QueenslandWater Queensland Water Issue 36 / December 2023
20/20 Vision: A positive view of water services in 2043 We wrap up our 20th anniversary year with a positive vision for the water sector twenty years from now. It’s the year 2043 and a panel discussion at the qldwater Annual Forum reflects on the positive changes over the past 20 years that have led to the Directorate achieving its vision for safe, secure and sustainable water services for all Queenslanders. In 2024 the sector went through an unprecedented period where our steady advocacy over the previous decade sparked a convergence of changemakers across all levels of government to work together to solve the wicked problems the sector was experiencing. This was supported by the Urban Water Risk Assessment, a government initiative of the time. This refreshing change became evident at the local and state elections in 2024, when the terrible atrocities of multiple wars and extreme weather events across the globe shook the world to its core, and a decision was made to put essential services and essential human rights at the top of the agenda. This was a turning point in the history of urban water services, changing the path from a possible future where clean water and sanitation was unavailable to many Queenslanders, towards an era of water equity where water is properly valued, efficiently used and reused, and forms part of thriving ecosystems. The era also saw positive reforms on how critical infrastructure investment was considered. The panel members reflected on the confluence of changes that led to increased collaboration, better planning, and ultimately a series of reforms around water rights to include the ecological values of ecosystems into our economic systems.
Regional Water Reforms In 2024 we welcomed the tenth and final QWRAP region when the Torres Cape Indigenous Councils received the benefits that the other regions were reaping through better collaboration. Since then, all the QWRAP regions have matured their collaboration models further to manage urban water services across the regions, providing the efficiencies of scale and productivity initiatives required to deliver efficient water and sewerage services.
Data Management
Catchment Management and Ecosystems Health The criticality of good catchment management to water security and water quality is now well understood. Working with local catchment groups and other stakeholders including River Trusts and Catchment Action Groups, galvanised through the QWRAP Stakeholder Engagements, we have healthier catchments, improving biodiversity outcomes. These highly effective partnerships also assist in the attraction of those passionate about the environment to the urban water sector workforce.
The Statewide Water Information Management System (SWIM) and swimlocal, already used by all water service providers in Queensland by 2023, has grown to become a powerful tool for reporting and benchmarking purposes and is now used to support a variety of local government functions including in the management of the professional development of those working in the sector.
Rethinking Water Supply
Water Security
Tackling Contaminants at Source
In 2023, the Queensland Government introduced its Urban Water Risk Assessment project which laid bare the drinking water and water security risks across our remote and regional communities. The project brought together the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water, Queensland Health, the Department of Environment and Science and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, to prioritise future needs. The project pulled together the threads of reliability (water security) and resilience, which allowed the regions to manage their existing risks and better cope with future challenges.
The issues around contaminants of emerging concern led to a series of reforms and a source control strategy to effectively regulate and eliminate CECs from new and imported products which eventually saw their limits reduce in wastewater networks. However, this proved to be a slow and costly transition.
The lack of sustainable water sources sparked a series of demand management campaigns and new businesses popped up to manufacture innovative water efficient products and services.
As the continuous cycles of drought and flooding swept through our communities, the ‘’yuck’’ factor was consigned to history as people embraced the concept of recycled water and the Western Corridor Treatment Plant was reactivated and became a model for other grids across the State.
Embracing The Path to Net Zero The industry nailed the path to net zero by embracing the opportunities presented by the change away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Most sewerage treatment plants now generate more power than they use, capturing emissions and destroying harmful contaminants in the process. And the organic products produced further contribute to positive environmental outcomes.
Message from CEO by Georgina Davis, Chief Executive Officer
Staying ahead of what matters and delivering opportunities Six months in the role, I have been taking stock of what has been achieved and what is still to do. I was fortunate to inherit a well-respected organisation supported by a team of talented and highly dedicated professionals. Our organisation is also endorsed and strengthened by our members and the contributions they make to every working group, consultation process, and the key personnel time and knowledge they provide. I am deeply grateful to all. We have achieved a lot in the past six months as reflected in this newsletter. There have been further updates to SWIM and swimlocal to increase opportunities for direct data uploads and ensuring that smaller service providers with <10,000 connections can meet their new NPR obligations. We have delivered effective advocacy programs around a range of issues impacting the sector from the placement of telco equipment and contaminants of emerging concern; to effectively responding to a range of proposed regulatory amendments which would have unintended consequences for the sector. Our advocacy and programs on skilling and workforce have also paid dividends, with numerous projects underway to provide tools for members. These include members’ access to new training materials, microcredentials specifically for the sector and a skills passport, and we even succeeded in making a change to the official occupation classifications (ANZSCO) to formally recognise more of our critical workers. And to date we have issued 3,500 Aqua, Brown and Green Cards to our Queensland workforce. This year has been busy. Certainly, busier than last year but we all know next year will be busier still. For an advocacy organisation, next year is going to be disrupted with both local and state elections and the mandatory caretaker periods associated with each. There will also undoubtedly be changes in key personnel and representatives throughout all levels of government which will require new and renewed advocacy approaches. Despite the volume of work ever increasing and the disruptions of next year, I am optimistic about 2024, in its potential to offer new prospects and meaningful change for the sector.
Stage 1 of the Queensland Government’s Urban Water Risk Assessment is being finalised with the draft already under review. Stage 2 of this work, which will commence early next year, is filled with expectations that the critical issues identified from Stage 1 (infrastructure cliff, asset investment, workforce and skilling, and others) will be meaningfully resourced and addressed, thus reducing risks where we know they exist. I expect that our maturing Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP) regions will have a critical role in realising the outcomes from Stage 2, providing the perfect ‘delivery mechanism’ for much of the work required. Currently, there are nine QWRAP regions with participation from 57 Local Government Water Service Providers, with each region undertaking a range of innovative projects to better deliver services to their communities. Last but by no means least, our relationships with our stakeholders have continued to grow and strengthen. In the past six months, we have laid foundations for the potential formation of the tenth QWRAP region encompassing and supporting the Torres & Cape Indigenous Councils Alliance and we entered a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA). Our collaboration with other organisations including research bodies and universities, the Local Government Association Queensland and our various state government department supporters continues to strengthen. And the reason we do all these things? To maintain critical services to Queensland’s communities to ensure their safety and prosperity. We are all in this together, and we could not do it without the support of our members and other stakeholders. I look forward to continuing to work with you all in 2024. Happy holidays to you and your families and thank you. Georgina Davis
Member Benefits 2023 Advocacy As the central advisory and advocacy body within Queensland’s urban water industry, we work with our members to speak with one voice when responding to challenges. Here is a snapshot of our submissions and reports for 2023. (Click or scan the QR codes to download the files - members only so please log in first!)
Submissions qldwater Submission on the Planning and Other Legislation (Make Developers Pay) Amendment Bill 2023 - Release Date 14-Dec-2023
qldwater Submission IChEMS Schedule 7 Decisions - Release Date 01-Sep-2023
qldwater Submission on Improving Powers and Penalties of the EP Act - Release Date 09-Nov-2023
qldwater Submission DYJESBT VET Strategy - Release Date 18-Aug-2023
qldwater Submission on End of Waste Code for Biochar - Release Date 05-Oct-2023
qldwater Submission Sustainable Liquid Fuels Strategy - Release Date 18-Aug-2023
qldwater Submission on the NSW Biosolids Regulatory Review - Release Date 03-Oct-2023
qldwater Submission Round to ABS on occupations listed in ANZCO - Release Date 14-Aug-2023
qldwater Submission to AEIC Review of Community Engagement Practices - Release Date 29-Sep-2023
qldwater Submission to the Review of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 - Release Date 03-Aug-2023
qldwater Submission to Parliamentary Inquiry into Metal Theft - Release Date 19-Sep-2023
qldwater Submission on Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 - Release Date 28-Feb-2023
qldwater Submission to SEQ Regional Plan 2023 - Release Date 11-Sep-2023
qldwater Submission on the delivery of VET in regional, rural and remote Queensland - Release Date 02-Feb-2023
2022 Urban Water Industry Workforce Composition Snapshot Report - Release Date 17-Jul-2023
Capability Statement 2023 - Release Date 04-Jul-2023
2022 Urban Water Industry Workforce Composition Snapshot Report Key Indicators - Release Date 17-Jul-2023
2021-22 State Benchmarking Report - Release Date 31-Jan-2023
Reports
Annual Forum 2023 The theme for the 2023 Annual Forum was 20/20 Vision: Raising the Profile of the Urban Water Sector. Acknowledging the Directorate’s 20-year anniversary, the theme reflected on the establishment and role of the organisation and sought to look to the future of the sector. The Forum brought together a range of stakeholders including service providers, consultants, suppliers, training organisations and regulators. We worked hard to develop a program to engage our sector and the key regulatory agencies and others who can proactively address the challenges and seize the opportunities. We would like to sincerely thank all presenters, sponsors and participants, and reflect on the overwhelming consensus that the Forum was merely a starting point for a dialogue that must continue for the benefit of our communities seeking to access the most precious global (water) resource we have at a time of unprecedented challenges and unknowns.
Day 1: Site Tours and Welcome Drinks The Forum was held over three days, with day one comprising of site tours hosted by Toowoomba City Council providing a snapshot of their critical urban water infrastructure including Perseverance Dam and the Wetalla Water Reclamation Facility. While Wetalla represents a modern, advanced water treatment plant, its unique characteristic is the landfill gas-fired generator which provides a significant proportion of the heat
and energy required to power the site. Biogas recovered from the adjacent Toowoomba Waste Management Centre is collected and converted into electricity via LGI’s recently commissioned power station. The initiative significantly reduces Toowoomba Regional Council’s greenhouse gas emissions while powering the Wetalla Water Reclamation Facility, one of Council’s highest energy users, with reliable renewable energy.
Annual Forum 2023 TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test Day 1 finished with a Cocktail Function where water from sources all across Queensland went headto-head in a blind taste off in the TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test. Around 50 attendees sniffed, swirled, sipped and scored 18 samples from across Queensland in the quest to find Queensland’s best tasting tap water - a record number of entries received! The winner of the 2023 competition was Fraser Coast Regional Council with water from the Burgowan Water Treatment Plant getting the highest score. The Burgowan Water Treatment plant sources water from Lake Lenthall on the Burrum River. Toowoomba Regional Council’s sample from the Mt Kynoch Water Treatment Plant came second.
Fraser Coast went on to compete in the National best tasting tap water competition held at the Lilydale & Yarra Valley Show in Victoria on Saturday, 18 November where over 250 members of the community voted on their favourite tap water from the following State Champions: •
SA - BHP Olympic Dam Desalination Plant
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Tas - TasWater Fern Tree WTP
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QLD - Fraser Coast Regional Council Burgowan WTP
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NSW/ACT - Rous County Council, Nightcap WTP
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WA - Water Corporation Cue WTP
We wish TasWater luck at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition in 2024.
Day 2: Looking Back and Setting the Scene Day 2 of the Forum reflected on the history of the Directorate and its programs in responding to the needs of the sector, while also setting the scene of the current issues and risks.
Utilities about Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Industrial Trade Waste and her work on informing a source control strategy to effectively regulate and eliminate CECs from wastewater networks.
The day included a keynote by Wayne Middleton from Arup, focused on Managing Capital Delivery and Water Security Risks and Outcomes in a Regional Context, a panel session with past award winners about their career journeys and a great presentation by Chantal Keane from Urban
Brett Schimming, CEO Build Skills Australia presented on the New Federal Government Jobs and Skills Council and revised funding arrangements for the urban water sector, followed by a panel session on the award-winning Water Industry Worker program.
Annual Forum 2023 Gala Awards Dinner Day 2 ended on a high note with the Gala Awards Dinner at the Burke & Wills Hotel, where three industry awards were presented: The qldwater Industry Recognition Award went to Terry Fagg, Water Treatment Principal at Western Downs Regional Council. Terry loves to share his experience and knowledge at local schools and through our Fundamentals Webinar Series where he has delivered presentations on media filter backwashing, chlorine disinfection, E.coli testing, jar testing, pumping fundamentals and enhanced coagulation in practice. Terry is also a valued member of our Strategic Priorities Group.
The qldwater Government Stakeholder Contribution Award went to Chris Mooney from the Department of Environment and Science. Chris is a longtime supporter of the Directorate through her involvement in SWEAP and as the “most capped” government stakeholder to participate in qldwater’s Water Connections Tour with 5 trips under her belt commencing in 2015.
The 2023 Supplier Contribution Award went to Zak Floyde Smith, Products and Service Manager at Aquatec Maxcon. Zak has been a steady and active supporter of qldwater, supporting our regional events and promoting fit for purpose solutions for smaller and remote locations, an interest that is greatly appreciated by the sector.
Annual Forum 2023 Day 3: Setting the Sails The Queensland Government announced the $2.6M Urban Water Risk Assessment (UWRA) in its June 2023 budget to better understand drinking water and water security risks across remote and regional communities. The UWRA project outcomes will inform state and local governments to plan for the future, make informed decisions about where to prioritise efforts, and to identify future needs and areas where that need is the greatest. To gather industry input into the UWRA project, the Department of Regional Development Manufacturing and Water (DRDMW) held a workshop to gauge where to prioritise efforts and identify future areas where that need is the greatest. It will also provide the evidence to secure funding opportunities through programs such as the Commonwealth Government’s National Water Grid Fund. The Forum provided DRDMW an opportunity to reach out to industry to hear the issues and risks they face in delivering water and sewerage services, and garner ideas on how to address these risks.
The themes that emerged are well known – workforce, funding, water quality and security and asset management. Commonly known issues such as difficulty attracting and retaining staff, a stretched workforce, lack of funding continuity and certainty, revenue raised not reinvested into water and sewerage assets, operational costs or costs for planning not included in grant funding programs, climate change impact on water security and quality, lack of planning, supply chain instability and difficulty meeting regulatory requirements were raised by the participants. This information will be invaluable to Arup who have been engaged by DRDMW, to undertake the urban water risk assessment, and for DRDMW to help shape the design of future responses that are reflective of the sector diversity and needs. Importantly, this work will also shape Queensland’s involvement in the renewed National Water Initiative.
More information about the day, including links to all presentations, are available here. Photos of the event are available here. Thanks to our sponsors who made this event possible:
Vendor Pitch Winner 2023 2023 Vendor Pitch Winner Each year at the qldwater Annual Forum, we host a Vendor Pitch session to raise funds for the Queensland Water Regional Communities Innovations 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 of its Strategic Priorities Group. Len McKelvey, Managing Director at TracWater, was selected as the winner of the 2023 Vendor Pitch session. We asked Len some questions about the win, and this is what he had to say: Can you please tell us a bit about your decision to enter the pitch and your subsequent win – what does it mean for you at TracWater TracWater, a Queensland-based business, is a longtime supporter of the Queensland Water Directorate (qldwater). We find that the conversations promoted by qldwater at the Annual Forum are always challenging and sit well with our company goals of making change happen in the water industry. The opportunity of making a vendor pitch at the Annual Forum was an ideal way for us to introduce some of our newer cloudbased water utility products. We were keen to show how easy it is to use TracWater cloud technology for improvements in drinking water quality. We were also keen to demonstrate how cloud technology can be used to assist operations of regional Queensland water utility operators who don’t have the manpower or financial resources of larger metropolitan water utilities.
What are you and TracWater trying to achieve with the water sector and what excites you? One of the key benefits of TracWater’s patented cloud-based approach to managing water quality is its ability to provide real-time analysis of water quality data. Traditional methods of water testing are time-consuming and rely on manual sampling and laboratory analysis. With TracWater’s cloud-based water quality analysis, data is gathered continuously and analysed in real-time. This enables water managers to make informed decisions quickly and take immediate action to address any quality issues that may arise. In the last few years, we have been granted nine patents for our cloud-based water quality monitoring systems covering over 100 countries. We are currently manufacturing our first export orders of TracWater water quality robots, we have entered partnerships with our first two overseas water utilities in S.E. Asia, and we are excited to begin our first overseas TracWater water quality projects in January 2024. What do you think about the current technologies available now and what it means for the water industry? From work that we are doing and the projects that we have underway in Australia and overseas we know that we are facing unprecedent challenges in maintaining supply of potable water in the face of rapidly increasing water scarcity, groundwater pollution, and challenges from climate change. The global UN Sustainability Goals will not be met by the target date of 2030. The only way to accelerate the pace of change that is now required is for the water industry to follow the lead of global technology development and move at a very much faster pace than it has in the past. We think that water utilities need to be far more adventurous, adaptive, and responsive in their actions and operations. The first step in this process is to seek out and partner with technology companies with proven solutions, who already have the proven processes and products in place. Companies like TracWater are ready and able to help to accelerate
Vendor Pitch Winner 2023 technology adoption to address issues relating to water quality and water scarcity.
Is there anything exciting in the pipeline that you are looking at bringing to the market?
Over the next few years more than 4.3 billion people in our neighbourhood of South-East Asia and the Pacic region are expected to be severely impacted by issues arising from water security. Much faster adoption of technology will be needed to secure supply of safe drinking water.
We recently launched TracNet which is a small cloudbased magnetic manhole sensor designed to measure rising sewerage and stormwater levels in real-time using the cloud. It is a global industry first whereby water utilities no longer need to purchase level sensors. Water utilities can obtain as many level sensors as they need and pay only a small daily charge for the TracNet cloud system. They can now roll out networkwide cloud-based level monitoring without the capital investment normally required in ownership and operation of numerous level meters. Cloud-based TracNet level sensors have completely changed the dynamics, economics, and operational models for level measurement in water, sewerage, and stormwater. They are an example of how positively disruptive the cloud can be to normal conventional processes leading to innovative ways to perform tasks better, faster, and more economically. They are also fast becoming a talked-about cloud success story in Australia and overseas having been recently installed in Singapore, Qld, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.
Essentials Webinars 2023 Webinar Series on Harmful Algal Blooms With the early onset of warm conditions in Queensland, cyanobacteria blooms (otherwise known as Harmful Algal Blooms or HAB) started to appear in surface waters unusually early in the season, and in locations where they have historically been infrequent. With this in mind, a series of Webinars were delivered focused on three aspects of HABs that are relevant to drinking water service providers. Webinar 1 was presented by Matthew Coulton, General Manager Agriculture and Water at the Bureau of Meteorology, providing a climate and water outlook for the coming summer season. The combined impact of a warmer than average winter, an El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) can increase the chance of below average rainfall over much of Australia and higher temperatures across the southern two-thirds of the country. Based on history, it is now also more likely that warm and dry conditions will persist over eastern Australia. El Niño events also increase the risk of extreme temperature shifts like heatwaves, hotter days and increased fire risks. Webinar 2 focused on managing HAB through the Drinking Water Quality Management Plan, presented by Ted Aldred, Manager Water Supply Regulation at DRDMW.
Blue green algae outbreaks in surface waters can be challenging for water service providers, especially when coupled with other risks that are heightened by high temperatures. Boiling drinking water is not an effective means for removing or inactivating toxins associated with HABs. Ted discussed the role of Drinking Water Quality Management Plans in managing these risks to provide safe drinking water to communities. Webinar 3 took the public health perspective with Dr Phil Choi, Senior Environmental Scientist at Queensland Health, providing an overview of the different kinds of algae, the impact of location that leads to toxins forming, and how these impact on the health of people and animals. The fourth and final webinar featured presentations from water service providers with experience in management of harmful algal blooms, reflecting on different mitigation strategies, what worked, what did not, and other lessons learned. Tania Strixner-Harvey from Mount Isa Water Board talked about Blue-green algae at Clear Water Lagoon followed by Trish Knavel and Laura Shiels from Townsville City Council sharing their experiences managing HABs around Townsville. Recording of all these presentations can be found here.
Webinar on Workplace Exposure Standards for H2S and other chemicals: what to measure and how In August 2021, as part of the review of the Workplace Exposure Standards for 700 chemicals, Safe Work Australia proposed new lower limits for hydrogen sulphide and chlorine. These new limits have the potential to result in significant costs for water businesses.
at Workplace Health and Safety Queensland on what compliance to WES standards looks like, and what information can be gathered by water utilities right now to understand their existing risk.
There has been a call from the urban water sector for a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) to be undertaken ahead of any change to the limits due to the concern from the industry around the cost to water businesses to implement new practices, and the proposed timeline for compliance with those limits. An RIA, if undertaken, is the responsibility of state WHS ministers: in Queensland this falls under the purview of Minister for Industrial Relations, Grace Grace.
Latest update:
qldwater organised an information session with Brad Geinitz, Chief Advisor Occupational Health & Hygiene
A recording of the webinar can be found here.
In November 2023 SWA agreed to undertake a national impact analysis process for the proposed revisions to the WES for hydrogen sulphide and chlorine, as well as seven other hazardous chemicals identified by the Office of Impact Analysis as requiring a regulatory impact assessment before a change is introduced. We are grateful to Minister Grace Grace for her support of the urban water sector as she advocated for the national assessments on the sector’s behalf.
Fundamentals Webinars 2024 Upcoming Webinar, 25 January 2024 Fundamentals of Pumping Specific Energy No one denies the importance of pumping water. But how efficient are these pumping systems at delivering today’s needs while being environmentally friendly enough to preserve the planet for future generations?
Rob has 55 years’ experience in water pumping and hydraulics and has never sold product, so his presentations are unbiased and packed with fascinating case studies.
Current models for calling tenders for pumping systems are often based on price. The lowest price pump system is usually also the highest emitter of greenhouse gases, which does not bode well for our grandchildren’s future.
EVENT DETAILS
In this webinar, Rob Welke from the Water Pumping Institute in Adelaide presents The Fundamentals of Pumping Specific Energy. This presentation will de-mystify what specific energy is and quantify it in terms which are relevant to daily water industry pumping operations. In particular, it will reveal how pipeline efficiency is the major driver of pumping specific energy.
Date: Thursday 25 January 2024 Time: 10.00 to 11.00am Register here - or scan the QR Code below.
Also see Rob’s other workshops in the advertisement below.
Sustainable Pumping for Water and Wastewater 2 Day Workshop
Click the image above for short video
Does your Council stand on a Sustainability Platform?
If so, attending our 2-day Workshop will empower you to: • • •
Managing Director and Presenter Rob Welke, ex SA Water, has never sold product. Using Robs 55 years’ pumping system experience in the water industry, he will demonstrate how sustainable pumping is determined by pumping hydraulics, NOT the pump!
• • •
Design, monitor and maintain sustainable water pumping systems quantify CO2 emissions from your water & wastewater pumping projects apply 11 free issued software packages to design and manage sustainable pumping save hugely on pumping costs establish OPEX and whole of life costing see why sustainability is determined by system hydraulics, NOT the pump
Townsville on Feb 28th, 29th, 2024 Brisbane on March 8th, 9th, 2024 for cost, details and to register your interest, click HERE For more information: r.welke@talle.biz www.talle.biz Or call Rob 0414 492 256
Who should attend? Engineers, Consultants, Designers and Managers of Municipal Water Supply & Sewage Treatment and effluent pumping systems
Young Operator Reflects on NZ Tour Each year qldwater sponsors two Operator Awards as part of the WIOA Queensland Conferences. One of the prizes for the Young Operator of the Year award is to participate in a study tour to New Zealand water infrastructure. Here, the 2022 Young Operator of the Year award winner, Exavier Evile, reflects on his experiences: I was lucky enough to attend the WIOA Study Tour to New Zealand where we travelled around the South Island to different treatment plants and attended the Dunedin WIOG Convention & Awards Night. We started off touring the small-town water treatment plants of Manapouri and Te Anau; and the views were awesome from the plants. We then travelled by bus to Invercargill WTP and WWTP and checked out their systems which consisted of trickle filters and digesters. Another 2.5hr bus ride landed us at our final destination in Dunedin where we got to enjoy the convention, presentations and awards night after stopping into Dunedin WTP. All in all, the trip was a great experience meeting likeminded people from Australia and making lifelong friends in the process.
Te Anau Water Treatment Plant services approximately 3000 EP with their Wastewater Plant supplying service water to the farmers also.
Young Operator Reflects on NZ Tour
Invercargill Water Treatment & Wastewater Treatment Plants. UV disinfection for the WTP & Chlorine dosage for the trickle filter WWTP before releasing into lagoons.
Southern Water Treatment Plant, Dunedin. Membrane filtration as well as chemical dosing (on standby depending on NTU quality). UV Disinfection as backup also.
Skills & Training Update by Neil Holmes, Water Skills Partnership Manager
Advocacy qldwater acts as an Industry Skills Advisor, providing advice on training subsidy and investment to the Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training (DYJESBT). It acts as a source of truth for skills and training related issues affecting our members and the sector. The ISA reviews qualifications, enrolments and subsidy levels and advises the Department on these matters. The ISA also advises on challenges relating to the National Water Package and RTO interactions. The contract period for this work has recently been extended through to 30 June 2024. Beyond this period the ISA role will go through a full competitive tender process for another (expected) 3-year contract extension period. Letters of support from the SPG, qldwater and Water Skills Partnership members for qldwater’s continuation in the ISA role, as the voice of members, will be sought in the New Year in preparation for the tender process.
DYJESBT Micro-Credentials Funding We are pleased to announce that DYJESBT have approved our funding application for four microcredentials (MCs) to be developed, including: •
Fluoridation of Water Supplies in Qld (2 streams Operator and Non-Operator)
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SCADA Introduction (theoretical)
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Making Use of Water Quality Data
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Operational Implications of the Drinking Water Quality Management Plan
These subject topics came from polling at a special Skills Partnership meeting held in September 2022. Contracts are being drafted for delivery partners and work will commence shortly on MC development. The course material will be built on the watertraining website along with the Aqua Card, Brown Card and Green Card training courses. The MCs will be launched by the Minister for Water at the annual Skills Forum in April 2024, with delivery of training taking place through 2024. qldwater thanks both the Queensland Government and DYJESBT for their funding support in this important piece of work for the sector.
Water Research Australia (WRA) – Operator Benchmarking Project The Water RA Operator Benchmarking Project, which has been running for the last year, is drawing to a close with the final report to be produced and published soon. qldwater has been sitting on the Project Steering Committee and recently arranged for members of the WBBUWA QWRAP region to sit on workshops to ensure that the remote and regional aspects of our members’ working environments could be factored into the research and report. qldwater is grateful to the WBBUWA members for their input into the research project.
Jobs and Skills Councils Brett Schimming has recently been appointed as the CEO of the new “Build Skills Australia” Jobs Skills Council (JSC – formerly known as Industry Clusters) and this entity will soon be appointing staff and developing systems, processes and frameworks. DYJESBT has released their Terms of Reference and frameworks as to how they wish to see the ISA role interact with and help to inform the JSC in its work. qldwater is currently working through those processes with the Department and formulating the proposal for the new Industry Reference Group (IRG) that the Department require for the role to inform their investments into skills and training. An initial deliverable for the JSC will be the development of a workforce plan for the sector and qldwater and the IRG will help to inform that element of the work.
Skills Toolbox The Skills Toolbox is full of valuable information to help our members make sense of funding and share ideas around attraction and retention. Click on the image below to check it out.
Skills & Training Update DRDMW Operational Workforce and Skills Workshop The Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water’s (DRDMW) Urban Water Risk Assessment Program have identified skills and training issues as a key risk for the sector. In response, the Department hosted an Operational Workforce and Skills Workshop at qldwater offices on Monday, 13 November to identify and discuss key issues. Attendees included representatives from DRDMW, DYJESBT, Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DSDILGP), Queensland Health, Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA), Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ), Griffith University, the Water Industry Worker Coordinator, Chair of the Water Skills Partnership as well as qldwater staff. Award structures and remuneration was one of the issues raised, leading to the development of an HR/IR Project funded through QWRAP.
The project will deliver materials and resources to assist HR teams, including a range of template position descriptions for operators across all levels in the award. These position description templates will reflect the levels of responsibility of operators and the technical complexity of modern plants, helping water managers to pitch the classification of operator duties at the right level in the Local Government Award and Grading systems. qldwater will work with LGAQ to have these position descriptions recognised in the relevant awards that govern employment in our sector and make submissions to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission to reinforce the details in the position descriptions, thereby ensuring appropriate recognition in the award of operator responsibilities. It was great to have Hayley Langsdorf, Chief Doodler at Thoughts Drawn Out, participate on the day to capture our discussions. The end result was this fabulous illustration that truly captured our ideas, thoughts and vision for a sustainable urban water workforce.
Water Industry Worker Update by Lee-Anne Willis, WIW Coordinator
Water Industry Worker Goes from Strength to Strength Thanks to the leadership of the Whitsunday Isaac Mackay Water Alliance, particularly Scott Casey, Troy Pettiford, Jason Devitt and WIW Coordinator Lee-Anne Willis, the Water Industry Worker (WIW) program has been going from strength to strength, delivering network and operations training across Queensland.
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7 from DUWTG / Southern and Western Downs (Treatment)
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14 from WIM / NQ Alliances (Treatment)
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25 from WBBUWA (Treatment)
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10 from FNQ / NQ Alliances (Network)
Lee-Anne has been travelling across the State presenting on the WIW Program at QWRAP meetings and other events, sharing her extensive knowledge of the NWP, the pitfalls around funding and working with RTOs to get the best deal for the regions.
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8 from WIM / NQ Alliances (Network)
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23 from WBBUWA (Network)
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12 from DUWTG (Network)
The WIW program is delivered through MOUs between 16 investing councils and Mackay Regional Council as the coordinators of the program. Participating councils are listed below. Since 2019, 122 workers completed training across the Certificate II and Certificate III Water Industry Operations qualification, with the focus on network streams. A new service level agreement with Simmonds and Bristow in 2023 has seen 99 workers enrolled into the training across treatment and network specialisations, with training to be completed by June 2024.
Some of the feedback from participants and supervisors included the need for additional units for operators that are required to work on water and wastewater sites, that the Cert III assessments needed to be more difficult and that it was hard to send staff away for training with limited crew to maintain operations. Most participants enjoyed the opportunity to share and discuss work processes and procedures and to network with other Councils.
Statewide Water Information Management (SWIM) by David Scheltinga, SWIM Manager SWIM Reporting Tool of Choice for Water Service Providers Reporting Time
swimlocal
With all qldwater members as well as RTA Weipa and Seqwater now using SWIM to report to various departments (including DRDMW, BoM, ABS and NPR), it is clear that SWIM is leading the way as the reporting tool of choice for all water service providers.
Five new Water Service Providers have purchased the fully licensed version of swimlocal (total of 62) this financial year.
The new Web Reports and Dashboards tool is being continually improved based on user feedback and now has several new ‘standard’ reports like the DWQMP E. coli annual report. It has been highly supported by users and is making reporting the data a breeze. Congratulations to Quilpie who was first to submit and finalise their SWIM data this year.
NPR Changes The National Performance Report (NPR) review is now complete, with several good changes made and overall they have managed to limit any additional reporting burden on WSPs. All Queensland WSPs (i.e., including <10,000 connection councils from 2025 (reporting on 202425 data)) will be required to report to the NPR. qldwater is currently reviewing all the changes and will develop a communications strategy which will include documentation both direct and via our website, in person and TEAMS meetings, and other communications to make sure that all our members are collecting the right NPR information from 1 July 2024 and reporting that data in 2025. Keep an eye on our regular eFlashes and the upcoming events page on our website to stay abreast of upcoming training and webinars to help your teams through the NPR changes.
swimlocal is moving towards a totally web-based application. At the moment the Operations (daily data entry), Reporting and Annual Data tools are all web based, with the Admin Tool expected to be done by June 2024. We continue to work with the Department of Environment and Science on the automatic transfer of data from swimlocal to the WaTERS database. The swimlocal system is complete and communicating with the WaTERS database, we are just awaiting some final checks.
Sewerage and Water Environmental Advisory Panel (SWEAP) by Louise Reeves, Major Program Lead SWEAP has had a busy time over the past six months. Following on from a major piece of work on the submission to the Draft PFAS National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP) 3.0, we have seen three consultations across different jurisdictions with a focus on contaminants of concern. Firstly, some good news. The Directorate made a submission to a consultation on the IChEMS Scheduling decision of PFAS chemicals. The proposal from the federal regulator was to schedule the three PFAS chemicals, PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS as and PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS, and related substances on Schedule 7 of the Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management System (IChEMS) register. The listing incorporates precursor compounds and associated chemicals, which right now includes more than 600 separate identified chemicals. The listing on Schedule 7 places restrictions on the importation and use of chemicals and articles containing these chemicals commencing on 1 July 2025. This is an excellent first step for the source control of these chemicals. Moving forward, we would like to see the regulations of PFAS chemicals tightened further to include all of the many thousands of PFAS class of chemicals, and for limits for unintentional trace contamination within imported goods covered by IChEMS lowered. We would also like to see the restrictions expanded to include other products that are not covered by the IChEMS, which is focussed on industrial chemicals and goods. Items that are not specifically covered by the IChEMS standard at this time include pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and it is not clear how the standard will be applied to other known PFAS containing products such as food contact materials. In the meantime, we are calling for improved labelling of PFAS containing materials, or as a first step a national register of PFAS containing products to help
the community and businesses to make informed decisions about their use of the products available in the marketplace. The Department of Environment and Science released a draft End of Waste Code for Biochar. Biochar is the result of thermal treatment (pyrolysis or gasification) of organic feedstocks which may include biosolids. The draft Code was focussed on biosolids feedstocks and agricultural use of the biochar product as a soil amendment, although there are many and varied possible feedstocks to a biochar process, and similarly many possible end uses for the biochar. The draft Code proposed some very restrictive contaminant limits on both the feedstock and the end product and its use. Feedback from our members was incorporated into a submission which is available to view on our website. The third piece of consultation was the NSW Biosolids Regulatory Review. This is of interest to the Queensland urban water sector because the End of Waste Code for Biosolids leans heavily on the NSW Biosolids Guidelines. The End of Waste Code for Biosolids is due for review next year and it is likely that the NSW work will inform amendments. The NSW review proposes an approach to contaminant management in biosolids that strongly mirrors the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0, which is yet to be released in its final form. However, there are some important changes to proposed contaminant limits which has the potential to restrict the land application of biosolids in agriculture. One requirement is a new maximum allowable soil contaminant concentration for the chemical compound HHCB. The proposed regime of testing of this chemical in biosolids will add significantly to the costs associated with agricultural use of biosolids, for a chemical that is very common in domestic wastewater. HHCB is more commonly known as galaxolide … but what is it? Read about it on the next page...
Images from the Chemical Concoctions Website with info on CECs in pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
qldwater Consortium for Contaminants for Emerging Concern (qCRAC) Galaxolide: A common contaminant of concern Galaxolide was first synthesized in the 1960s and is widely used in detergents and fabric softeners where it provides a pleasant clean smell. It is also used as a fragrance in personal care products and household cleaners and has a broad range of uses from inks to pesticides and adhesives. Global production is somewhere between 1,000 - 10,000 tonnes per year. The type of products where it is used means that it makes its way into domestic wastewater, and from there to wastewater treatment. Modern wastewater treatment plants are very effective at reducing the concentration in the treated water. Based on its chemical properties galaxolide will attach to solids in preference to water, so it will be concentrated in biosolids. Biosolids is a valuable fertiliser and soil improver for agriculture. Galaxolide has been identified to be toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects . There is evidence that the chemical may also interfere with the body’s hormone system (endocrine disruptor). Galaxolide breaks down naturally over a period of months, but the long timeframe gives it a classification
of “persistent”. It is also classified as “toxic” although the compound does not seem to be strongly “bioaccumulative”. There is only a small amount of data for Australia on the concentrations of galaxolide in treated wastewater, biosolids and the environment. The lack of data means that we don’t know if the concentrations in the environment are greater than the level that will be toxic to ecosystems. Combined with the “PT” nature of galaxolide, this leads to a conservative approach from regulators for the chemical. More Australian data will answer this question, but the real question is: how can we protect the environment from a chemical that is so common? The only answer is source control: regulating the use of toxic chemicals in all products and better labelling of ingredients. Through informative labelling we can give the power back to the community to make informed decisions about the products that they choose to buy. More information on AICIS Evaluation Statement 2021. Galaxolide and related polycyclic musk.
Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program (QWRAP) by David Wiskar, QWRAP Program Director New QWRAP Funding Deed Signed QWRAP partners qldwater, LGAQ and DRDMW signed a new three-year funding deed for the QWRAP Program at the LGAQ annual conference held in Gladstone in September. One of the key enhancements in this new funding deed is a new pool of funding available to QWRAP Regions to engage Project Management resources for large projects. The aim is to assist QWRAP with implementing more complex and ambitious projects.
Whilst the funding agreement signed was for three years, the QWRAP money has now been built into DRDMW’s base funding from Treasury and as such, contract extension beyond three years will be much smoother and easier than with time limited funding allocations.
Above: qldwater CEO Georgina Davis, DRDMW Acting Director General Linda Dobe, LGAQ President and Sunshine Coast Regional Council Mayor Mark Jamieson, Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Water Glenn Butcher and LGAQ CEO Alison Smith signing the QWRAP funding deed agreement at the LGAQ Conference in Gladstone.
QWRAP Regional Updates
QWRAP Communications Project
Chairs and Coordinator Forum
The new vision and mission for QWRAP identified the need for a QWRAP Communication and Portal Project to develop a new QWRAP logo, a high-level stakeholder engagement strategy and a freestanding website / portal to act as a one-stop shop to access QWRAP information. The portal aims to streamline QWRAP funding applications and knowledge sharing. Our goal is to save time, strengthen collaboration efforts and communication.
The QWRAP Chairs and Coordinators travelled from across the state to attend the first ever face-to-face Chairs and Coordinators Forum held at the qldwater office in July 2023.
qldwater has engaged New Word Order, a Brisbane based creative agency and their digital partner, WK Digital to roll out this project. New Word Order have worked on several water focussed projects and have key strengths in brand, website development and stakeholder engagement. The project is progressing well with NWO holding individual interviews with QWRAP members to better understand each of the individuals’ involvement with and the opportunities presented through the program. This will inform the greater branding and communication component of this project. WK Digital facilitated a Workflow workshop for the QWRAP Chairs and Coordinators, DRDMW representatives and qldwater in late November. The Workflow workshop aimed to identify how the portal can streamline collaboration across regions and incorporates features like smart forms, reporting tools, a centralised calendar, document storage with relevant secure zones, reminders and more. A big shout out to Charles Dyer from Winton who, with the help of Stephen Jewell, created a Wiki website where regions could add their information. This foundational work helped us make sense of the workflow and the information required to build the website. The project will be completed in the first quarter 2024.
During the Forum participants shared their individual Alliance top issues which identified key broad themes including remoteness, education and training, legislative pressure (e.g. regulation), ageing infrastructure, fit for purpose assets, financial sustainability and visibility of industry (socially and politically) affecting the majority of Water Alliances. Overall, the top 5 shared issues identified were: •
Education and Training
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Attraction and Retention
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Ageing Infrastructure
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Visibility of Industry
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Legislative Pressure
We thank DRDMW for covering the costs for all Chairs and Coordinators to travel to Brisbane to meet in person - a rare opportunity for a group as widely dispersed as this. Image below: QWRAP Chairs and Coordinators discuss the key challenges for each of the regions.
QWRAP Regional Updates SWQ Water and Sewerage Alliance Asset Management Planning The SWQWSA region, under the guidance of Chair Peter See and regional coordinator Matt Brennan from George Bourne & Associates, used a QWRAP bid pool funding application to develop the scope and methodology to undertake detailed asset management planning across all asset classes in all Councils in the region. Through this strategic analysis work, the group was able to secure $1.5 million through the Building our Regions fund to procure expert firms to complete condition assessments and to assist Councils with 10year capital planning. qldwater is now actively engaging with DRDMW to use the work of the SWQWSA as a case study under the Stage 2 UWRA Project. This project is a model that other regions should be actively considering as policy changes for BOR funding mean that it can be mobilised to underpin planning activities.
WIM Water Alliance Annual Forum The Whitsunday, Isaac, Mackay (WIM) QWRAP Alliance held their annual forum in Mackay in November. The Forum began with the annual mains tapping competition. In this event, operational staff from each of the WIM Councils race to perform a key operational task; to “tap” into a live water main.
RAPADWSA Benefits Regional Communities Communities in the RAPAD Urban Water Alliance region have saved a combined $183,360 through a joint procurement project. Participating councils from the RAPADWSA includes Barcaldine, Barcoo, Boulia, Diamantina, Longreach, Winton and Blackall-Tambo. As part of cross regional collaboration, the RAPADWSA has also seen participation from Carpentaria, Cloncurry, and Mount Isa from the NWQWRAP region as well as Balonne Shire from the SWQWSA on several projects. RAPADWSA Coordinator, Matt Brennan from GBA Consulting Engineers, said joint procurement was a nobrainer for QWRAP regions given the cost savings to be had and the need for participating councils to complete similar scopes of work. The project allowed participating councils to combine tenders for reservoir cleaning and water mains scouring. Another benefit is the project management component of these projects which includes important contractor engagement and management, quality control and assistance to advise communities of upcoming works and educate residents on the works to be delivered. The group has a number of other projects on the go, including manhole and pump station assessments and rehabilitation, sewer relining and an HR/IR project aimed at attracting and retaining water operators and technical staff in the region.
Mains tapping is an every day operational task performed as part of a process of setting up a new customer water service. Whilst the teams are conducting a race, there are time penalties\incentives for good safe work practices, and for avoiding leaking fixtures and fittings. Mackay Regional Council were the winners of this years event.
What a difference a bit of scouring can make! Photos of pre and post air scouring work completed in the RAPAD region.
QWRAP Regional Updates Palm Island Hosts NQ Alliance Meeting Jess Dean and Neil Holmes grabbed the opportunity to attend the North Queensland Water and Sewer Alliance meeting on Palm Island in September, suppressing their fear of flying in small planes to get to this beautiful destination. The NQ QWRAP team includes representatives from Charters Towers, Burdekin, Hinchinbrook, Townsville and Palm Island Councils. Jeff Ballard from Northern Water Management (NWM) shared a progress update for the NQ QWRAP Standards Project which will benefit other Alliances as well. Trisha Knavel, Water Quality Officer at Townsville City Council did a presentation on managing cyanobacteria, explaining the history and ongoing impacts since cyanobacteria was first identified in Ross River Dam in 2018. Jess and Neil were kindly given a tour of Palm Island Water and Wastewater infrastructure and Solomon and Francis Creek Dams by Stephen Martin (Water and Waste Reform Coordinator, Acting CEO and all-round Champion at Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council). Steve is currently managing several upgrades on the Island and showed them some of the completed projects. Notably, the mixers/aerators installed at Francis Creek Dam sufficiently working to reduce
threats of blue green algae. The intricacies of getting equipment/water tanks via the barge to the island is somewhat of a restrictive and logistical challenge. Something we tend to take for granted on the mainland! Steve has a very small team of three dedicated Operators but of course, like many other WSPs, lacks crucial skills and excessive vacant positions are causing strain in several areas of Council.
CQ Water and Sewerage Alliance Under the leadership of regional coordinator Scott Mason, the Central Queensland QWRAP region secured funding to embark on a detailed region wide risk assessment which will feed into a review of institutional arrangements and the possible creation of a corporatised water business. This project was originally developed by the QWRAP Technical Group but now has strong political level support and the Council CEO’s group will lead the work. The Technical Team will oversee the work and provide advice to the CEO leaders about the delivery of the work. A TOR for the work has been developed and will be released to market shortly.
Neil Holmes, Wayne Saldumbide, Joe Galea, Steve Martin and Daniel Gatto at the NQ QWRAP Meeting on Palm Island, September 2023.
QWRAP Regional Updates FNQROC Regional Water Capability Plan Regional Strategic Infrastructure Coordinator, Amanda Hancock and the FNQ Water Alliance team are about to move forward with the development of a major project of collaboration to build strategic workforce capability for all water entities across the region. Amanda said the Plan relates to QWRAP’s Vision, Mission, and strategic priorities of enabling regional scale delivery, building capacity and capability, and driving regional service and initiatives. It is also closely aligned with the work of the QLD Water Skills Partnership and Water Industry Worker programs, Queensland Government State-wide Risk Assessment Project together with the work of the new Federal Government Industry Skills Councils. The Regional Water Capability Plan will see the development of a regional, long-term (up to 10 year) coordinated plan that includes: •
identifying options and opportunities for the FNQ Water Alliance to work individually and collaboratively to improve workforce capability,
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the use of data – recording, storing, recalling and analysing data to better inform planning and decision making for capital investment and delivery,
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asset management, procurement and contract management,
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the development and use of standardised operating procedures/processes and templates.
The Regional Water Capability Plan will play a key role in driving individual capability improvements across all participating councils and will also form the basis for
collaborative and regional solutions to drive efficiencies across the region. It will also form the foundation for advocacy to State and Federal agencies to secure investment and funding to support improved capability across the region in the overall delivery of water and wastewater services. The group has submitted a significant QWRAP Bid Pool Funding application for this project which will be considered by the QWRAP Partner Steering Committee this month. This strategic approach to dealing with the skills development and the attraction and retention challenges the water industry is experiencing is exciting and will benefit other water service providers and QWRAP regions across the State. The FNQ Water Alliance team will continue to work with the consultants who are delivering the Urban Water Risk Assessment (UWRA) work being implemented by the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water to highlight water and wastewater risk, issues and opportunities through the Far North Queensland region. The FNQ Region includes Cairns Regional Council, Cassowary Coast Regional Council, Cook Shire Council, Croydon Shire Council, Douglas Shire Council, Etheridge Shire Council Hopevale Aboriginal Shire Council, Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Mareeba Shire Council, Tablelands Regional Council, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council and Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council. Image below: The FNQ Water Alliance Team at a recent meeting held in Cairns.
QWRAP Regional Updates WBBUWA Operator Forum The North Burnett Regional Council (NBRC) hosted the Queensland Water Regional Water Alliance (QWRAP) Wide Bay Burnett Urban Water Alliance (WBBUWA) second Annual Operator Forum at Mundubbera on 18 October 2023. NBRC Cr Sue Payne opened the Forum and it was great to see involvement from each of the six WBBUWA Councils which includes Bundaberg, Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, Fraser Coast, Gympie, North Burnett and South Burnett Regional Councils. Each Council had representatives provide informative presentations on a range of topics including Sean Askew’s (now award-winning) presentation on Bundaberg Regional Council’s Asset Validation Project, Gympie Regional Council’s work to control cyanobacterial blooms at Kinbombi Ponds, Leak Detection, Chlorates, the use of QR Code Systems and more.
It is a fact that all water service providers believe their water tastes best, so it was no surprise that all Councils participated in the Operators’ Best Drop drinking water taste test competition. The winner was Fraser Coast Regional Council and the runner up was Gympie Regional Council. The scores were extremely close. The day also included site tours of the Mundubbera Wastewater Treatment Plant and Biggenden Water Treatment Plant. The WBBUWA Operator Forums are for the Operators to share, listen and connect with each other, learn from one another and build beneficial regional relationships. It was evident that the relationships formed during the 2022 Forum are still going strong with many conversations and laughs had. Images below: Trevor Dean receiving the Operator’s Best Drop Trophy from Cr Sue Payne and a variety of shots from the Mundubbera WWTP.
QWRAP Regional Updates North Queensland Activate Sludge and Biological Nutrient Removal Course The North Queensland (NQ) Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program (QWRAP) Water Alliance secured QWRAP funding to support a Pilot Regional Training Hub for the delivery of Activated Sludge and Biological Nutrient Removal (AS/BNR) Course in North Queensland.
Well done and thank you to the Griffith University trainers Helen Stratton, Melody Christie and Peter Griffiths and to Elsa Antunes from James Cook University for generously hosting and opening JCU laboratory facilities to enable this course to run in North Queensland.
The AS/BNR Course is currently one of the only short course wastewater operational training packages available in Queensland for Operators. This course has traditionally been run on campus at Griffith University in Brisbane, making access to this type of training cost prohibitive to northern and regional Queensland Councils.
This initiative was possible due to the drive of Anna Whelan with support from Jessica Arthy, Donna Pell and Lalji Rathod from Townsville City Council.
QWRAP funding offset costs for participant’s and course presenter’s travel, accommodation and catering, and supported an Administration Officer within Townsville City Council to facilitate the logistics. This allowed a significant cost savings to participating Councils. Overall, 20 students attended the course and provided positive feedback on the value of learning, learning outcomes and appreciation for being able to do the course closer to home.
The project is proof of the strong regional collaboration maturity through QWRAP, starting with NQ QWRAP Chair Joe Galea, Regional Coordinator Stephen Martin and members identifying this training need for north Queensland.
Industry News Brown Card Inspires Utilities of the Future Program Earlier this year Georgina and Des were invited to present to a group of Indonesian water service providers and regulators as part of the Utilities of the Future Program run by Griffith University’s International WaterCentre and funded by Australia Awards Indonesia. We provided an overview of the key programs being delivered by qldwater, with our online training courses gaining lots of positive feedback. The group split into teams and had to work on a project each. In October, one of the groups presented their project on competency and training as part of the program. The group found inspiration in the Brown Card training course as an example for them to set standards and train their staff, and have developed a framework with four topics: •
Technical planning for domestic wastewater management
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Construction for domestic wastewater management
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Operation and Maintenance for domestic wastewater management
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Schedule desludging service
Isisford Weir Upgrade Complete Water Minister, Glen Butcher and Longreach Regional Council Mayor, Tony Rayner joined together to open the refurbished Isisford Weir on the Barcoo River on 14 December 2023. This $1.3M project was funded by the Queensland Government and the technical, engineering and construction works completed by the staff of Longreach Regional Council. The weir is a key asset to ensure water security for the community and with recent rains was filled to overflowing. Mayor Rayner took the opportunity of Minister Butcher’s visit to the region to discuss important water security projects for Longreach and how Council can continue to work with the Government into the future. qldwater will work to support these important water security collaborations and QWRAP Regions as we move into what promises to be an exciting 2024.
When asked for feedback on their proposal, the best advice we could give was to start small and keep refining the training packages as you go along – the biggest journey starts with a single step, and it was a great opportunity for us to reflect on the steady growth of our online training packages and the exciting plans we have for the future. Our contributions have led to the Indonesian sector adopting new training for their workers (including cards) and we look forward to continuing our conversations with them as they seek to develop further training and workforce programs.
Industry News UK Wet Weather Overflow Journey The Urban Utilities Futures team, led by lead author and Futures Strategy Manager Annabel Hofstee, have pulled together an industry brief following a series of Wet Weather Sewer Overflows (WWSO) events in the UK that have resulted in an ongoing media campaign and a lack of trust from local communities. WWSOs occur when heavy rainfall overwhelms the capacity of the sewer system, causing untreated sewage and stormwater to discharge into rivers and coastal waters. Sewer networks the world over are designed to overflow in this way in order to protect against property and land-based overflows. In some jurisdictions sewer networks are deliberately combined with stormwater networks for this reason. In the UK, WWSOs to waterways occur frequently and have done for many years, with more than 400,000 such overflows occurring annually. Recently, there has been increasing concern about the impact of WWSOs on the environment and public health. WWSOs can cause water pollution and pose a risk to human health should they come into contact with an overflow. In response to this concern, the UK Government had announced plans to address the problem. One of the key initiatives is the development of a new regulatory framework for wastewater management. In
December 2020, the UK government published a policy paper titled “Storm Overflows: A Plan for Clean Water,” which outlines a series of measures to tackle WWSOs. These measures include: •
Setting new binding environmental targets for water quality and the reduction of pollution from sewage discharges;
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Strengthening the regulatory framework for water companies, including the introduction of legally binding duties to improve the management of WWSOs;
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Investing in new infrastructure and technology to improve wastewater treatment and reduce the frequency and impact of WWSOs; and
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A more recent inclusion of consultation on proposals to improve public information and engagement on the issue of WWSOs. The consultation seeks views on how to provide clearer and more timely information to the public about the impact of WWSOs on bathing water quality and other environmental factors.
There is a growing recognition in the UK of the need to tackle the problem of WWSOs and to ensure that wastewater management practices are aligned with environmental and public health objectives. The
Industry News
policy and regulatory changes underway are aimed at achieving this goal and improving the quality of water in UK rivers and coastal areas. These initiatives continue to progress in the UK with varying complexity and media sentiment. Queensland and the UK Water Companies have many similarities in network configuration, operation, and planning. There are also many parallels between our environments, customer expectations and regulations. The UK Water Industry is seen to provide a benchmark of sorts for the Australian Water Industry and is often looked upon for water and sewer services. The UK customer base is also seen to have similarities to our own in terms of expectations and perception of value. As such, the evolving nature of these events offer strong signals to QLD in the identification of risk and opportunity to ensure that we stay abreast of how the expectations of our own communities’ may change
over time and the challenges this may pose in driving what may manifest as regulatory responses to public expectation. The UK Water Industry provides us with many ‘lessons learned’ and indicators. The persistent themes of risk and opportunity for our context include: •
Transparency and Trust with our Customers and Communities.
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Changing regulatory structure and precedent for Wet Weather Sewer Operations and Design.
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Increased pressure/requirement for monitoring.
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Comprehensive Scientific modelling and knowledge.
qldwater Members can download the document here.
River Improvement Trust Calls for Catchment Scale Planning Georgina Davis attended the Queensland River Improvement Trust State Conference hosted by Cairns River Improvement Trust in September. There are 11 River Improvement Trusts across the State, responsible for protecting rivers, including improving the flow of water in rivers to correct erosion and reduce the impact of flood waters. Good basin management is an essential foundation to water resilience and reliability and water quality, and rivers are an important part of a basin. Rivers are also part of the economic narrative of Queensland. They provide a range of services (including water supply) for many of our urban water service providers and their facilities. Presentations included a Keynote by Professor Allan Dale, Professor of Tropical Regional Development for JCU and Chief Scientist CRCNA, on the importance of River Trusts and the work they undertake in the context of three challenges: managing climate risk, catchment scale planning for river health and water quality and the need to move the current water planning framework to one of water development planning.
There were also presentations from the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water who administer the River Improvement Trust Act 1940 and from Alana Klupfel the Enviro Works Engineer for the Ipswich Improvement Trust which highlighted both the unique characteristics of the river systems and the range of management approaches across Queensland. Site tours to Babinda concluded the conference, highlighting invaluable restoration works conducted after major flooding as well as the importance of river management to landholders and the environment.
Industry News Interns Introduced to Water Sector Challenges qldwater welcomed two interns from Griffith University to join us over the summer break. We worked with the students to develop projects of interest to them.
Jarod Booth Jarod Booth is a second year Environmental Science student with an interest in environmental risk management, analysis of environmental performance and environmental legislation. Jarod has been working with Louise Reeves to form a simple guide or “Cheat Sheet” designed to support the trade waste industry, employees and customers to make informed decisions on reducing the impact of emerging contaminants. The guide will highlight chemicals of concern and will target source control. It aims to be simple enough to understand without in-depth knowledge of the subject and will potentially be backed up by a report which will reference and explain all the material mentioned in the guide, which is essentially a two-page executive summary. Jarod started by sourcing data from the echidna database to get a basic view of the most common contaminants and their severity based on the echidna ranking on a mix of bioaccumulation, persistence, and toxicity. Further data for presence, types and sources of contaminants will be sourced elsewhere to pinpoint industries of concern to focus on. The current data will be refined to include usage for the chemicals and perhaps focus on a mix of the 50 most common and/or severe. We introduced Jarod to Kelly Hopewell at City of Gold Coast to provide insight into this issue from experienced industry members and to help refine the project and decide on ways to target the information around certain concerning industries (pharmaceuticals, etc) or contaminant groups (PFAS, Flame retardants). Additionally, Jarod is looking into evidence of contaminant transfer based on usage after recycling (lipophilicity resulting in increased uptake and bioaccumulation), linking back to data from echidna for concerning chemicals. We hope to line up a site visit to help Jarod gain further insight into industry methods and what the trade waste industry potentially needs from a project of this nature.
Jaron Verheyen Jaron Verheyen is a fourth and final year student completing a double degree in Science and Commerce. Jaron is keen to practically apply his studies in mathematics and economics. Jaron has been exploring the extensive data withing SWIM and looking to enhance the Power BI benchmarking report accessible to qldwater members. Jaron is aiming to produce a report that centres on QWRAP regions. This report will concentrate on operational outcomes within a framework of equity (access) and efficiency (input, output). Jaron is enthusiastic about the water community and the positive change that’s being enacted and hopes his work and deliverables will be complementary to this. Image below: Jarod (far right) with the qldwater team at a recent site visit to the BOC Bulwer Island renewable hydrogen production site to learn more about the process. Hydrogen production uses a lot of water and as such we are keen to understand how this emerging market will impact the urban water industry. The site consists of a 220 kW electrolyser powered by a 100 kW solar array onsite. Any energy used from the grid is offset to maintain green hydrogen status. Other than producing 25kg / hydrogen per day, the site also supplies oxygen to hospitals, nitrogen and argan. The site currently uses 20kL of tap water per day for cooling purposes. The water is pre-filtered before it goes through Reverse Osmosis to get to the high quality the process requires. Conversations continue with Urban Utilities to switch to using recycled water when that option becomes available.
Industry News New to the qldwater Newsletter, each edition will feature an article from a thought leader that will challenge our conventional thinking. We kick off with this article from Shaun Johnston, asking if the way we provide potable water in some remote communities is sustainable. This article follows a discussion at the most recent Strategic Priorities Group meeting and will be followed up with a more in-depth discussion paper.
Pick-a-box: Potable water for the “Bush”? Bush people are very resilient and resourceful. They face a broad range of challenges that they overcome in good spirit each day. But being required to do things the way people in the city (or Europe) have formulated for their needs and having people from the city speaking for them, even with good intentions, place unrealistic challenges in their way and tremendous psychological pressures upon them. Take a look at the history of the development of potable water systems in regional towns and villages in Australia for example. Rural communities that were happily and safely using rainwater tanks for potable water often had schemes that supplied water for gardens. This was desirable for liveability in our wide brown land. But these have more or less evolved into the small scale and expensive, perhaps unsustainable, potable water schemes of today via a number of influences and this has led us down a path that sees many WSPs treating water that is largely used for gardens whilst people steadfastly retain their rainwater tanks for household use, even in State Schools and government buildings. The operating, asset, and depreciation costs for a treated system at these scales are often double that for a non-potable system. And people are paying twice for potable water. Many practitioners in the regions have for some time questioned whether we are perpetuating a wasteful and onerous methodology in continuing to operate these systems. There has been a significant improvement in treatment technology for homes in recent decades. Further supported with targeted education and focussed expenditure, this presents a real alternative. Many of us therefore would welcome a discussion around a workable and palatable mechanism for rolling back unviable potable systems in the smaller regional towns. Then each could at least have the conversation about what best suits their needs, and wallets.
As we look even further out into the Bush at places that have clearly inadequate treatment and resultant high risks, even less economies of scale and less access to all sorts of resources, including skills, are we falling into the trap of projecting the existing city-centric ideas even further at ever greater cost? There is no doubt that “we”, as the greater industry, need to work urgently on these wicked challenges to reduce not just the risk, but actual negative health outcomes that must be eventuating every day. Is the best answer one from inside our current mindset and experience, or is it outside the box? There are plenty of examples to indicate the latter. We may do well to open our minds, do some real work on the alternatives, and build a strategy that provides a basis for sustainable improvement. This will also combat the effects of those on the sidelines making often unhelpful commentary about the need to implement what almost inevitably, after the dust settles, turn out to be poor solutions on the ground.
Key Dates for 2024 January
April
25
19
Fundamentals Webinar on Pumping Specific Energy - Register here
qldwater Water Skills Forum, Parliament House, Brisbane
February
May
8
IPWEA-QNT President’s Breakfast, Brisbane
13-17 qldwater Water Connections Tour
28
AWA Connected by Water Conference, Perth
August
March
22-23 qldwater Annual Forum
5-6
IPWEA-QNT SEQ/SWQ Branch Conference, Toowoomba
16
Local Government Elections
Happy Holidays from the qldwater team
qldwater – Level 1, 6 Eagle View Place, Eagle Farm QLD T: 07 3632 6850 E: enquiry@qldwater.com.au W: www.qldwater.com.au
October 26
State Government Elections Queensland
The qldwater team will take a break from 23 December 2023 to 1 January 2024 inclusive. We look forward to connecting with our partners and members in the New Year!
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