qldwater Updates

opportunity to use modern (and not so modern) ghost hunting equipment. Everyone brought a torch (and an open mind!) to the experience.

A special thank you to Orterra, our charity auction sponsor. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers package received incredible interest, and between this experience and a range of other prizes donated by sponsors and exhibitors, we raised over $2,600 for Strengthening Rural Communities.

Our events are successful because of the organisations that support and sponsor IPWEAQ. Our sincere thanks again to our host council, Toowoomba Regional Council and our event sponsors, GenEng Solutions, Ventia, FKG Group, Orterra, Tonkin, Wagners, Norton Rose Fulbright and Shepherd.

Branch Conference proceedings are available for members in the Knowledge Centre, and nonmembers are able to purchase.

qldwater UPDATE

Linda Roberts Interim CEO

Changing of the Guards

The legacy and reputation built over the last 10 plus years of qldwater under the leadership of Rob Fearon and Dave Cameron provides the foundations for the next chapter. This year there has been significant change for a small organisation with two very experienced staff in Rob Fearon and Dave Cameron moving on to new opportunities. That combined with other staff changes has meant that it has been a challenging couple of months for the team. To their credit the qldwater team have remained positive, engaged and have maintained our core services.

We have also said goodbye to Anna Mehonoshen and Naomi Carragher more recently, with both being missed. On the positive side we welcomed two new teams members to qldwater. Neil Holmes joins as the Water Skills Partnership Manager and Kirsty Hills steps into the Project Support Officer role. Both quickly becoming part of the team and learning the acronyms that are used.

With any change comes risks but also opportunities. The potential for loss of corporate knowledge has been addressed with thorough transition arrangements, qldwater had been planning and building capacity and redundancy for a long time, and we have recruited well. An upside is that there are new eyes within the team providing an opportunity for a refreshed view moving forward.

The foundations are embedded to continue serving our members and the strong advocacy platform which qldwater and the Queensland urban water industry are known for. There are ongoing and emerging issues which require qldwater to be aligned and have an in-depth understanding of the industry. This alignment is based on strong connections, hence maintaining established relationships with key stakeholders, partners and members will be a priority. We are particularly proud of the committed industry professionals who participate in our Strategic Priorities Group, under the current leadership of Narelle D’Amico.

The Annual Forum on the Gold Coast provided an opportunity to update the industry Roadmap and materialise priorities for the next 12 months +. One of the key initiatives our organisation has been keen to establish for a while is a more formal arrangement where Queensland Government can work with qldwater and other key stakeholders to take a more strategic approach to jointly manage risks to the provision of sustainable urban water and sewerage essential services in Queensland. To date there have been discussions about establishing an industry cross- agency working group however little movement. Continuing to push for this establishment will provide a vehicle for achieving the objectives of the Roadmap. There will be more to come on this, but our aim will be to develop over time a tangible action plan with government to tackle key long term strategic challenges, and emerging threats.

The qldwater team, with the support of the members, the industry and government partners will continue to lead the advocacy and servicing required to help guide and shape the future of the Queensland urban water industry.

Annual Forum Wrap

It was great to catch up with so many of our members in person at the Annual Forum on 6-8 September – a big shout out to all our sponsors and the City of Gold Coast team who were incredible hosts across the three days. As a venue, the Home of the Arts didn’t disappoint either!

Day 1 of the Forum focused on innovation in the water sector, starting off with a couple of keynote speakers to set the scene. The first provided an overview of the impacts of climate change on water resources, with a flood map indicating that the area where we were meeting would be under water by the end of this century - a stark reminder of things to come. Charles Dyer did a great job in real world grounding of small and remote community technology needs by introducing us to “Outback Man” and his contrasting views to technology. Over the course of the day, we learned about microbial risk assessment, moving bed bioreactors, autonomous monitoring instruments, water and wastewater pipe relining options and leak detection.

Day 2 included site tours to the Tugun Desalination Plant and the Merrimac Recycled Water Facility in the morning, followed by a scrumptious lunch at the Kurrawa Surf Club. The afternoon included the TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test, as well as four action-packed vendor pitches from Royce Water Technology, Taggle, Suez and Concept Environmental Services. Sean Cohen from Suez won the Vendor Pitch session by bribing participants with a bag full of chocolates – we hope to see more of this tactic at future events!

Day 2 ended on a high note with an amazing outdoor dinner overlooking the HOTA building. Great food and company made for an enjoyable evening, and the water elders provided some perspectives on water and

sewerage services based on their extensive experience working in the industry. We also took the opportunity to recognise Shaun Johnston for his extraordinary support of the Water Directorate.

Water Taste Test

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

Queensland Government. We are still digesting all the information that came from these sessions and will provide more details in due course.

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

Water Connections Tour

After a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, the annual qldwater Water Connections Tour returned in May 2022.

The five-day intensive tour of water and sewerage

infrastructure across remote and regional councils were introduced in 2005 to introduce State agency representatives to key staff and elected representatives to improve understanding of the challenges faced by our members in delivering water and sewerage services.

The 2022 tour focused on indigenous councils in FNQ including Kowanyama, Pormpuraaw, Napranum, Mapoon, Arukun, Lockhart River and Cook. It also included

meetings with Torres Strait Island Regional Council in Cairns.

We’ve created an excellent story map about this and previous Water Connections Tours which clearly outlines the width and breadth of places we’ve visited, and we thank all those who have participated in these tours over the years.

As the year draws to a close it is important to pause, reflect and then to look forward. Next year 2023 will see a new CEO for the qldwater directorate with consolidation of services and a view towards opportunities.

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