to meet urban planning and environmental goals. This approach beneﬁts local biodiversity and public health and provides a more ﬁscally responsible model for infrastructure delivery.

While ARI Water’s core focus is stormwater ﬁltration, Rothleitner is also collaborating with international partners to adapt the technology for agriculture and wastewater applications. The potential impact is signiﬁcant, from runo reduction on farms to dewatering processes at treatment plants.

He is also advocating for managed aquifer recharge, proposing that ﬁltered stormwater could be redirected into groundwater systems to support long-term water security.

“We’ve taken so much water from the ground that we’ve shifted the freshwater-saltwater balance globally,” he said. “And once aquifers collapse, they can’t be recharged. That’s a one-way street.”

Rothleitner pointed to case studies from around the world that show how depleted aquifers can no longer support urban development, agriculture, or biodiversity when left unmanaged. In Australia, he believes there is an urgent need to harness urban rainfall as a resource, not a liability.

“It’s not just about topping up what we take out,” he said. “It’s about actively restoring groundwater systems before they reach a critical tipping point. Managed aquifer recharge allows us to reverse some of the damage we’ve already done, especially if we start with clean, ﬁltered storm water.”

Capturing the waste and properly ﬁltering stormwater is vital for water utilities and local governments. Images: ARI Water

A call for collaboration at Converge

This year, Rothleitner will bring his message to Converge Expo, Australia’s cross-sector infrastructure showcase. For him, it’s a vital opportunity to break down silos between water, planning, energy and regulatory bodies.

“These sectors operate like islands,” he said. “But the only way to ﬁx these systemic issues is by getting everyone in the same room.”

He is hopeful the event will encourage more proactive engagement with Australia’s stormwater infrastructure challenges.

Capturing stormwater waste is signiﬁcantly easier with this new technology.

“We can’t save ourselves without engaging with rainfall,” Rothleitner said. “It might not be consistent, but the same water fell on the dinosaurs. The di erence is, now it’s toxic. But we can ﬁx that. The technology exists. We just need to use it.”

For more information, visit ariwater. com and convergeexpo.com.au

The lighter side of water

To ﬁnish each issue, we aim to look at the lighter side of water and water-related issues. If you’ve seen an amusing story, let us know so we can consider it for the next issue.

Stirring the pot with more starch For generations, Italian nonnas have relied on instinct to whip up a perfect cacio e pepe. A little pasta water, a lot of arm action, and centuries of tradition – that was the recipe. But now, physicists have stepped in, applying ﬂuid dynamics to decode why some emulsions glide into silky cohesion while others curdle into chalky chaos. At the centre of this investigation? Water – and what it takes with it when it drains away.

A recent study from the University of Edinburgh has broken the sauce down to its most fundamental interactions, treating it not just as food, but as an emulsion under stress. While the story has already delighted food lovers and science bu s, there’s also a lesson for the water sector. Understanding how emulsions break and reform under di erent ﬂow conditions could help solve far messier problems than lumpy cheese.

When you strip away the pecorino, pepper and pasta, you’re left with a suspension behaving much like biosludge or industrial slurry. This makes the study more than a quirky headline – it’s a model for how water behaves in high-solids systems.

From Roman kitchens to wastewater labs

The researchers used the sauce as a model to explore how dense emulsions behave when stirred, heated, and piped. These dynamics occur daily in industrial and municipal systems: in sludge lines, treatment processes, and even stormwater basins. Water may be the carrier, but it rarely travels alone.

Lead researcher Dr Pietro Cicuta said the study was designed to examine “phase behaviour” – how emulsions transition between states –when external forces are applied. The team created a controlled platform for observing those transitions.

“We were using a familiar system to understand a complex one,” Cicuta said. “In wastewater or food processing, emulsion stability can be critical. However, few models predict how these systems behave in real-world ﬂow conditions. By recreating something deceptively simple, like cacio e pepe, we could observe the transition points between stable and unstable mixtures. These transitions tell us when an emulsion is likely to split or seize, and that’s directly useful in managing pipeline transport, mixing systems and waste treatment processes.”

The key? It’s not just viscosity. The interplay of suspended solids, water mobility and mechanical shear determines whether a ﬂow remains stable or grinds to a halt.

More than a culinary curiosity

Water utilities across Australia already deal with highly variable sludge and waste streams. Treatment plants must manage inputs that shift with rainfall, runo , and industrial discharge. With seasonal factors like La Niña, predicting ﬂow behaviour can be a tall order.

Cicuta said that while food emulsions were used for simplicity, the same physics applies to more complex systems. Understanding shear points and separation triggers in treatment plants can save energy and reduce blockages.

“Whether it’s cheese and pepper or fat and grit, the emulsions behave similarly,” he said. “Once you know how the water interacts with suspended solids, and how shear rates a ect mixing, you can design better infrastructure to move, treat and reuse that water. Physics is universal. It’s the application that changes.”

Understanding emulsions has been key to rethinking how wastewater treatment plants handle biosludge and industrial slurry. Image: larionovao/ stock.adobe.com

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