Queensland Water Newsletter June 2023

QueenslandWater

Message from CEO

Welcome to the June edition of the Queensland Water Newsletter.

It was with pleasure that I commenced with the Directorate on 29 May with an action packed agenda as the team prepared for the Water Skills Forum on 8 June and an SPG meeting on 9 June. These two events provided an opportunity to meet some of our members and partners (government and industry) and, importantly, engage in conversations concerning the challenges and opportunities for the water sector. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of qldwater and we plan make this year’s Annual Forum one to remember as we reflect on the past decades and look to the future of the sector.

Over the past year, the Directorate has experienced a lot of change and I start my new role with the clear understanding that we are entering a rebuilding phase after the loss of some key staff last year, and more recently the announcement by Linda Roberts that she would not be able to renew her employment contract due to personal circumstances.

The immense pressure that Linda was under as she took the reins as interim CEO shortly after accepting the Director, Innovation Partnerships role, cannot be underestimated.

Over the past eight months, Linda made significant contributions to both the team and our members, overseeing a number of key projects including the renewal of the Queensland Water Regional Alliance

by Georgina Davis, Chief Executive Officer

Program (QWRAP), advocacy for and participation in the first cross-government urban water sector group, onboarding new staff and leading the team in the successful delivery of the 2023 Water Connections Tour and Water Skills Forum - more information and photos in this edition.

I am very mindful of the criticality of Linda’s role and thank her for offering to continue her employment arrangements to facilitate the appointment of a new candidate to take on management of the QWRAP program.

One of my first priorities in the CEO role was to prepare for member invoices to go out before the end of the financial year, along with our Capability Statement for 2022/23. The publication, available from this link, identifies our key priorities for the year ahead and provides an overview of work completed over the past year – see some of the highlights on the next page.

I have joined an amazing team and a well-developed, much respected organisation delivering numerous essential services for the water sector and we will ensure that our members’ voices are heard whether in boardrooms at 1 William Street, in Council Chambers or on a remote treatment plant in the far-flung corners of our State.

Until next time,

Georgina Davis

Financial Year Highlights

Highlights over the financial year included:

• Being invited to present at the inaugural meeting of the newly convened Cross Government and Cross Urban Water Sector Group which took place in March 2023. The group was a commitment from the DG of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (RDMW) at the 2022 Water Skills Forum and includes Queensland Health, the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT –now DYJESBT), RDMW and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning (DSDIGLP).

• Presenting to the Regional and Remote group at the LGAQ Conference in October 2022. This presentation highlighted the resourcing issues and the added complexity of being regional and remote.

• Representing the urban water sector at a Water Engagement Forum (WEF) workshop to review and refresh the Queensland Bulk Water Opportunity Statement (QWBOS), a framework designed to deal with bulk water trading and bulk water supplies as a resource.

• Welcoming a record number of participants from Queensland Health, RDMW, DYJESBT, LGAQ and Urban Utilities on the 2023 Water Connections Tour visiting eight councils in the Central Queensland region, giving agency staff the opportunity to directly engage with regional/ remote members around challenges.

• Working closely with RDMW and LGAQ on a strategic plan and renewed vision and mission statement for the QWRAP program to fully utilise the program as a vehicle for change and innovation in small and remote communities.

• Continually building relationships with other key agencies including Queensland Treasury Corporation to review pricing models and establish links with the Local Government Financial Professionals.

• Coordinating an engagement workshop on skills and training in February 2023, with State Government, LGAQ, RTOs and key representatives of members. This workshop provided an opportunity to view the challenges from different stakeholder perspectives.

• Securing a record number of responses to data requests for the 2022 Workforce Composition Snapshot Report.

• Representing the industry on the Asset Management Institute Stakeholder Interest Group.

• In partnership with WSAA, liaising with Workplace Health and Safety QLD to provide advice on the proposed exposure levels for chemicals included in the Workplace Exposure Standards, including hydrogen sulphide and chlorine, following a Preliminary Impact Assessment by Safe Work Australia.

• Continued engagement with the Drinking Water Advisory Panel to provide coordinated industry feedback on the revised Drinking Water Quality Management Plan Guideline, with related activities including potential revisions to guidelines for PFAS limits in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

• Drafting a submission on the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0, which telegraphs some important changes to the way that biosolids and water could be regulated in the future. The submission was developed in consultation with our members and other urban water industry partners nationally.

• Engaging with WSAA and WSSG around mutual aid guidelines and flood response, particularly around chemical supply chain impacts.

• Continued advocacy on High Pressure Water Jetting exemptions.

• Agreement from the Department of Energy and Public Works to meet with multiple industry reps and step through MP1.4 of the Queensland Development Code (building over infrastructure) to consider the case for change where it is currently not working with Building Certifiers.

• Continue to work with WSAA on an industry response to federal Telecommunications legislation

• Reviewing the principles and framework for Sunwater pricing through the Urban Water Pricing Working Group

• Providing SWIM data on existing charges, asset / renewal information, proposed/published price paths, revenue and costs to help Sunwater calculate customer pricing impacts of any bulk water price changes, as per their ministerial direction.

Water Connections Tour 2023

The annual five-day intensive tour of water and sewerage treatment plant infrastructure in remote and regional Councils provide an opportunity to share up to date technical and policy information and to explore and understand issues facing small and remote communities.

The 2023 Water Connections Tour itinerary included visits to treatment plants, meetings with key staff and elected representatives and local hospitality in the South Burnett, North Burnett, Cherbourg, Fraser Coast, Woorabinda, Gladstone and Bundaberg Council areas.

Over the course of the week we passed through Kabi Kabi, Wakka Wakka, Butchulla, Auburn Harkwood, Iman, Wulli Wulli, Wadja, Kanolu, Bidjara, Barada, Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng and Taribelang Bunda country, and we pay our respects to the First Nations people and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities.

Day 1: Our first stop was Nanango Sewage Treatment Plant where Steve Carroll, Principal Engineer Water and Wastewater at South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) showed us around the plant and talked through the current concerns and future plans for the plant to cope with increasing demands on the sewerage network. This plant was originally constructed in 1956 and the original inlet channel, Imhoff tank and lagoons are still on site and used to extend capacity or act as a temporary backup when required.

The “tourists” included delegates from:

• Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water,

• Queensland Health,

• Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training,

• Department of Environment and Science,

• Local Government Association of Queensland, and

• Urban Utilities.

A big thanks to Trevor Dean who joined the team for the duration of the tour as our technical expert.

We then met with members of South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) at the Commercial Hotel in Kingaroy to talk about urban water services in regional communities before heading to the Wondai Water Treatment Plant, originally constructed in 1998. It includes a raw water pump station, flocculator tank, DAFF and disinfection processes. Main concerns include wet weather events and high raw water turbidity as well as source water availability.

The last stop for the day was the Murgon Sewage Treatment Plant, circa 1961 with some updates in

1986 and 2010. It includes a course manual bar screen, Imhoff tanks and Facultative Lagoon Storage and disinfection. Concerns include algae blooms and recycled water quality. The plant is a haven for longnecked turtles, a sight to see!

Water Connections Tour 2023

Day 2: Delegates visited the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council’s water and sewerage treatment plants and enjoyed morning tea with Councillors including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

We were impressed by the excellent work the team is doing at both plants, the use of QR codes that

makes it easy for staff to get all the information they need for each task, and also the efforts of operators to train and mentor new staff.

We then travelled to Biggenden to catch up with North Burnett Regional Council staff and elected representatives before a site visit of the Biggenden STP. A big thanks to Shaun Johnston and his team for

showing us around.

Shaun also showed us the small water treatment plant at the caravan park at Mingo Crossing with some pertinent lessons from buying off-the-shelf equipment from overseas.

Day 3: Reggie Cressbrook from Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council met the group at the Baralaba raw water intake before we caught up with the Mayor and CEO for a delicious morning tea. Reggie and his team then showed us around the Woorabinda Water Treatment Plant, and a group visited the Woorabinda Sewage Treatment Plant.

The afternoon included site visits of the Biloela Water and Sewage Treatment Plants and a meeting at the Banana Shire Council chambers.

We thank Anthony Lipsys and his team for the frank and honest discussions about staff shortages, PFAS problems and their gratitude for the team that keeps things ticking over. Thanks also to the Mayor and Councillors for taking the time to meet with us.

Water Connections Tour 2023

Day 4 started off with a visit to the Gladstone Sewage Treatment Plant which has undergone significant work to harvest energy as part of the Gladstone Region 2035 vision. The solids handling facility, including anaerobic digester and dewatering, underwent augmentation to include Biogas in 2018 and Council has partnered with Australian Gas Infrastructure Group to completely decarbonise the natural gas that is distributed. We then met with the Deputy Mayor, Councillors and staff from Gladstone Regional Council, discussing the need for more funding to flow to local governments to ensure they can deliver essential services.

Thanks also to the Gladstone Area Water Board for showing us the soon-to-launch Aquaculture Gladstone multi-species hatchery at Lake Awoonga which forms part of the Lake Awoonga Recreation Strategy. We were also treated to a walk underneath the dam spillway to see some amazing views of the lake.

We continued to Childers for a site tour of the sparkling new Gregory River Water Treatment Plant and the Childers Sewage Treatment Plant which is currently experiencing encroachment from residential development with the associated odour issues. Thanks to Narelle D’Amico and Bundaberg Regional Council staff for showing us around.

The final day of the tour ended on a high note with a site visit of the Aubinville Sewage Treatment Plant. A big shout out to Trevor Dean and the team from Fraser Coast Regional Council for showing us around. The plant is currently undergoing an upgrade, so we got to experience both the old and the new.

After a jam-packed week and some 2000 kms travelled, we have a lot of information to digest. It was clear that, while each location was different, they all face similar challenges around resourcing and attraction and retention of staff.

To quote one of the participants, each region was “same same, but different”. One element is very clear, the passion and commitment from water service teams across the tour area.

Until you are on the ground and can visually see the landscape and assets and meet with people, it is difficult to comprehend the great job which occurs in our regions.

We hope that the tour provided courageous conversations about the challenges and assists with identifying opportunities to leverage collaboration and connections to improve services to regional and remote communities.

Water Skills Forum 2023

The Queensland Water Skills Partnership hosted its sixth annual Water Skills Forum on Thursday 8 June 2023 at our Eagle Farm offices. The Water Skills Forum provide an opportunity for Water and Sewerage Managers, Human Resources and Learning and Development professionals to hear presentations from water industry and other workforce experts and

Government stakeholders. The theme for the event was Hi-Vis; raising the profile of the Urban Water sector.

As an industry we are largely invisible unless something goes wrong. The Forum explored opportunities for the sector to not only increase its visibility to the wider community and stakeholders,

but also to increase visibility within – whether from an Employee Value Proposition perspective, a skills and training planning viewpoint or of the mental health and wellbeing across our workforce.

We thank the following speakers for participating on the day and sharing their engaging content:

Amber Robinson, Manager Water Utilities at Central Highlands Regional Council and Chair of the Water Skills Partnership, kicked off the proceedings with some of her perspectives on the way the water sector is managed in Queensland, claiming that water utilities don’t “fit the mould” that dictates Council employment conditions and need to compete for funding with nonessential services and projects. There are also challenges in making the sector visible in Government processes, for example including water on the skilled migration list. There seems to be a lack of understanding of the risk associated with water services and a national approach is required to solve some of the wicked problems.

Fresh off the bus from the Water Connections Tour, Steph Hogan, Executive Director Strategic Water Initiatives at the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (RDMW), reflected on the value of the tour and the obvious pressure on staff struggling with increased regulation, lack of staff and a host of other pressures. Steph hoped that the QWRAP program could be a vehicle to promote the industry and that the Cross Government Committee will help to streamline processes from a government perspective.

Cassandra Cowley, Manager Industry Engagement at DYJESBT, dispelled a few myths or misconceptions around training support and programs including options for the duration of Apprenticeships and Traineeships, as well as being able to access subsidy more than once, when the eligibility criteria are right.

This presentation was a precursor to a more detailed look at the subsidy options which will be made available to members, most likely as a webinar discussion, for members to explore and understand funding options more deeply.

Over the past year, the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) invested a significant amount of time and resources to help water service providers refine their Employee Value Proposition (EVP). What makes the water sector stand out from the crowd in this war for talent? Peter Gee, Manager Performance Improvement at WSAA provided an overview of the project to date and how the outputs created can be shared and utilised by qldwater members.

Water Skills Forum 2023

Josh Tickell, Manager Technical Advisory and Training and Melissa Wortman, Senior Adviser Skills, Training and Workforce Development at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment presented on the Town Water Risk Reduction Program (TWWRP), it’s progress and outcomes to date and next steps ahead.

Queensland shares a lot of similarities with NSW in the way that water services are provided by a large number of small and/or poorly resourced service providers.

In September 2022 the NSW Government partnered with NSW local water utilities and the

wider water sector to implement the TWRRP to strengthen risk management and strategic planning in town water systems to better safeguard public and environmental health in regional NSW communities.

A key component of the program is a water industry skills and training action plan to address a critical shortage of formally trained water operators in NSW. This shortage increases the risk of water quality safety incidents, which in turn puts public and environmental health at increased risk, increases the risk of water service delivery failure and creates organisational liabilities for water utilities.

To better understand water operator employment and training issues, the department commissioned Balmoral Group Australia (BGA) to analyse the NSW water operations workforce and its access to training, resulting in the NSW water operations workforce and training analysis report and subsequently the Water operations skills and training action plan.

Dr Marty Hancock, Research Manager at Water Research Australia presented on the findings and progress of the Operations and Operator benchmarking project being delivered by Veolia Water Technologies.

The main purpose of the project is to bring industry and regulators together, to develop minimum standards (a benchmark) for technical competency that facilitates a more consistent approach towards technical competency and the implementation of Learning and Development (L&D) programs for frontline water industry operations.

George Wall, Managing Director at the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA) presented on the benefits of the Acuario platform which can aid visibility of workforce planning and skills training gap analysis.

George has had a long history in the training space including being Chair of the national Water Industry Reference Committee, the group that manages the National Water Training Package, and a strong advocate and driver of Operator Certification (now Registration) schemes in both Victoria and nationally.

Operator Registration provides an assurance to regulators, communities and the users of drinking water and recycled water that Operators are competent to manage drinking water, wastewater and/or recycled water quality, as well as being capable of identifying and responding to drinking water, wastewater and/or recycled water quality risks and incidents. There is a lot of detail that sits behind registration assessments which resulted in the investment by WIOA in developing the custom-built Acuario system to track the whole process.

Water Skills Forum 2023

The Water Industry Worker Program was developed in partnership with qldwater, government, industry and training providers to help retain skilled staff and improve future opportunities for workers through industry specific training.

Lee-Anne Willis, Learning and Development Project Coordinator for the Water Industry Worker Program, hosted by Mackay Regional Council, provided an update on the WIW program, highlighting some of the regional training hubs that are being delivered through the QWRAP program.

The Program commenced in South East Queensland in late 2009 and has now been adopted across a number of organisations and QWRAP regions from across Queensland.

The WIW aim is to support water industry workers to receive a national accredited qualification, acknowledging the skills and expanding the knowledge of these essential service providers in local communities.

They focus on hard to reach communities and go where the people are, making use of existing networks to deliver low cost engagement.

Felicity Simpson, Community Engagement and Stakeholder Relations Lead, and Carmen Roberts, Community Education and Engagement Officer at Logan City Council delivered an engaging presentation on their engagement with schools and the education sector - what has worked and could be readily applied in a remote or regional setting.

Some examples include a Tap Café at smaller events, youth engagement through Ignite Careers Days, partnering with TAFE to access cultural and linguistically diverse communities (e.g. the adult migrant English program), NAIDOC week activities and more.

Felicity believes that we can’t predict the future, but we can help shape it – a great motto to live by.

mental health in the workplace and how to create a psychologically safe workplace.

The final presentation of the day was by Leadership Coach and Trainer Belinda Chapman on the responsibilities and practical tips for leaders and individuals regarding

Belinda talked about the new mental health workplace code “Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice” which came into force on 1 April 2023 which is designed to empower Queensland businesses with practical information and guidance to create mentally healthy workplaces across the state.

Shannon Orr, Northern Australia Market Leader at GHD and IPWEA Queensland & Northern Territory (IPWEA-QNT) Engineer of the Year 2022, discussed the challenges and opportunities in building strong partnerships between consultancies and the water industry.

Shannon provided a different viewpoint of consultants working in the industry, and how consultancy firms can provide best value to the sector through opportunities for trainees.

Water Skills Forum 2023

The afternoon also included a panel session on Journeys to the Industry featuring a range of talent pools including Simin Sabah, Senior Utilities Engineer at the Port of Brisbane (previously at Urban Utilities) Renee Wallace, previously Director, Infrastructure Services at Mount Isa City Council and Shaun Johnston, Water & Wastewater Manager at North Burnett Regional Council.

Simin shared some of her experience arriving in Australia on a skill nominated visa and how the language barrier and lack of local experience affected her when she first started working as Principal Water Engineer at Banana Shire Council.

She believes there are many opportunities for the water sector to absorb this available workforce with some assistance to settle in initially.

Shaun shared his experience as a cadet at the age of 40 and how he got hooked on this everchanging industry and embraced the challenge of leading teams. Shaun has been a great mentor to many water industry workers over the years and believes in hiring for attitude – the rest can be learned!

Renee is currently on a break from the industry while she is completing further studies, but we trust she’ll be back to build on her experiences at Southern Downs Regional Council and Mount Isa City Council.

To top off an excellent day, attendees joined us for some drinks and nibbles to meet our new CEO, Georgina Davis.

A big thanks to our sponsors, Trility and Simmonds & Bristow, and to Adrian Blinman and David Bristow personally for their time and contribution to the day.

Special mention also to Boomerang Bags for our new collector item tradie bags!

Training Opportunities 2023

International WaterCentre Courses - Applicatons Now Open!

Registrations are now open for both the Water Leadership Program and the 2023 Training and Capacity Development Program through the International WaterCentre, based at Griffith University’s Nathan Campus.

Over 300 water leaders from across Australia and New Zealand have graduated from the International WaterCentre’s Water Leadership Program since 2011, creating water sector impact through a wide variety of work including:

• Climate change adaptation;

• Paddock to reef modelling to inform Great Barrier Reef policy and planning;

• Developing low cost technologies for emerging markets;

• Recognising the depth and value of Indigenous water science;

• Driving carbon neutrality in wastewater treatment, and;

• Championing water industry workforce diversity and inclusion nationally.

The next Water Leadership Program (WLP) begins on 1 December 2023. Six scholarships are availableapplication forms are available here.

The IWC also launched a new, revised and expanded Training and Capacity Development Program for 2023 including three courses focussed on developing different water leadership skills:

• Team Leadership,

• Leadership to Address Complex Challenges and

• Leading with Courage and Compassion.

Other topic areas in the Training and Capacity Development Program include:

• Water Resilient Communities and Catchment

• WASH in the Water Cycle

• Integrated Water Management, Governance and Finance

More information is available here

POWER THROUGH 400 HOURS OF INTENSIVE FORMAL LEARNING AND PRACTICE IN JUST 3 MONTHS!

Learn faster, learn better, in a real plant.

Our decades of training experience tell us that training using real equipment in a real network and/or treatment plant gets the most engagement from learners, yielding the best results and retention. Now, we’ve crafted a training program that will deliver that, faster! Learners will arrive to training daily over a 3 month period just as they would to a real job, working on real equipment, in a real plant. It’s hands-on, it’s practical and it’s POWERFUL!

To secure a limited place or find out more, email us at

or call us on 1800 620 690 (Only 8 places are available per quarter.)

Water Skills Partnership Update

by Neil Holmes, Water Skills Partnership Manager Advocacy

Skills and Training is a hot topic at all levels of government at the moment, and the qldwater team, especially Skills Partnership Manager Neil Holmes, spends a lot of time making sense of it all!

qldwater continues to provide input as an Industry Skills Advisor (ISA) for the Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training (DYJESBT) as part of a contract to provide skills advice through to 30 December 2023.

In this role, Neil recently completed a Price List Review to inform DYJESBT on the levels of subsidy, funding mechanisms and issues around qualifications or units of competency based on industry feedback and experience. qldwater called for maintaining the highest Priority 1 level for Cert II and Cert III, greater flexibility on subsidies and a review of location loadings as a possible barrier to participation.

We continued to advocate for an increase to Higher Level Skills subsidies, particularly the Certificate IV which receives ongoing strong demand, and were successful in securing a 50% uplift in subsidy levels for both Certificate IV and Diploma qualifications.

Another area of continued advocacy focus is that of the lack of “Skills Assure Suppliers” – the RTOs which can deliver subsidised training accessing User Choice and C3G funding programs.

George Wall’s announcement at the Water Skills Forum that the new Jobs and Skills Councils (JSCs) for Water Operations, clustered in with Build Skills Australia, has finally been formed was welcome news, and we will continue to work with our national partners to raise the visibility of the sector within a group where it could easily disappear. The Jobs Skills Councils replace the former Industry Clusters as part of the federal VET system reforms.

qldwater represents our Skills Partners on the following reference committees / projects:

• Ongoing partnerships with key agencies and organisations, and increased collaboration with Queensland Health to support indigenous council skilling activities.

• Working closely with the Water Industry Worker (WIW) Coordinator to develop a number of regional training hubs linked to QWRAP activities.

• Working with the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) on an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Project to promote careers in the sector.

• Participating in workshops as part of the Water Research Australia Operator Benchmarking project.

Training Resources

We are waiting to hear back whether our work with RTOs on an application for the next round of DYJESBT Micro Credential funding will be successful. Our application was based on feedback from SPG and Skills Partners with four topic areas selected including Fluoride, SCADA, making use of water quality data and the operator’s role in effectively implementing a DWQMP.

If successful, the micro-credential courses will be developed in partnership with our members and other stakeholders and hosted on the water training website, allowing us to grow our training resources on this platform.

We just completed the migration of the training platform to Moodle Workplace and we are working our way through the new settings which will give us better functionality around reporting and administration.

The site currently hosts the Aqua Card (QLD & NSW), Brown Card (QLD, NSW and SA), an introduction to the water industry and a SCADA micro credential course with a Green Card currently under development with an estimated release date of July 2023.

In the meantime, for those wanting to learn more about a range of topics, qldwater members have access to our topic-based resource library of 22 Fundamentals Webinars covering common water and wastewater treatment and network operations and maintenance.

We are also developing a Skills Toolbox as a one stop shop for valuable resources around skills and training –it’s a work in progress but you can already check it out at https://qldwater.com.au/skills-toolbox

Snapshot Report

A big shout out to our members who responded to our request for workforce data for the 2022 Workforce Composition Snapshot Report.

With 33 responses received, this much larger response level requires data to be normalised to ensure we obtain the most accurate picture of changes in the sector since the last report was released two years ago.

We share some of the key findings on the next page.

Go Queensland!

We won’t mention the State of Origin at the WIOA Conference next month, but we hope our water performs as well in the Water of Origin competition!

All the best to Mackay Regional Council - may the winning spree last a little while longer.

Snapshot of the Snapshot Report

by Jess Dean, Account Manager

Sewerage and Water Environmental Advisory Panel (SWEAP)

by Louise Reeves, Major Program Lead

The SWEAP group in 2023 has been focussed on the concerns around the increasing regulatory burden faced by our sector.

In February, following extensive consultation with SWEAP, qldwater finalised a major submission on the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0, which has the potential to substantially disrupt the use of biosolids in agriculture and otherwise potentially affect sewerage operators should it be adopted unchanged.

The submission affirmed that Queensland urban water sector does not support the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 in its current form. The submission makes the following key points:

• The PFAS NEMP is not consistent with the polluter pays principle.

• The regulatory language used in the Draft PFAS NEMP 3.0 gives the urban water sector no confidence that it will not be used in a regulatory capacity.

• There must be a strong and urgent source control response by government for all non-essential PFAS containing products, not just industrial chemicals.

• The urban water sector needs government to prioritise policy that will maximise circular economy opportunities at the least cost and greatest benefit to the community.

• National labelling laws for all imported goods identifying ingredients that belong to the PFAS class of chemicals should be fast tracked as a matter of urgency.

• The Australian government should develop an effective public awareness campaign to help the community make informed decisions about the products they purchase.

It is understood that the NCWG intends to respond each submission on the PFAS NEMP 3.0. Given the large number of submissions that we are aware of, this is likely to take some time.

Draft toxicant guideline values for PFOS in fresh water

The Draft NEMP 3.0 makes specific reference in the table on ecological water quality guideline values to default guideline values (DGV) for PFOS in the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality 2018 (ANZG). Those values have been superseded by the recently published draft toxicant guidelines in the ANZG. These include DGV for PFOS in fresh water.

The draft DGV for PFOS that have been released for the 99%, 95%, 90% and 80% species protection are 0.0091 µg/L, 0.48 µg/L, 2.7 µg/L and 17 µg/L, respectively. This represents a substantial increase compared with those published in the PFAS NEMP 3.0, except for the 80% species protection level. This is an important consideration for what may appear in the final version of the PFAS NEMP 3.0.

The Draft DGV are currently out for public review, closing on 17 August 2023.

Recycled water

The most recent meeting of the panel on 4 May featured a presentation by Dr Lynne Powell (Mallee Gum Consulting) on an analysis that she is conducting on behalf of qldwater on recycled water policy and regulatory framework in Queensland.

This piece of work follows on from a discussion paper prepared by qldwater on Aligning Definitions of Recycled Water in Queensland.

That paper was prepared to outline overlapping regulation of recycled water and recommend clarifications as the first step in increasing safe recycling of water from sewers.

The current project includes substantial consultation with urban water industry specialists in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to understand the regulatory framework for recycled water in Queensland in the national context and identify priorities for the industry to facilitate increased use of this valuable resource.

qldwater Consortium for Contaminants for Emerging Concern (qCRAC)

Through the qldwater Consortium for Research and Advocacy on Emerging Contaminants (qCRAC) , SWEAP continues to actively pursue research collaboration opportunities at a state and national level, through its growing links with Australian research centres undertaking research into COEC relevant to the urban water industry.

Opportunities under investigation include:

• An ARC Linkage application with the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Queensland (UQ) “Identifying Sources of Emerging Contaminants in Australian Wastewater”

• An ARC Linkage Application with UQ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology on Magnetic Polymers PFAS Removal,

• A UQ Early Career Researcher grant application for “EC hazard identification in sewage” for completion in 2024,

qCRAC has an existing collaborative partnership in the Transforming Biosolids ARC Training Centre, which conducts research into sustainable technologies for biosolids.

This centre is holding its third Annual Symposium at University of Queensland, St Lucia 25-27 September 2023, which will be attended by centre partners and researchers. It promises to be an interesting event.

Logan Water Shines in ABC Documentary

Congratulations to Johanna Johnston and the Logan Water team featuring in a highly informative and entertaining ABC documentary released this month. The Number 2 Solution takes viewers on an exciting and fun journey through the biochar lifecycle at the Loganholme biosolids gasification facility.

Sustainable Solutions Lead Johanna Johnson, is the star of the show, sharing her passion and knowledge on renewables, the circular economy and creating a sustainable future.

Watch it here

Statewide Water Information Management (SWIM)

Reporting Time

Well, it is coming up to that time of year again when annual water and sewage data is collated by Water Service Providers across the State and sent to BoM, NPR, ABS and the Qld Govt. qldwater will be sending your SWIM representative information regarding accessing and using the SWIM system soon so if you have had staff changes and the SWIM reporting person from last year is no longer working in this position, please contact qldwater at swim@qldwater. com.au so we can help set up new contact details to ensure important information can be supplied to your organisation.

The SWIM system will be opened for reporting on 1 July 2023.

The data is due on Tuesday 3 October this year. All data is mandatory and required under legislation –PINS can be imposed for late or missing Queensland Government KPI data.

Benchmarking Report

Since the last newsletter we published the twelfth annual qldwater Water and Sewerage Benchmarking Report. The report is published as a package that includes two sets of slides in PowerPoint with charts for all water reporting entities separated into medium, large and extra-large service providers (>1,000 connections), and small and indigenous service providers.

The package includes a document providing explanatory notes and additional insights that should be read in conjunction with the charts.

The slide deck and explanatory report contains a suite of indicators and benchmarking data for all 72 of Queensland’s council owned urban water/sewerage utilities. The reports can be downloaded here.

by David Scheltinga, SWIM Manager

SWIM training

As there have been no changes to the annual indicators requested for the last three years, qldwater is not planning on holding any ‘in person’ specific SWIM training sessions this year. We are more than happy to organise online or in-person meetings with anyone who wishes to do this. So, if you would like to do some SWIM training, please let David know and we will work out something for you.

Additionally, SWIM training videos are available from the qldwater website.

Advocacy

SWIM also supports a significant advocacy program, continually seeking to refine and reduce the reporting burden on members. It is receiving growing support from key regulators and industry experts. This year Seqwater have signed up to use SWIM for the first time. Through the National Performance Report (NPR) review conducted in 2021, it was clear that SWIM represented the most robust and user-friendly system for NPR data collection and collation in the country.

The 2021/22 NPR report and dataset was published on 28 February on the Bureau’s Water Information website. qldwater continues to work with RDMW on the NPR Indicator Review Recommendations, particularly around reporting requirements for Service Providers with <10,000 connections who will be expected to start reporting.

We have also completed a trial of the SWIM Annual Reporting Tool in South Australia with the SA regulator and 8 SA Councils. All 8 Councils have been setup in SWIM with their associated scheme metadata and indicators. The trial tested the ability for the SA Councils to supply NPR data and to see if the SWIM system was the best method for collecting the data.

Aside from helping us offset costs and reduce charges to members, more interstate buy-in helps us positively influence national approaches including the NPR.

swimlocal

With 61 Service Providers currently using the full licensed version of swimlocal (and still growing), the program continues to evolve in line with customer needs. Queensland Health appears likely to sign up to the swimlocal data management tool for their Legionella and WQ data management.

All qldwater members have access to a free version of the swimlocal software (to enter their regulatory required annual water and sewerage data and some metadata). The full licensed version of swimlocal includes significantly more functionality to help manage data at a local level:

• An Indicators module which allows SPs to manage Indicator data more frequently

• Task module which allows SPs to manage their ‘regular’ maintenance tasks

• Alerting via SMS/email, QA/QC processes, mobile data entry and other enhancements

• A new web-based reporting module (with graphing and dashboards) released last year has been well received, leading to a few new subscriptions along with the upgrade for existing subscribers. Thirty-two SPs have now purchased the Web Reports and Dashboard Tool.

We also released a major upgrade of the swimlocal software with lots of new functionality including a direct link to the DES WaTERS database, site ordering, validation rules and indicator ordering at the category level, new calculation functions such as IF, NOT, OR, BUT statements and calculations across sites, etc., as well as many other improvements.

Flashback Fridays

In 2013 we produced Water Connections: Celebrating the Queensland Water Directorate’s First Decade. In the lead up to our Annual Forum in September, we’ll be posting snippets of Chapter 1: Looking Back which tracked the history of the urban water industry in Queensland as blog posts on our website.

A big shout out to the Mt Crosby Historical Society, through President Colin Hester, for the great images they shared with us. This one is the Mt Crosby Pumping Station Easton and Anderson Pumps Lithograph, circa 1892.

Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program (QWRAP)

by Linda Roberts, Manager Innovation Partnerships

The QWRAP program continues to grow with nine Water Alliances now in operation. With permanent funding the opportunity to refresh and forward plan the activities associated with the embedded QWRAP Program has continued with the three partners; Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ), Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water (RDMW) and qldwater

Below is an extract out of the Vision and Mission document with the 4 Strategic Priorities identified.

quarterly QWRAP meeting.

Above: Jennifer Hartwig (LGAQ), Matthew Bock (CBASC, WBBUWA Deputy Chair), Peter Chandler (GRC), Lee-Anne Willis (L&D Coordinator), Dinesha Emmery (RDMW), Daniel Harris (RDMW), Narelle D’Amico (BRC), Shaun Johnston (NBRC, WBBUWA Chair), Steve Carroll (SBRC) visiting Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council Water Treatment Plant during WBBUWA’s

QWRAP Regional Updates

The below QWRAP Projects are at all different stages either; starting out, being assessed Bidpool application or approved. All reflect the strong collaboration of each Alliance member.

Communications Update

by Desiré Gralton, Communications Manager

Members may have noticed that our website homepage had a bit of a facelift a couple of months ago – the aim was to make it easier to navigate to the resource library and our key programs.

The qldwater Resource Library contains more than 2,500 items in a member only secure zone and classified according to the following categories:

• Whole of Business – resources that cover the whole business e.g. management, human resources, skills and training,

• Water Source – resources relating to water sources including dams, rivers, bores etc,

• Water Treatment – resources relating to water treatment plants,

• Water Network - resources relating to the broader water network including pipes, pumps, reservoirs etc,

• Customers - resources relating to customer service / standards,

• Sewage Treatment - resources relating to sewage treatment plants,

• Sewerage Network - resources relating to the broader sewerage network including pipes and pump stations,

• Recycle / Reuse - resources relating to the recycle and reuse of water, wastewater, biosolids etc.

Recent updates include:

• A range of fatigue management and risk assessment sample documents shared by members,

• A report on Water Quality Testing for Treatment Optimisation,

• A chlorate position statement,

• A procedure for condition assessment of AC pipes,

• A range of presentations from events,

• Fundamentals Webinar Series where members can view all webinar recordings embedded on the site. Our communication platforms now include the qldwater website, the qldwatercareers website, the water training website and learning management system, the Chemical Concoctions website (currently under review) and our Zoho online forum

Our LinkedIn page is growing rapidly with 1,623 followers at the time of writing. Last month we introduced Flashback Fridays with a focus on the history of the Queensland urban water industry, so follow us to keep up to date with water news past and present.

Annual Forum 2023

The 2023 Annual Forum will take place on 5-7 September with the theme 20/20 Vision: Raising the profile of the urban water industry in celebration of our 20-year anniversary.

This year the event will take place in Toowoomba at the same time as the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, so please ensure that you book accommodation as soon as possible. The event will take place at the Clifford Park Racecourse.

The Forum will kick off with a couple of site tours on Tuesday 5 September, starting a little bit later in the day to ensure those traveling from Brisbane and further afield can get there in the morning.

On Wednesday, 6 September we will take a trip down memory lane, reflecting on the past 20 years as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Directorate and commemorate those who have paved the way.

On the final day of the Forum we will look to the future 20 years ahead – where do we want to be and how will we get there?

Registrations will open this week so keep an eye out for updates on LinkedIn, Zoho and via our regular eFlashes.

Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test

Hosted in conjunction with the qldwater Annual Forum, the 2023 Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test will be held in Toowoomba on Tuesday, 5 September.

Serial winners Mackay Regional Council may be in for a surprise this year as Livingstone Regional Council (LRC) prepares for a comeback. After almost two years of collecting data in Byfield’s Kelly’s Off Stream Storage and Water Park Creek, LRC in conjunction with CQUniversity published an academic paper illustrating the link between a protected and well vegetated catchment and a high quality and good tasting water supply.

If that sounds like a winner, it’s because it is! Water from Water Park Creek have been immortalised in a very tasty limited-edition craft beer - Livingstone Lager with a tropical twist of Pineapple. Can they do it again?

The water taste test continues to shine a spotlight on the hard work and efforts by water service providers in delivering a food grade quality product to our taps 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Upcoming Events 2023

by Jane Standfast, Events and Membership Officer

IPWEA-QNT Annual Conference

qldwater will be running a water-specific stream at the IPWEA-QNT Annual Conference - please submit extracts here.

Water Night 2023

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is currently seeking sponsorship/promotional partners for Water Night 2023.

As an annual water awareness event, Water Night helps Australians acknowledge their reliance on tap water with a view to increasing their perceived value of water and consequently changing their behaviour. For three years running, TNC have challenged Australian households to go for one night without using their taps during National Water Week. No taps, no showers, no running water.

Most of us use water subconsciously through a ‘water using autopilot’ and underestimate how often we reach for the taps. Water Night gives all of us an opportunity to see how often we use tap water and learn new ways to be more sustainable when it comes to water use. Water Night takes place every year from 5-10pm on the third Thursday of October, during National Water Week. More information is available here

Mt Isa Water Board

qldwater would like to welcome Mt Isa Water Board as a new member. This brings our membership to 100% of eligible water service providers!

QWater’23 Conference

The Australian Water Association QWater’23 Conference will be held in Brisbane on 9-10 November. This year’s conference will focus on the urgent and significant practical steps and actions that are needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of water in Queensland and explore learnings and industry reflections from our past efforts and the transformation required to address the challenges of population growth, accessibility and equity, climate change, and water scarcity.

We invite submission of abstracts by Friday 28 July to address the theme ‘Making This Decade Matter’ and the following sub-themes:

• Service equality;

• Walking as one;

• Resilient communities;

• Future water workforce;

• Infrastructure delivery; and

• Blue sky thinking to BAU.

More information is available here

qldwater – Level 1, 6 Eagle View Place, Eagle Farm QLD

T: 07 3632 6850

E: enquiry@qldwater.com.au

W: www.qldwater.com.au