Queensland Water Newsletter #34

qldwater N E W S L E T T E R

Interim CEO Report

The Water Industry continues to demonstrate the inclusive and collaborative nature which underpins the 'why' for many of us. There is no doubt that 2022 has seen significant change for the qldwater team There has been loss of corporate knowledge and experience. On the upside, we’ve been able to recruit some wonderful new staff who will bring new perspectives and passion to help us build on the wonderful legacy left behind by Rob Fearon and Dave Cameron.

During this time of transition we have managed to stick together with the members and stakeholder's support and look forward to a consolidation year in 2023.

There are two individuals who need to be recognised for their leadership and contribution - Mark Vis from Tablelands Council made way for a new Chair of SWEAP group, after some 8 years in the role. That is a huge innings and secondly after 3 years in the role Angela Robinson from SEQwater has decided to step down as Chair of Water Skills Partnership. We look forward to working with the new Chairs of these groups - Monique Gastaldin (Urban Utilities) and Amber Robinson (Central Highlands Regional Council).

Finally, we wish all our members, stakeholders and partners a happy festive season We are looking forward to using the quiet time to rebuild strength, and we look forward to catching up in 2023.

We are pleased to introduce Neil Holmes as our new Skills Partnership Manager Neil is passionate about the water sector with more than 20 years’ experience in advocacy, advisory and consulting experience in the commercial water industry sector

Neil moved to Australia from the UK in 2019, establishing a water cost audit consultancy to help businesses streamline processes to reduce water bills Prior to moving to Australia, Neil was Operations Director for Water Watch UK where he managed all aspects of water investigations and audits including analysis of documentation, billing, legislation, policies and Water Acts Neil is a big picture thinker and a great asset to our team.

Kirsty Hills has taken over the Project Support Assistant role from Naomi Carragher Kirsty brings with her lots of experience as a project manager having spent the last 7 years as Project Officer with Queensland Health Prior to that, Kirsty completed a number of shortterm contracts including a stint with Seqwater where she wrote procedures and workplace health and safety awareness modules for online training packages This role sparked an interest in the water sector which is what

Our Stakeholder Tree

In this edition of the newsletter, we decided to take a closer look at our key stakeholders to help our new team members make sense of what it is we are trying to achieve In doing so, we reflected on the connections we’ve established over the years and the successful programs we are proud to lead

Under the guidance from our Strategic Priorities Group (SPG), we aim to maintain 100% membership of Queensland service providers and to grow and maintain our strong connections with our industry partners through our affiliate memberships

We will also continue to advocate for a more strategic approach to urban water sector challenges and opportunities by breaking down the silos between and within government departments, and I’m pleased to announce that the first cross agency meeting between Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (DRDMW), Department of Environment and Science (DES), Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DSDILGP), Health, Treasury and Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) was held on 31 October 2022. We will continue to advocate for representation at this table in 2023.

Our Roots - what keeps us strong !

Over the past year, qldwater has built and maintained strong relationships with our members, affiliates and other industry partners through:

Australian Water Association (AWA) – attending, presenting and hosting panel sessions at the National and QLD Conferences and representing the QLD urban water sector on various specialist network groups

Water Industry Operators Association (WIOA) – attending, presenting and hosting a panel session on workforce challenges at the WIOA QLD Conference and sponsoring the Operator and Young Operator of the Year Awards

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) – maintaining a close working relationship through Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP) and other advocacy matters and raising the profile of the urban water and sewerage sector at the LGAQ QLD Conference through a presentation and a QWRAP display.

Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia, Queensland (IPWEAQ) – working with our parent body as they undergo major reform, attending the IPWEAQ Conference and finding synergies between our organisations.

Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) – maintaining regular contact with WSAA staff to represent QLD on a national scale, including participating in two working groups as part of the WSAA War on Talent.

NSW Water Directorate – working closely with our NSW counterpart, sharing information and resources including joint events and training courses on the water training website.

SA Government – approached by SA Gov to utilise qldwater learning resources on the water training platform resulting in the launch of the Brown Card SA course and piloting Statewide Water Information Management (SWIM) Annual Data.

QLD Health – working with the Tropical Health Unit to deliver operator training to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities, acknowledging safe water as a priority for the health of all QLD communities.

DESBT – building a strong relationship through our position as Industry Skills Advisor and working together to tackle skills, training and workplace attraction and retention challenges.

DRDMW – growing a strong relationship through QWRAP, SWIM reporting and the Drinking Water Quality Action Plan (DWQAP) programs to help our members work through regulatory and other challenges and opportunities

Water Industry Operators Association (WIOA) Conference

Several qldwater staff attended the 46th WIOA Queensland Conference and participated in taste test panels, award presentations, mains tapping activities, session chairing, judging as well as paper sessions. Dave delivered a keynote on operator shortage issues including the outcomes from Ozwater and facilitated a panel/ audience discussion session on “what keeps operators awake at night.”

qldwater was proud to once again sponsor the Operator of the Year (Civil / Allrounder) and the Young Operator of the Year awards to acknowledge the passion and commitment of water industry workers in delivering an essential service come rain, hail or shine. Because of the great entries received, we also added a highly commended award for each of the categories.

Operator of the Year (Civil / Allrounder)

The very worthy recipient of the 2022 Operator of the Year Award is Harris Tahau from Redland City Council Harris was nominated for his great ideas to improve the efficiency and safety of his team, his excellence in customer service and for raising awareness around mental health Harris received a professional development opportunity to the value of $1500

David Rauchle from the City of Gold Coast was awarded a Highly Commended, receiving a glowing reference from his employer for his commitment to the job and his team members.

Young Operator of the Year

The 2022 Young Operator of the Year is Exavier Evile from Urban Utilities whose competence saw him promoted to Treatment Plant Operator within 11 months of joining the water industry. Exavier is big on trends and processes to optimise work flows, and great at passing on his knowledge to his team mates. Exavier will get an opportunity to join WIOA on the next NZ tour.

Matthew Gosper from Mackay Regional Council received a Highly Commended award Matthew started as a Water Industry Worker Trainee before securing a permanent role as Water Treatment Operator at the Sarina Water Recycling Facility.

For more information on all the Award winners, click here.

Water of Origin

Mackay water was crowned top drop in the Ixom Water of Origin competition, a testament to the excellent team at the Marian Water Treatment Plant The same drop won the 2022 TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test at the Annual Forum in September as well, adding to a string of accolades for Mackay Well done guys!

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Conference

qldwater, along with our LGAQ partners, represented the QWRAP program at the LGAQ Conference in Cairns from 17-19 October. Our booth in the trade exhibition area attracted attention from CEOs, Mayors and other elected representatives keen to learn more or to tell us about the success of the project in their regions

Linda Roberts presented at a Regional and Remote Communities panel session, raising the profile of water services as an essential part of liveability in regional and remote Queensland communities. Linda’s presentation highlighted the importance of a sustainable workforce to deliver the services required to provide safe drinking water – a public health requirement that deserves more attention from all levels of government

The photo booth was a great addition to the event, and our team had a bit of fun participating

As part of the LGAQ conference there was an increased number of motions relating to water, with topics including funding, recycled water, long term water supply planning and workforce challenges. All these motions received high levels of support, and we look forward to working with the LGAQ on progressing work in these areas

Australian Water Association (AWA) Queensland Conference

The AWA Queensland Conference 2022 was held in Cairns during National Water Week on 20-21 October and hosted by Cairns Regional Council with the theme “Surviving, Thriving and Inspiring”

Day one presentations initiated ongoing discussions throughout the conference, particularly from Gudju-Gudju Gimuybara and Jenny Lynch from Abriculture presenting on the power of connecting Indigenous knowledge and science in the sustainable management of the land and water.

The conference dinner was held at Kuranda Rainforestation Nature Park where participants experienced the park at night before enjoying a buffet style networking dinner.

Exceptional presentations continued on day two and included a mini workshop run by the Young Water Professionals (YWP) focussing on “Building Community and Environmental Resilience: Where should the Water Industry lead next?” qldwater’s QWRAP was highlighted during Richard Savage’s (Aurecon) presentation and called for necessary further collaboration for a sustainable water industry

Overall, the best paper was “The 60-year Journey to an Australian Flushability Standard” by Chantal Keane from Urban Utilities. Focusing on the flushability of wet wipes, this outstanding presentation sparked questions from intrigued delegates. Well done to the AWA team and Cairns Regional Council for putting on a successful event!

Awards / Recognition

Following a string of wins at the AWA Gala Dinner, Logan Water also received an international award as part of the International Water Association (IWA)’s World Water Congress and Exhibition in Copenhagen.

Logan Water and partners Downer, Water Service Providers (WSP) and Cardno (now Stantec) were awarded the prestigious Bronze award for Project Innovation (Breakthroughs in Research and Development) for their biosolids gasification facility. Congratulations to all who worked on this Australian first project!

Advocacy / Consultation

The last several months have been particularly busy on the advocacy and consultation front, with seven separate state and federal consultation activities open at one point In particular, there are three major activities that qldwater has been actively working on:

1 2 3

The Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment (EPOLA) Bill End of Waste Framework review

The Draft Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP) 3 0

The Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment (EPOLA) Bill has been in process for more than 12 months, with an initial Queensland Government information session taking place back in November 2021.

Consultation with members was made more difficult due to strict confidentiality requirements from the Queensland Government, which meant that only the substance, but not the detail, of the proposed legislative changes was able to be shared with our members.

There were a number of proposed changes to the EP Environmental Protection Act in particular had the potential to disrupt the urban water industry. In particular, there were sections providing powers to require an Environmental Investigation into existing Environmental Authorities (EAs) on a 10-year cycle – and the subsequent need to update EAs along with upgrades to plant as a result of the findings

The changes also allowed this requirement to be added to all new EAs This was coupled with a lack of transparent tests or limits for the decisions of the administering authority

qldwater facilitated several consultation sessions with the policy makers, at which our members were able to express their concerns, and several of our member utilities took the opportunity to write letters to the Minister.

This action was successful, in that the final draft Bill that was put out for consultation by the Parliamentary Committee was a substantial improvement over the initial drafts. The 10-year review provisions were not included in the final version of the bill. The consultation on the Draft EPOLA Bill 2002 has now closed. qldwater’s submission is available on our website here.

The second piece of consultation for our sector is a review of the Queensland Government End of Waste Framework. This review, conducted by SLR consulting on behalf of the DES is seeking input on the effectiveness of the framework, which has now been in place for five years in Queensland. qldwater hosted a consultation session with the SLR representatives on 24 November 2022 and is preparing a written submission on the behalf of members.

Advocacy / Consultation (cont'd)

The Directorate has similarly been working on its advocacy for the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 since 2021 The industry has been aware that the NEMP 3 0 was coming for some time, and that it would be significant to the urban water industry because of its focus on biosolids: a topic that was highlighted as a future activity since the release of NEMP 2 0

In April 2021, qldwater hosted a series of three workshops on Biosolids Session 1 was focused on 'Understanding existing water sector activities in biosolids treatment and future opportunities' The second session also held in April was focused on 'Guidance on PFAS analysis for End of Waste Code' Then the 3rd Session held in October 2021 considered 'Source Control of Emerging Contaminants'

The third session was attended by a number of participants from other states, and marked a shift in focus as it was apparent that there was a lot of concern around the NEMP 3 0, but very little information and no concerted effort as an industry to address what was coming Working with colleagues from the Intelligent Water Networks (IWN), qldwater organised a sector specific industryonly session “National Workshop on CEC and Response to the PFAS NEMP 3.0”. This session, held on 20 April 2022, culminated in the decision as a sector to work together to establish a national working group to address the potential impact of the PFAS NEMP 3.0 on our sector.

The National Water Sector Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Working Group was established, run through WSAA with assistance from qldwater, co-chaired by Nick Crosbie from Melbourne Water and Stacey Hamilton from Water Corporation.

The Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 was released for consultation on 23 September 2022, with a consultation period of less than 3 months. One of the first actions of the Working Group was to coordinate a call for an extension to the consultation. This action was successful, and the extension was granted to 28 February 2023.

The group is working together to respond to the NEMP 3.0. A scientific review of the NEMP 3.0 has been commissioned through Water RA, to address specific aspects of the NEMP 3.0, especially around the proposed limits for biosolids and the new application of ecosystem protection limits. A sectorspecific consultation session was held on 24 November 2022. qldwater is working with our colleagues in the urban water sector in Queensland and interstate to prepare a submission on the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 through the Sewerage and Water Environmental Advisory Panel.

The consultation cycle appears to have reached a peak and qldwater is looking forward to Q2 2023 for a slowdown in these activities.

Member Engagement Events 2022

Annual Forum Innovation Day – presentations focused on the kinds of technologies water and sewerage service providers should be considering in the coming decade, including examples available now and approaches to help develop business cases for joint investment initiatives using a whole industry approach.

Annual Forum Site Tours – visits to the Tugun Desalination Plant and Merrimac Recycled Water Project to learn more about water security in the fast-growing Gold Coast region.

Annual Forum Strategy Day – as usual, the Annual Forum strategy day was jam-packed with interesting presentations and panel sessions to help qldwater refine its Industry Roadmap. Topics included planning in uncertain times, reshaping the sector’s approach to regulation, risk and investment and developing industry priorities with the Queensland Government.

TracWater Best of the Best QLD Water Taste Test – Mackay Regional Council have maintained their winning streak for another year!

Vendor Pitch Winner - Sean Cohen from Suez won the Vendor Pitch session by bribing participants with a bag full of chocolates, beating excellent presentations from Royce Water Technology, Taggle and Concept Environmental Services

Gympie Conference – the Gympie Regional Council crew hosted a fantastic event including a bus tour of flood affected areas and visits to the Gympie water and wastewater treatment plants followed by interesting presentations at The Pavillion.

Port Douglas Conference – Douglas Shire Council were tremendous hosts showing off the Rex Creek water intake in beautiful Mossman Gorge and tours of the Mossman Water Treatment Plant and Port Douglas Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Yeppoon Conference – Livingstone Shire Council played host to the Central Queensland Regional Conference, including a Trade Waste Interest Group meeting.

Skills Forum – the 2022 Water Skills Forum followed the lifecycle of a water industry worker from school engagement to VET, Graduate employment, postgraduate research opportunities all the way through to transition to retirement.

Water Connections Week – Jess Dean used Esri’s StoryMap platform to showcase all the places we’ve visited on the annual Water Connections Week tours. StoryMaps is a powerful tool which combines interactive maps, photos, videos, sounds and text in one platform.

Gympie Regional Conference

The Gympie Regional Conference took place over a couple of chilly winter days on 13-14 July. A big shout out to Peter Manning and the Gympie crew for hosting the event and showing us around.

The event included a bus tour around Gympie to see some of the pump stations that were inundated during the 2022 floods and visits to the Gympie Water Treatment Plant and the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Peter explained the processes they have in place from the moment they become aware of potential flood events through to the recovery stage – the system is working well after many years of practice with Gympie being such a flood prone region (and there are a lot of switchboards to consider).

The dinner at the Bunker Smokehouse was a great opportunity for informal networking with delicious food and a bar tab – and the Queensland State of Origin win was the cherry on the cake for the evening

Presentations at The Pavilion Conference and Reception included lessons learnt from ARC Flash training at Unitywater, the handback of the Rubyanna WWTP to Bundaberg Regional Council, water security and coastal sewer strategies in the Fraser Coast and Bundaberg regions as well as updates from the DRDMW and DES

The event also included an attraction hack session, with six international students from Southern Cross Uni and QUT attending the event as part of a QWRAP project to engage with university students

Shaun Johnston provided an overview of the challenges and benefits of working in a small regional Council before we teased out some information from the students to build another persona to add to our list of non-traditional employment market segments

qldwater members can access the recordings of all the presentations on our website and see photos on Smugmug

Annual Forum Wrap

The City of Gold Coast team were incredible hosts across the three-day Annual Forum, with most of the events taking place at the Home of the Arts (HOTA).

The Forum kicked off with a focus on innovation in the water sector to hear about the kinds of technologies water and sewerage service providers should be considering in the coming decade Short presentations outlining current examples and approaches to help develop business cases and opportunities for joint investment in initiatives to get better bang for our buck from a whole industry approach Examples needed to be fit for purpose/ place, utility led and not from vendors, consider whole of life cycle cost and engaging for a broad audience including regional and remote providers

Keynote speakers set the scene, providing an overview of the impacts of climate change on water resources and an introduction to “Outback Man” and how his contrasting views to technology affects projects in small and remote communities Other presentations included updates on microbial risk assessment, moving bed bioreactors, autonomous monitoring instruments, water and wastewater pipe relining options and leak detection

On day 2, participants enjoyed site tours to the Tugun Desalination Plant and the Merrimac Recycled Water Facility.

Lunch at the Kurrawa Surf Club included the TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test (more info below), as well as four action-packed vendor pitches from Royce Water Technology, Taggle, Suez and Concept Environmental Services Sean Cohen from Suez won the Vendor Pitch session by bribing participants with a bag full of chocolates – read more about Suez and why they decided to participate in the pitch in the article below

Day 2 ended on a high note with an outdoor dinner overlooking the beautifully lit HOTA building Guests enjoyed great food and plenty of refreshments while the water elders shared their perspectives on water and sewerage services based on their extensive experience working in the industry We also took the opportunity to recognise Shaun Johnston for his extraordinary support of the Water Directorate

The final day of the Forum was jam-packed with interesting presentations and panel sessions to help qldwater refine its Industry Roadmap Topics included planning in uncertain times, reshaping the sector’s approach to regulation, risk and investment and developing industry priorities with the Queensland Government

Mackay Water Wins - Again !

Attendees sniffed, swirled, sipped and scored nine water samples in a blind taste-off event over lunch at the Kurrawa Surf Club as part of the TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test, selecting Mackay Regional Council’s Nebo Road sample as the best tasting water in Queensland

This was Mackay’s first win for the Nebo Road Water Treatment Plant but fourth win overall with water previously from the Marian Water Treatment Plant taking the crown in 2018, 2019 and 2021 Other accolades for Mackay include winning the Water of Origin at the WIOA Conference in June 2022, the National Ixom Best Tasting Tap Water competition in 2019 and 2020 and winning silver at the 2020 International Water Tasting Competition in Berkeley Springs, USA

The winning sample is sourced from the Pioneer River and undergoes conventional treatment before being distributed to households and businesses in Mackay.

The runner up was Southern Downs Regional Council with water from the Wallangarra Water Supply coming in a close second. Other entries included Cairns, Isaac, Livingstone, Longreach (two schemes), North Burnett and Palm Island.

Read more here.

Annual Forum Day Three - Strategic Priorities

Every year as part of the annual forum there is time allocated to review the 'roadmap' and priorities to ensure currency and alignment. There were several presentations on day 3 which acted as thought provokers. The word art below illustrates some of the key issues arising from discussions and the group. The resulting top 10 priorities are listed below:

Special needs of small and remote comm iti

Education and training

Environmental sustainability

Fundamental changes to how we source r

Fit for purpose regulation

Financial sustainability

Early next year we will continue to work with our SPG to update the road map.

Annual Forum Vendor Pitch Winner

The Vendor Pitch session at the Annual Forum was developed to raise funds for the Queensland Water Regional Communities Innovation Program (QWRCIP), a charitable venture aimed at helping address urban water and sewerage challenges facing small and remote communities. It is administered under the auspices of qldwater with a steering committee made up of members from its SPG.

In 2023, scholarships will be offered to staff from these communities to attend regional events as well as the Annual Forum week which includes the two- day event, the qldwater SPG meeting, and knowledge exchange and time spent with mentors from other larger Queensland Utilities.

We asked Sean Cohen, winner of the 2022 Vendor Pitch competition, some questions about his win, and here’s what he had to say:

What are you / your organisation trying to achieve with the sector and what excites you?

At SUEZ, we believe that smart city applications such as smart metering solutions help improve liveability, optimise city functions, promote economic growth and improve sustainability. Our longstanding partners at qldwater share our philosophy, which is why we were proud to sponsor their 2022 Annual Forum.

Our Head of Smart Metering, Sean Cohen, entered qldwater’s presentation pitch to share what we’re doing in the smart water space in a real, competitive, and high-stakes environment Not only did this allow Sean to share valuable insight and provide real-life examples of how SUEZ is improving efficiencies with [Internet of things] (IoT) technologies, he was also able to promote two-way dialogue and gain valuable feedback from the judges and participants through his bold, unique approach to engage the audience

A name synonymous with innovation, SUEZ is a driven, purpose-filled organisation. What excites us is our ability to support our customers through their ecological transitions towards net zero, whilst ensuring water resiliency. We think outside the box to ensure that the planet we live on is a place our descendants will be proud to live in.

We understand that every drop of water is a precious resource and will work to make sure communities have reliable access to clean water and sanitation services The proper use of water is a critical issue to us To achieve this, and to ensure our customers get the most value out of their asset management lifecycle, we are committed to engendering a circular economy through sustainable, resilient solutions

Can you please tell us a bit about your decision to enter the pitch and your subsequent win – what does it mean for you/SUEZ?

We recently launched our global strategy, which will set the tone for how we can create the most sustainable water management solutions for the next five years

As Australia and the world move faster towards a circular economy, our step-change strategy is built to achieve this and is underpinned by three central pillars

One pillar focuses on our core business SUEZ is always looking at the value chain of wastewater, water, and corollary services. We also examine our core markets that combine resilient and mature markets with an appetite for innovation and high-growth emerging markets.

A second pillar shows how we’re differentiating ourselves through our value propositions for our customers. We’re integrating our construction and operational expertise with our role as a digital, end-user experience and innovation leader. This is all collected under the umbrella of ambitious commitments that are proven to support people, the planet and nature.

The third pillar focuses on value creation for our customers and stakeholders We manage all our projects to prioritise cutting-edge technologies, digital solutions, and scalable services to maintain our competitive edge

This is an exceptionally exciting time for us –we’re shepherding our customers forward in their ecological transition and are empowering end-users by providing them with the tools to proactively manage their water needs

“Being our partner means working with our customers’ end users to develop solutions that create a sustainable lifestyle and protect nature,” says Sean. “These solutions and services are enhanced with intelligent digital technologies that support proactive water management and responsible behaviours. At SUEZ, we want to help our customers and communities take an active part in preserving water. What we do now will set the trajectory for generations to come.”

One area that SUEZ is known for is being a trusted partner for circular solutions in water. Since our inception, we have developed a fundamental understanding of the needs of our clients, our communities and the environments we serve.

Digital technologies connected through IoT are a fundamental component to promoting circular solutions. For us at SUEZ, they create water and water-related ecosystems. For example, our WIZE technology is designed to connect hard-to-access objects and deliver high-quality, secure information for IoT applications. This reduces losses of water, improves water efficiency and productivity, and minimises pressure upon water-related ecosystems.

What do you think about the current technologies available now and what it means for the water industry?

Is there anything exciting in the pipeline that you are looking at bringing to the market?

Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP) Update

qldwater staff have been participating in several workshops with DRDMW and LGAQ to reflect on the recommendations from the independent review of the program prepared by Cardno (now Stantec) earlier this year.

The workshops aimed to define the vision and the mission of the program and to refine some of the guidelines and governance of QWRAP in line with the review. More to come soon! The growth of the program to include most of Queensland outside of the SEQ area is a testament to the success of the first regional alliances and the strong relationship between the three partners. Thanks to QWRAP, nine regions including 240 communities are now working on joint regional projects, five have considered alternative institutional models and three have developed formal Water Alliances.

All QWRAP projects to date have yielded financial benefits Immediate benefits arise from economies of scale and savings from joint procurement and the strategic planning and contract oversight that comes with a regional approach Many projects are technical or operational in nature seeking to improve the safety, security and sustainability of services supplied to communities Some of these projects may have occurred without QWRAP but would be unlikely to extend beyond individual councils Many projects would not have been possible without collaboration; either because of the additional scope generated or the greater focus on essential services generated by the Program

A handful of projects have also driven strategic sustainability outcomes and led to enhanced future collaboration within a region or across multiple regions These projects have increased in the current funding round with the increasing maturity of some regions, strong regional champions, and the additional focus that has been placed on strategic planning and benefits capture

The activities of QWRAP regions result in benefits for contribute to broader strategic objectives at local, region contribute to achieving other state-wide outcomes

Key examples include:

extending successful, tested initiatives across multiple regions, developing systems and approaches that are adopted by other Queensland councils, driving momentum and interest in improvement and collaboration, b i i t th t f diff t fi ld

The QWRAP Annual Report will be released soon, but in the meantime, here’s a snapshot of some of the great work that has been happening in the regions

Far North Queensland (FNQ)

FNQ appointed a coordinator to oversee the effective delivery on regional sewer relining and sewer and manhole condition assessments to expand on previous sewer relining works.

North Queensland Region of Councils (NQROC)

NQROC formed a research partnership among five councils and James Cook University to identify specific issues and needs for biosolids in tropical Queensland, established a regional training hub to provide skills development for reticulation employees as well as delivery of accredited training for operators to enable standardised approaches and content across all Councils

Downs and Surat Basin Technical Group (DASB)

The Downs and Surat Basin Technical Group has experienced a year of transition following the decision by two of its members to join the South West Queensland Water and Sewerage Alliance (SWQWSA), following the formation of the South West Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (SWQROC). The outstanding projects in the group were all would up with the departure of its regional coordinator to SWQWSA. The group met recently and has a new determination to collaborate as the Downs Urban Water Technical Group, and seek a new regional coordinator to foster collaborative projects for the region in 2023.

Whitsunday Isaac Mackay Water Alliance

(WIMWA)

The most advanced alliance, WIMWA secured ongoing funding for a Learning & Development Coordinator to continue the successful Water Industry Worker program, collaborative

North-West Queensland Region of Councils (NWQROC)

NWQROC completed an audit and analysis of SCADA systems to identify improvement needs and options for joint delivery of common issues This was the first collaborative project on water and sewerage management among the NW councils

Wide Bay Burnett Water Alliance (WBBUWA)

The WBBUWA region are focusing efforts on water quality testing for treatment optimisation, ongoing regional sewer relining, a review of training needs and engaging with university students

Remote Area Planning and Development Board (RAPAD) Water and Sewerage Alliance.

The RAPAD group commenced a first of its kind regional approach to asset management to identify the likelihood (condition) and consequence (criticality) of their water and sewerage assets. There was a strategic planning day identifying key projects and prioritizing them.

South-West Queensland Water and Sewerage Alliance (SWQWSA)

SWQWSA completed an institutional review of regional models, alignment of DWQMP audit and review anniversary dates, a regional graduate water and sewerage engineer program and infrastructure strategy and a partnership with City of Gold Coast to provide technical advice

Statewide Water Information Management (SWIM)

100% of qldwater members used SWIM to report to various departments including DRDMW, BoM, ABS and NPR

Six new Water Service Providers (WSP) have purchased the fully licensed version of swimlocal (total of 57) this financial year One NSW and another Qld WSP are likely to purchase the swimlocal system soon with another currently in talks

The swimlocal steering committee has been reformed to provide strategic guidance and manage risks

The new Web Reports and Dashboards tool is being continually improved based on user feedback It has been highly supported by users with 13 additional WSPs purchasing the tool in the last few months – we now have a total of 35 subscribers

Reporting a breeze with SWIM

SWIM users breathed a sigh of relief as the annual 2021/22 KPI reporting season came to an end on 4 October with every service provider reporting on time using SWIM In the highly coveted race to finish first, there was a tie for the first time this year between Napranum and Mapoon Aboriginal Councils It’s also important to note that the speed of reporting didn’t affect accuracy, which continues to improve year on year thanks to the efficiency, and QA/QC built into , the SWIM system We thank all the staff that spent many hours collating, processing, collecting and entering their water and sewerage data

All Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and National Performance Report (NPR) data was also submitted earlier than the due dates to give them time to start their own validation/checking processes before their data finalisation date of October 31

We have started preliminary work on the qldwater comparative report so watch this space

If you have any feedback or suggestions for SWIM and/or the qldwater comparative/benchmarking report, please contact David Scheltinga (dscheltinga@qldwater com au) or the qldwater offices (enquiry@qldwater com au)

National Performance Report (NPR) Review

In the last couple of weeks the BoM has released the NPR Review Final Report.

http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/frameworkreview/

We are yet to examine the report in detail, but a quick examination seems to indicate that many of the suggestions put forward by industry members have been taken on board. BoM is still working on materials to communicate the recommendations and their response.

qldwater believe that BoM (supported by DRDMW) intend to only make minimal changes, such as removing redundant indicators and small/minor definitional edits, corrections, and clarifications to next years’ (2022/23) NPR reporting. This will give Service Providers time to start collecting data on any new NPR indicators for future reporting. More information will follow as it comes to hand.

Swimlocal steering committee reformed

The swimlocal steering committee has been reformed to oversee and, where possible, facilitate the development of swimlocal It is formalising a previously informal arrangement with users and other stakeholders which seeded development ideas and helped underwrite development costs Specifically, the committee is asked to provide guidance on:

the strategic directions and scope of swimlocal, user-requirements from swimlocal (including analytical reports), reporting requirements of swimlocal users (for qldwater’s use as advocates), specific projects to inform or develop swimlocal, strategic allocation of existing resources to swimlocal activities/tasks, funding opportunities and advice on the broader market for both new users and competing products, and, h i i f h i i l l

Sewerage and Water Environmental Advisory Panel (SWEAP) Update

The SWEAP continues to meet regularly to provide advice on environmental management and regulation and to foster collaboration on joint submissions to the Queensland Government on policy issues.

The recent meeting on 16 November marked a milestone with the election of Monique Gastaldin as the incoming chair of SWEAP, replacing Mark Vis. Mark has served SWEAP since the inception of the group, with a calm and capable hand. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mark for his many years of service and being a great advocate for the panel.

We are very happy that the tradition of regional and SEQ representation in the SWEAP leadership continues, with the election of Anna Whelan as deputy chair, replacing Cameron Jackson.

Activities of SWEAP in the short term will be to aid the consultation on the PFAS NEMP 3.0 and End of Waste (EoW) Framework Review. The incoming Chair and Deputy Chair also have an opportunity to address the strategic focus for the group.

At the meeting in September, a survey was held to examine the Strategic Focus of the group, which was last reviewed in 2019, and resulted in the formation of the qldwater Consortium for Research and Advocacy on Contaminants as part of a Portfolio Approach to addressing contaminants of emerging concern. The survey showed clearly that the SWEAP is meeting its objectives, but that there are some additional areas where the group activities could be expanded to meet emerging concerns. These issues will be discussed further at the next meeting, scheduled for early February.

Queensland Consortium for Research and Advocacy on Contaminants (qCRAC) Update

The focus of qCRAC over the past few months has firmly been on the activities associated with the release of the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0. However, the group is looking to move its research on contaminants forward through the following projects;

Australian Research Council (ARC) linkage project

qldwater through qCRAC has invested in an ARC linkage project around Hazard Profiling and Source Tracking in Sewers with the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) led by Professor Jochen Mueller

The project will commence in early 2023, with a three-year timeline for delivery The project seeks to characterise contaminants of concern (including PFAS) in trade waste and domestic inputs to sewers, with a view to identifying the sources and baseline loads of contaminants in wastewater The outcomes from this research will inform measures that may be taken by utilities and the community to reduce the load of contaminants to the sewer and thereby improve treatment and environmental outcomes

CECs in Domestic Catchments Project

Utility members of qCRAC are seeking an additional smaller scale project to determine the baseline input of dominantly domestic catchments for a range of contaminants of concern in regional sewage catchments. This project aims d li i il h l li k

Water Skills and Training

It has been a busy few months for this program with the recruitment of a new Water Skills Partnership Manager Neil Holmes and a changing of the Chair of the group. Angela Robinson from Seqwater decided it was time to step aside to allow a new Chair to join the group after three years in the role. Sincere thanks to Angela for her significant contributions to the group as Chair.

We are pleased that Amber Robinson from Central Highlands Regional Council has been appointed as the new Chair. We look forward to working with the Amber in the New Year. There are certainly pain points currently which are creating challenges but also opportunities to introduce new approaches and thinking.

There are many moving parts in the skills and training landscape affecting this program, with one of the key focuses over the last 12 months being the delivery of training and the number of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) servicing the industry.

Industry Skills Advisor (ISA)

qldwater through the Water Skills Partnership and in our role as an ISA to the DESBT and as a member of the Water Industry Reference Committee (WIRC), is regularly asked to provide input to policy and investment decisions to support the skills and training needs of the Queensland water industry workforce The following is an overview of recent and other related activities:

Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) War for Talent

qldwater have been actively participating in the Water Services Association Australia (WSAA) War for Talent campaign, joining two spin-off working groups:

1An industry-wide Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to attract people to the industry As part of this group, qldwater has access to a wide range of shared documents from across Australia which can be shared with our members The shared resources will lead to a combined national campaign for the water sector, with WSAA making a substantial financial contribution to engage an external provider to kickstart the campaign

Investigating a national water sector jobs board including opportunities for secondments that will allow water industry workers to broaden their skills

RTO Update

Given the changing state and national VET landscapes, the current level of suppliers available in Queensland to meet demand for training as well as the commitment to the development of a Queensland VET Strategy in the Good People Good Jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032 (released on 30 August 2022), DESBT has determined not to open a general tendering process in 202223 to the Skills Assure Supplier (SAS) Framework DESBT will continue to assess and manage requirements for additional suppliers and may invite RTOs to apply for SAS status if a need is identified

RTOs approved by the national VET regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), are still able to negotiate directly with interested stakeholders to deliver training in Queensland under commercial or fee-for-service arrangements

As such, qldwater attended a meeting with the DESBT Program Design Team to discuss the current situation facing the water sector following TAFE QLD's withdrawal from the market. DESBT completed an analysis of current capability and believes that while there is some evidence of increased demand, there appear to be no capacity constraints with both Simmonds & Bristow and Water Training Australia recruiting additional trainers and increasing their capacity to take on additional learners.

DESBT also needs to consider whether the thin market can sustain more providers.

A review of RTOs delivering National Water Training Package (NWP) has not identified one that could be invited to become a SAS, with issues including scope of delivery, capability to deliver in Queensland and framework compliance. Regarding compliance, qldwater have shared the eligibility criteria with potential new RTOs, with some requirements like the 12-month Queensland delivery and subcontractor arrangements (50%) being quite restrictive.

DESBT will continue to monitor demand and capacity and is keen to be part of ongoing discussions to ensure training demands can be met.

Water Training Package Submission

The Water Industry Reference Committee has submitted the Case for Endorsement and draft Training Package materials for the Flood Site Operations and Water Network Maintenance projects to the Australian Industry and Skills Committee for their consideration.

Water Network Maintenance

Three new Units of Competency and one updated unit address the skills and knowledge required to clean and maintain water assets, including use of new technologies to monitor and repair infrastructure Minor revisions have been made to three other units to incorporate current industry terminology and remove ambiguity These units will be included in the Certificate II or Certificate III in Water Industry Operations

Flood Site Operations

A new Unit of Competency and a Skill Set have been developed to address specific skills for undertaking flood management and the operation and maintenance of flood warning sites The new unit will be an elective in the Certificate III in Water Industry Operations

The qldwater website have been updated to display all the Fundamentals Webinars by topic to make it easier to select those relevant to certain job roles

Topics prioritised by WSP members for future webinars include Leak Detection, Metering Technologies, Regulations for operations staff, District Metered Areas (DMA) Selection and implementation and more seasonal impact topics We will continue to build an interesting line up of webinars for 2023

Micro-Credentials Grants

From discussions with DESBT and the release of the Workforce Summit Report qldwater feels confident there will be an extension of the Micro-Credentialing Pilot Program to provide increased access to industry-supported short courses.

At a special Water Skills Partnership meeting held on 1 September we did a poll was used to gauge interest from participants with Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment, Network Operations and Drinking Water Quality Management Planning (DWQMP) for Operators making the shortlist. The DWQMP will most likely be delivered as a Fundamentals Webinar, presented by Viridis.

There was also some further interest in the SCADA course presented by Murray Thompson, as well as a more detailed, software specific SCADA course to be delivered by SkillsLab.

A recent email sent by qldwater to SWIM / swimlocal users also attracted a lot of interest in a Data

Queensland Workforce Strategy

The Queensland Government released its Good jobs Good people: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032 in August. This 10-year plan will provide the strategic foundation for ongoing engagement with industry, business, community and government stakeholders to develop a strong and skilled workforce, now and into the future.

While the strategy contains support for key enabling programs like financial support for microcredentials, regional/ local solutions and approaches, school to work transitions and attraction and retention, we did feel some disappointment that there is not a strong profile for essential services qldwater will continue to work with the Queensland and Federal Governments to keep raising the profile of the urban water sector as a critical component to the health and safety of all Queensland communities.

Attraction and Retention Toolkits

qldwater is continuing to build resources to help WSP attract and retain staff This includes expanding on the use of personas to target specific audiences For example, qldwater was far more successful in attracting attention to the Skills Manager position using the Ethical Jobs website rather than Seek or LinkedIn when advertising the role

The toolkits will also include tips on building relationships with universities and organisations like the Clontarf Foundation to raise the profile of the water sector as an exciting career opportunity

Snapshot Report 2022

qldwater produces a Workforce Snapshot Report every two years A survey data request has been sent to members for completion and return in early 2023

Shaun Johnston kindly prepared a data collection template which aims to establish an industry award for operators to distinguish between those with qualifications but no experience vs those with lots of experience but no qualifications There was general agreement at the latest skills meeting that Shaun’s data collection template may work for small Councils but not for large entities like Seqwater

At a meeting with working group members, it was decided to continue using the same data collection template as previous years to enable us to track trends, but to use some of Shaun’s suggestions for a more detailed research report similar to one recently released by the NSW Government This could possibly be funded through QWRAP

Water Industry Worker (WIW)

The award-winning WIW Program, managed by the Whitsunday Isaac Mackay Water Alliance (WIMWA) from Mackay, was successful in its bidpool application for funding to continue the position for a Learning and Development Project Coordinator (LDPC) until 30 June 2025.

The WIW program focusses on providing nationally accredited qualifications and recognition of skills for regional council’s WIWs, with the LDPC first securing funding in February 2019 with shared financial support from the investing councils, hosted by Mackay Regional Council. The focus of the LDPC at that time was to establish a pilot program that provided face-to-face training for water industry teams through collaboration with regional Councils

Follow suppo approv of the

Since 2019, the LDPC has coordinated training for the following councils in the WIW program:

Cairns, Townsville, Burdekin, Whitsunday, Mackay, Isaac, Bundaberg, North Burnett, South Burnett, Fraser Coast, Cherbourg, Toowoomba, Southern Downs, and Western Downs.

Providing a robust collaborative regional training program enhances consistent training outcomes where councils are in a better position to reduce risks to drinking water quality and establish a strong career path for entry and progression throughout council’s water sector

The continued use of a dedicated LDPC facilitates the efficient delivery of the WIW competency training across multiple council alliances, with ongoing significant savings recognised regionally Ongoing support and expansion of the program for other accredited and nonaccredited training will increase savings for regional councils

A shared LDPC role benefits investing councils by maintaining a source of truth for internal and external key stakeholders. As a success-critical role to the training program, the LDPC will continue to:

qldwater Water Training Website

The watertraining.com.au website continues to grow with great uptake of both the Aqua and Brown Cards in QLD, especially from contractors that are now required by several Councils to complete the training before working on site.

The interstate additions of the Aqua Card NSW and Brown Card NSW and SA help qldwater offset the significant costs of hosting our Learning Management System (LMS) and provides opportunities for future content sharing. While some contextualisation has been required for these courses with different regulatory regimes, the fundamentals of maintaining safe drinking water and the environment, while working on network assets, are consistent.

On request from the NSW Water Directorate, we have commenced discussions with the LMS host, My Learning Space, to potentially upgrade to Moodle Workplace, which will allow multiple tenancies hosted under one banner. This will reduce administration tasks on qldwater and allow different States to manage their own enrolments and display their own branding.

Two older courses have been updated and moved to the water training website – The Introduction to the Water Industry, and the Introduction to Risk Management are now live.

Work is progressing on the Green Card which will focus on environmental policies and legislation and another course looking at water sampling

qldwater Water Careers Website

The most recent addition to the qldwater careers website is an excellent Careers banner kindly shared by Logan Water.

At the 2022 Ignite Youth Careers Expo, Logan Water’s engagement team created an eye catching, informative booth that really caught the attention of passers-by – something that can be challenging at expos, where we compete with a wide variety of other industries. The marquee backdrop featured a 3m long vinyl banner which displayed the water journey from treatment to tap, showcasing the variety of careers along the way. The banner provides an excellent visual representation of the wide variety of positions that are required to deliver water and wastewater services to our customers.

We plan to add image hotspots to create an interactive display that will link to position descriptions for each of the job roles on the banner.

Read more about Logan’s careers expo display here.

Other News

Reflections on Exercise Hydra

On Friday, 19 August, qldwater participated in a mock emergency exercise as part of Seqwater’s Exercise Hydra. The exercise followed the Bulk Authority Emergency Response Plan (ERP), particularly emergency response and recovery in conjunction with South East Queensland (SEQ’s) water supply partners to practice a whole-of-industry approach to emergency management across the region

The aim of the annual exercise is to review the effectiveness of the ERP to manage a flood related event resulting in water quality and supply issues across SEQ with the overlying issues of power loss and the ongoing concern of a pandemic The exercise was conducted using Microsoft Teams and included both joint and individual service provider emergency plans, procedures and arrangements within a multi-disaster scenario and working within a pandemic environment It aimed to identify gaps in plans, process or knowledge across all exercise participants for this scenario, including understanding of roles and responsibilities of external agencies

The exercise was hosted across 12 different channels over 7 hours, with 60 participants from Unitywater, Urban Utilities, Logan Water, Redland Water, Gold Coast Water, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES), Queensland Health, DRDMW and qldwater mulling over individual and joint protocols in response to a Category 5 Cyclone causing widespread flooding, power loss and damage across the region

It was interesting to participate and to reflect on ways that qldwater could assist in case of emergencies, acknowledging that less communication can sometimes be better when our members are in the throes of an event and need to focus on getting things done rather than communicate to various organisations It also didn’t take into account the fact that prolonged power outages would prevent teams from being able to communicate effectively with each other, although plans did include the distribution of satellite radios Some participants also pointed out the need for Local Disaster Management Groups (LDMG) to participate in the exercise, and for more clarity around the different levels of engagement required with different entities

The exercise was well run with Phoenix Resilience engaged to host the event We thank Seqwater for the opportunity to participate

Sewer Heroes – Fighting the Fatberg

We’ve always had a thing for Lego, hosting Lego building competitions at regional conferences and purchasing some Lego Water Treatment Plants from Lego By Design, when that was still a thing.

A new design idea recently caught our eye on the product ideas page. Designed by MOCingbird, the Sewer Heroes: Fighting the Fatberg design reached the 10,000 votes required to become a reality.

The model aims to playfully educate kids and adults about what’s going on beneath our streets with a 360-degree underground cutaway display and play set starring the dauntless members of a fatberg removal team at work. The fatberg was caused by the mixed-use residential/commercial building with the Burgers and Fries restaurant on the ground floor and residential units above, and the Sewer Heroes are called to take care of the indelicate situation before it’s too late. The design includes sewer workers and a combo truck and features excellent details throughout.

We hope to see more Lego designs to help raise the profile of the water sector!

Upcoming Events 2023

SPG 3 March (possibly AWA President’s Dinner 2 March)

Likely supporting an AWA event in Bundaberg in March Holding the Water Connections Tour around the Wide Bay Burnett region, potentially involving Banana/ Gladstone as well, and holding a 1-day regional conference in Mundubbera the same week

Skills Forum early June to coincide with the SPG SPG 9 June

Support WIOA event Sunshine Coast week of 17 July Support AWA NQ Conference July some time, potentially Townsville, and attending WIOA

Annual Forum, Toowoomba, 5-7 September

SPG 8 September (possibly AWA Gala Dinner that evening)

Support AWA QWater November

SPG 8 December

Member Resources on qldwater

Webinars – new app on website allows search by topic area

Photo library on smugmug

Water Connections Week story map (members click on image below to view)

All event presentations uploaded to the Resource Library

Industry responses to various changes to legislation

Charities

A range of charity organisations were gifted donations in place of speaker gifts From WaterAid Australia to the Royal Flying Doctor Service benefiting from this approach

2022 Ride for Rare Ovarian Cancer

Michael

Dalton from Livingstone Regional Council participated in a fundraising bike ride from

Thanks to all our sponsors for 2022

Grenof, TracWater, Veolia, Calibre Group, Simmonds & Bristow, Endress+Hauser, Royce Water Technologies, Taggle, SUEZ, Concept Environmental Services, EnviroSonic, McCullough Robertson Lawyers and Trility