Inside Water July/August 2022 by Prime Group

JULY/AUGUST 2022

ISSUE 01

SMART DATA FROM

SMART METERS

Taggle and Dubbo Regional Council collaborate over intelligent water solutions

INSIDE

Sensors that protect your assets

Flowing forward with IoT technology

Circular economy and the water industry

CONTENTS Issue 01: July/August 2022

16 REGULAR 4 6

Editor’s Note News

Smart data

PIPELINES

ASSOCIATIONS

VicWater Resilience and readiness in the Victorian water sector

Australian Water Association Ozwater brings industry together

Sarah Thomson

INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT

Sarah Cumming

Why ultrasonic systems matter in wastewater applications Pulsar has developed, manufactured and marketed instruments, which include ultrasonic level transmitters, clamp-on flow meters and open channel flow meters.

Maintaining water networks priority for ifm ifm provides sensors for numerous industries and purposes while promoting ecologically conscious decisions.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

40 Horizontal directional drilling – then, now and the future Stephen Loneragan from HDD Engineering gives Inside Water a history lesson on Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)

Reducing customer water leaks and bill shock Inside Water spoke to South East Water and Iota to see how they are working together to digitiise their network to the benefit of their customers and themselves.

Water corporations – circular economy powerhouses

Creating the future of water for councils and communities Interflow understands that a key issue for councils and water corporations is having the support of communities during infrastructure upgrades.

PROFILE

Thought leadership Why the narrative needs to change with resources

The role of plastic pipes in supporting society’s needs The Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia (PIPA) has worked quietly to improve Australian society.

Smart water meters provide essential data to detect leaks and reduce consumption

INSIGHT

44 Digitisation of water systems is the path forward Xylem spoke to Inside Water about how it is using digital technology to move forward and support communities.

Gippsland Water – Getting ready for anything

LAST WORD

SUSTAINABILITY

The lighter side of water

FOCUS

COVER STORY

www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

EDITOR’S Note

Welcome to Inside Water

Chief Executive Officer John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

AS THE EDITOR of Inside Water, I have written this note with pride and excitement. I am proud that I get to write this piece and represent Inside Water to the entire industry. My excitement comes from taking on a new challenge. The provision of clean drinking water and wastewater reuse has been part of our civilisation for thousands of years. There is evidence of ancient wells dating back to 6500 BC in northern Israel. Further, old irrigation channels date back to the Bronze Age in Mesopotamia, the Indus River and Crete. The United Nations (UN) has estimated that about three per cent of Earth’s water is fresh. However, the vast majority of that water is unavailable or too difficult to access. It is found in glaciers, polar ice caps, or places too far below the surface to be effectively extracted. In practical terms, less than one-half of one per cent of Earth’s freshwater is easily accessible. The UN says there is not a global water shortage in the traditional sense. The biggest challenge is providing water sustainably without stressing existing water supplies. However, individual countries and regions need to tackle the problems presented by water stress and scarcity. Water must be treated as a scarce resource, with a significant focus on managing the demand for water by everyone. The management of water resources provides governments with the opportunity to align the needs and demands of users across the sector. Inside Water is a publication that the industry has been crying out for. Our quick response in developing the magazine has seen record interest, and we are proud to be here for you. We seek to provide industry-leading content on topics as diverse as water treatment, sustainability, stormwater

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

management, telematics and irrigation. Connecting with top decisionmakers, organisations and industry bodies, we are creating a magazine that supports your needs. With the change of government in May, there will almost certainly be an increased focus on water recycling, sustainability and managing our most precious resource. As climate change is a bigger focus of governments worldwide, there will be more discussion and focus on water resources. Water corporations and associated infrastructure companies will also need to develop their plans for readiness and resilience. The need to provide water and support communities will remain a high priority due to the constantly changing climate. At Inside Water, we will present cutting-edge issues in wastewater treatment, talk to leaders in sludge management, and investigate new methods in asset management. Looking after staff in such an environment remains challenging for local government and water corporations, so workforce management and health and safety become vital. We are looking forward to hearing from you over the coming months and years as we explore the industrial water sector from all aspects.

Chief Operating Officer Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au

Group Managing Editor Sarah Baker sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au

Managing Editor Mike Wheeler mike.wheeler@primecreative.com.au

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

Design Production Manager Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

Art Director Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au

Design Daz Woolley

Business Development Manager Chelsea Daniel-Young chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au p: +61 425 699 878 Stephanie Suzuki stephanie.suzuki@primecreative.com.au p: +61 0422 046 711

Client Success Manager Glenn Delaney glenn.delaney@primecreative.com.au

Head Office Prime Creative Pty Ltd 11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia p: +61 3 9690 8766 f: +61 3 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.insidewater.com.au

Subscriptions +61 3 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Inside Water is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher

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

Chris Edwards, Inside Water Editor

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

PROTECTING OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCES The Hydroflux Group consists of eleven specialist water companies serving the municipal, mining & industrial sectors. Our offerings include design & construct projects, technology supply, aftermarket services and chemicals.

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NEWS

Australia leading the way The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has released a new international standard for water efficiency labelling programs. The Regulator of the Water Efficiency Labelling Standards (WELS) scheme, Rachel Connell, said this new standard would help other nations to save water, reduce water scarcity, and reduce emissions at a time when water security and climate change are becoming a growing global threat. The WELS Regulator is responsible for administering the scheme and monitoring and enforcing compliance. The Regulator works with industry and both state and territory governments to deliver an effective and efficient scheme that achieves its objectives and avoids unnecessary costs to windustry. The role of the WELS Regulator is established under the WELS Act. It is filled by the First Assistant Secretary of the Water Division in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. “Water underpins all human activity: food and energy production, physical health, life in cities, social stability – yet we are seeing unsustainable demands and pressures on the world’s clean

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

freshwater resources,” she said. “That is why Australia has led the way in developing this standard with industry and key trading partners to ensure we all preserve as much of this precious resource as much as possible, with the added benefits of reducing utility bills and emissions.” The purpose of the WELS scheme is to conserve water supplies by reducing water consumption, promote the adoption of efficient and effective waterusing and water-saving technologies, and provide information for purchasers of water-using and water-saving products. Water efficiency and labelling requirements and criteria are established in Commonwealth, state and territory legislation and related standards. “This new standard highlights Australia’s internationally recognised expertise in water management and acknowledges our WELS program as a world leader that saves over 158 gigalitres of water and more than $1.47 billion yearly on water and water-heating power bills here in Australia,” said Connell. Industry participation and compliance are essential to the integrity of the WELS scheme. The department aims to achieve this

through education and engagement with suppliers in Australia and overseas. This includes helping businesses register products, inspecting businesses that supply regulated products, and providing advice on WELS scheme requirements in person, on the phone and online. When this doesn’t influence suppliers to meet their obligations, the department also have legislated powers to take enforcement action. “By leading the standard development, we are well-positioned to support Australian manufacturers and exporters to meet international water efficiency labelling requirements,” Connell said. “Australia will continue to work to ensure we are at the forefront of water management globally to improve water security and reduce climate change’s impact.” Day-to-day administration of the scheme is performed by the WELS section in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on behalf of the WELS Regulator. Responsibilities of the WELS section include product registrations, communications, standards development, and compliance and enforcement activities.

The IoT platform, fit-for-water.

iotaservices.com.au www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

NEWS

Queensland turns on tap for water funding Queensland’s Minister for Water, Glenn Butcher, said more than $447 million had been set aside for water security projects, which builds on the state’s investment in water infrastructure. “This government supports projects that stack up while providing jobs and economic growth to Queensland communities. This budget is more evidence of our commitment to the people of Queensland,” Butcher said. “More than $300 million has been committed to delivering the Toowoomba to Warwick Pipeline project to provide drought contingency for Warwick and surrounding communities and a permanent water supply to Toowoomba satellite communities.” Butcher said these funds could be released quickly once the projects had been assessed and the relevant business cases, which are nearly complete, had been submitted. Any necessary federal contribution had been committed. “We’ve heard from regional Queenslanders that these are the projects that are important to them. We are ready to continue supporting regional Queensland communities because we know water is critical to jobs, growth and liveability in these regions,” he said. The Building Our Regions Round 6 program will progress with $39 million allocated in 2022-23 to further help regional communities with an urban water supply and water treatment infrastructure. The Cloncurry Community Service Obligation payments will continue, with almost $28 million over four years to subsidise water delivery to Cloncurry Shire Council via the Northwest Queensland Pipeline. Stage 2 of the Rural Water Futures program has also received $9.3 million in funding over the next two years to ensure the state’s water resources are managed sustainably into the future and to deliver tangible benefits to irrigators, the environment and the community more broadly. “In the state’s Far North, $107.5 million over the next two years has been committed to shoring up Stage 1 of the Cairns Water Security program to support the growing needs of the far north. “$40.4 million over three years has been allocated to the construction of a drinking water pipeline from Gracemere to Mt Morgan, as well as necessary water infrastructure upgrades in Gracemere,” Butcher said.

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

ACT increases Healthy Waterways funding The ACT Government has provided a funding boost to the ACT Healthy Waterways program, committing an extra $14 million to June 2023 to improve waterway health and provide greater amenities for Canberrans. It brings the program’s total value to $20.5 million since the first stage of Healthy Waterways was completed in June 2021. “We all love the beautiful lakes, rivers and wetlands of our bush capital and want to keep them healthy,” Minister for Water Shane Rattenbury said. “This additional $14 million investment in the ACT Healthy Waterways program will help care for our waterways by keeping pollutants from entering stormwater, reducing nutrient loads through infrastructure like wetlands, running education programs and supporting vital research to understand pollution sources better.” The budget provided for the construction of 11 new water quality assets across Belconnen and Tuggeranong. The new assets will include innovative designs like floating wetlands that remove pollution and expand the infrastructure options available to ACT water managers to improve water quality.

This is in addition to three assets already built since the second stage began in June last year. “The key focus areas for the next stage of the Healthy Waterways program will be improving the health of catchments and waterways that supply Lake Tuggeranong to help reduce algal blooms. This will be done by preventing pollutants from entering water bodies through infrastructure, research and education campaigns, and expanding on community-based programs like The Leaf Collective. The University of Canberra ViceChancellor and President, Professor Paddy Nixon was thrilled to be continuing the research with the ACT Government, saying, “The University of Canberra and the ACT Government have worked closely over the last five years to better manage water in Canberra, including work on improved stormwater management in urban developments and management of the water quality in Lake Tuggeranong. “We are looking forward to expanding this collaboration to help safeguard waterway health for the Canberra community.”

NEWS

Victorian Government connects water and jobs The Victorian Budget has allocated $112 million to manage the State’s water sustainably into the future. This will ensure that green spaces remain green, farmers can continue to farm, and our drinking water supply remains secure. Minister for Water Lisa Neville said, “By investing in our water security, we’re investing in the future of our state – as well as the jobs, communities and industries that rely on it.” At the centre of its investment is $56.6 million in the Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy. It is a fifty-year water security plan supporting jobs, communities, industry and agriculture throughout the region. That funding includes $10 million dedicated to a series of waterway and catchment health projects throughout the region. That funding also includes $39 million for more recycled and stormwater projects. It will give communities and businesses guaranteed water supply for local parklands and preserving our drinking water supply. Neville added, “As Victoria’s population grows and the climate gets warmer and drier, we need to use more recycled and stormwater to irrigate places like local parklands and help save more water for drinking. It’s an important part of our plan to keep water bills low for all Victorians.” $6 million is being invested in helping protect the water sector from climate change as part of the Water Cycle Adaptation Action Plan. This includes projects to increase stormwater and recycled water uptake and trialling new bluegreen algae management approaches. $1.6 million has been allocated to explore ways regional Victoria can unlock more benefits from the desalination plant, including a potential expansion of the MelbourneGeelong Pipeline. It can ensure Victorians have a secure drinking water supply, while the Victorian Government can drought-proof the environment and support industry and agriculture. The Budget included $51.8 million for a longterm solution to mine-affected groundwater under Bendigo. Remediation works will support tourism at Central Deborah Gold Mine while protecting the natural environment of Bendigo Creek.

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NSW Government to invest heavily in water Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson said that their commitment created a more secure water future for NSW. It funds the planning and delivery of major water infrastructure projects while supporting the community through new policies and programs. He said, “One of our biggest water investments is $369.6 million over the next four years for the Safe and Secure Water program, including $90 million in new funding to expand the program. It will co-fund vital water and sewerage infrastructure projects in every corner of regional NSW.” He pointed out that this reflected the continued investment the NSW Government has placed in water since 2017. 233 projects have been supported across country NSW, including 23 completed projects that benefit over 300,000 people in NSW. The NSW Government can continue to work with Councils to support the safe operation of water and sewage systems for communities across the state. The NSW Water Strategy has had $19.8 million allocated to begin delivering the Groundwater Strategy, a dedicated Aboriginal Water Strategy and the development of Southern Floodplain Management Plans. Pricing is a big focus of the NSW Government, with $102.3 million

committed as part of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s final price determination. The Budget would also help boost household budgets with $151.6 million set aside to deliver water rebates for low-income households. “Every dollar counts when you’re on a tight budget, which is why we’re continuing to put money back in the pockets of eligible families via water rebates,” Anderson said. For regional NSW, Anderson highlighted record investment in regional water infrastructure. He pointed to $8.9 million over four years to maintain assets within the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme. There was also $82.2 million over three years as part of a joint $92.5 million investment from the NSW and Commonwealth Governments to improve critical water supply infrastructure for the towns of Wilcannia and Cobar. Anderson said, “These investments are helping build an even brighter, more secure and confident regional NSW delivering new jobs and more economic opportunities for locals.” “Water is the lifeblood of our communities, and this budget is investing in projects, strategies and initiatives that will support secure, sustainable and healthy water resources across NSW for decades to come.”

NEWS

Striking a sustainable balance for Goulburn River

Greater South East Irrigation Scheme preferred option Tasmania’s largest irrigation scheme is another step closer with the release of the Preferred Option Design for the Greater South East Irrigation Scheme. This 41,000-megalitre irrigation scheme will incorporate the existing South East Stages One, Two and Three and provide additional water with more than 200 kms of new pipeline and two additional pump stations being constructed. The Scheme, previously known as the South East Integration Project, is designed to improve reliability and provide additional high-surety irrigation water to existing and new irrigators. Delivering the Scheme presents an opportunity to expand high-surety irrigation water to new areas of the agricultural region and help future-proof against climate change while de-risking industry expansion and investment.

Existing schemes cannot cater for continued growth and are further impacted by the ongoing availability issues and increased costs for the current treated, non-potable water supply. The proposed scheme will increase supply reliability and support growth in one of the driest areas in the State. The principal primary production focus is cherries, apples, salad vegetables, wine grapes, stone fruit, lucerne, walnuts and olives. The Preferred Option Design will deliver irrigation water to landowners around Gretna, Jordan River Valley, Brighton, Cambridge, Richmond, Tea Tree, Colebrook, Campania, Sorell, Forcett, and Pawleena. Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Jo Palmer, encouraged interested landowners to provide feedback on the preferred design for Tasmanian Irrigation.

Regional water infrastructure overhaul planning to start soon Twenty-three local councils can begin planning critical water infrastructure upgrades, due to Round 6 of the Queensland Government’s Building our Regions fund. Almost $8.3 million has been awarded to councils for 35 projects to improve water supply and sewerage infrastructure throughout regional Queensland. It covers every region from the Torres

Strait and Cape York to the Gulf, western Queensland and further south, including Quilpie, Maranoa and Goondiwindi. Round 6 of Building our Regions will provide $70 million in funding over three years for local governments to improve water supply and sewerage services, boosting long-term liveability in these regions.

The Victorian State Government is protecting the long-term health of the lower Goulburn River while supporting irrigators’ access to water when needed. Minister for Water Lisa Neville announced new permanent trade and operating rules for the Goulburn to Murray. It is intended to keep flows lower over summer and autumn while not increasing the delivery risk for irrigators. “We are ensuring the lower Goulburn River is managed to protect its environmental health and its recreational, community and cultural values while protecting irrigators’ access to water,” Neville said, Over recent years, there has been increased pressure on the Murray and Goulburn Rivers to deliver trade and environmental water. That led to constant high flows in the Goulburn River during summer, preventing vegetation growth and fish breeding and causing erosion and bank degradation. Two extreme dry years from 2017 to 2019 saw no trade from the Murrumbidgee system in New South Wales and no in-flows from the Darling. This led to an increase in demand from the Goulburn River to new levels, causing continuous high flows. Interim trade rules were implemented for the Goulburn River in 2019 and were extended last year. Over the past 12 months, further testing has been conducted and consultation with scientists, river operators, Traditional Owners, environmental waterway managers, irrigators and the community to settle on rules for the long term. Interim rules were replaced with similar long-term trade and operating rules from July 1. In an average year, new trade opportunities will be around 150 gigalitres, up from 130 gigalitres under the interim rule while still allowing for extended low flows in summer. This is a similar amount of trade to 2020 and more than 2021. Neville said water will be delivered in a smarter, more sustainable way that respects the environmental, cultural and community values. Getting the trade rules right for the Goulburn River is part of the work the Victorian Government has done to protect existing entitlement holders from increasing delivery risks in the Murray River. www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

NEWS

Townsville City Council sharpens water security focus Townsville City Council has maintained its focus on water security in its 2022/23 Budget to support residential, commercial and industrial growth for a sustainable future. Almost $215 million will be invested in the next 12 months to continue working on the city’s critical water infrastructure projects. Mayor Jenny Hill said water has became one of the world’s most valuable commodities. Continued strategic water management was essential for population and industry growth. “In the past 12 months, we have worked through the necessary planning, design and consultation for major projects like the Haughton Pipeline, the Ross River Dam to Douglas Water Treatment Plant pipe duplication, and the city’s new recycled water treatment facility,” Hill said. “With much of the necessary planning works nearing completion, the rubber will hit the road in 2022/23 as we move to the construction phase on these critical and necessary projects. “Council has committed $34.9 million to the pipe duplication project between Ross River Dam and the Douglas Water Treatment Plant, which the Queensland Government partially funds. “The budget also commits an investment of $22 million for the progression and commissioning of our innovative recycled water treatment facility.” Townsville Water and Waste Committee chairperson Russ Cook said Council invested a large portion of its budget in major infrastructure because it was essential to support homes, businesses, and industry both now and into the future. “In 2021/22, we made the appropriate investment to upgrade our underground water networks across the city, and that work will continue in this budget,” Cook said. “It is the expensive infrastructure that people don’t see, we can’t hold an event to open or showcase it, but it is critical for our homes, businesses and local industry.” With the support of the Queensland Government, a further $9.6 million has been allocated to finalise the installation of two new clarifiers at the Douglas Water Treatment Plant. Council will continue works on time and schedule for Stage 2 of the Haughton Pipeline Project.

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

Expanding the recycled water network in Ballarat The Victorian Government announced the upgrade as part of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s (DELWP) Integrated Water Management Fund. The project will upgrade the capacity of the Class A recycled water plant at the Ballarat North Water Reclamation Plant to 5 million litres daily and increase recycled water pumping and pipeline supply capacities to Lake Wendouree. It will also install new connections delivering recycled water supplies to Wendouree West Recreation Reserve and Victoria Park for irrigation and new opportunities for future recycled water usage. The funding will deliver the design and construction of $4.5 million worth of related projects over two years jointly

managed by Central Highlands Water and the City of Ballarat. Central Highlands Water will contribute $2.5 million in a collaborative project, and the City of Ballarat will contribute $500,000, along with significant in-kind support from both organisations. The City of Ballarat is focused on reducing its potable water consumption and increasing the use of recycled water for sports field irrigation through collaborative work with Central Highlands Water. City of Ballarat Councillor Mark Harris said the project delivers the community’s aspirations for a sustainable city with healthy green spaces while reducing pressure on Ballarat’s urban water supplies. The current system can provide 2.5 million litres per day, and the capacity will double as a result of this project.

Sun set to power local wastewater treatment Ballina Shire Council has committed to 100 per cent renewable electricity operations by 2030. One of the key component of this ambitious target is the ongoing rollout of solar power across a number of the Council’s facilities. Over the past five years, Council has installed 11 solar farms on Council sites, including the Ballina Wastewater Treatment Plant, Council’s Administration Centre and Works Depot, and community facilities such as the Lennox Head Cultural Centre and public swimming pools. A combined 150kW solar system was installed at the Alstonville and Wardell Wastewater Treatment Plants as part of Council’s Water and Wastewater solar strategy. This solar technology from 5B is designed and manufactured in Australia. Its pre-mounted and pre-wired arrays can be deployed twice as fast, with less

manual intervention, than conventional ground-mounted solar. It is said to generate twice the amount of energy from the same land footprint. Wastewater treatment plants operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to treat Council’s wastewater. “Once this has been completed, Council’s Water and Wastewater solar strategy will see the installation of almost 1MW of solar at our wastewater treatment sites, which will double Council’s current solar generation,” said Ballina Shire Council’s Mayor, Sharon Cadwallader. “The installation of these innovative panels is just one way Council supports renewable energy use and is part of our Climate Change Policy, which outlines ambitious organisational emissions reduction targets and provides a framework for progressing climate change strategies for Council and the community.

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NEWS Feature

Nature-based sewer upgrade to manage wastewater overflows The development of a sponge city network has commenced in suburban Brisbane. The local community has taken a role in opting for a nature-based wetland for treating overflow water. URBAN UTILITIES IN Southeast Queensland will invest more than $65 million in a nature-based project to help manage the impacts of extreme weather on its wastewater network. Construction of the Cannery Creek Sewer Upgrade started in July and involve creating a new wetland to filter naturally. It has also been designed to control wet weather flows from the wastewater network more effectively. This will help protect nearby properties and deliver liveability and environmental benefits. The project is unique as residents shaped the concept over three years as part of a Community Planning Team (CPT). They developed an integrated approach to achieve community, environmental and operational outcomes through a nature-based solution. Urban Utilities Executive Leader

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Fulton Hogan Utilities’ Aaron Lutton and Urban Utilities’ Paul Phillips at the breaking ground ceremony. Photo by Fulton Hogan

Integrated Solutions, Chris Bulloch, said nature-based solutions such as the Cannery Creek Sewer Upgrade were ideal for managing the intense rainfall that occurs in Brisbane. “Northgate and Banyo are low-lying areas of Brisbane. It means the local wastewater network can become inundated with stormwater during extreme weather and cause wet weather overflows. On occasion, this can sometimes impact private properties,” he said. “While this part of our network can cater for growth, the impact of climate change means we’re likely to experience more frequent and intense rainfall. We need to think innovatively about how we deal with water management.” “Urban Utilities… has devised a better approach for the community and environment by working with the residents. It is also more costeffective than traditional engineering solutions.” The project will combine green and traditional infrastructure, including building a wet weather pump station and a 2 km pipeline. They will divert flows to a new wetland, away from private properties. “During wet weather, the diluted

wastewater will be screened and then diverted along the underground pipeline to a new wetland and bioretention basins. These basins will act like nature’s filter, trapping sediment and absorbing nutrients,” Bulloch said. He said that Cannery Creek is fed by stormwater. Urban Utilities will rehabilitate it by creating a series of sediment basins to manage and filter flows, to protect downstream waterways and Moreton Bay from the impacts of soil and sediment. The design integrates several community aspirations, including beautifying the creek banks and surrounding area. It will also provide shared paths and seating, to help transform Cannery Creek and provide an area for the community to enjoy. Bulloch thanked the community for their input and effort in designing the project plan. “We formed a Community Planning Team in 2019, which saw residents collaborate with planners and engineers. They considered several options over many workshops and site visits,” he said. “The communityled design process played a key role in the final concept for the project. We’ll continue to keep the CPT updated as the project progresses. We’d also like to thank Brisbane City Council, the Queensland Government and the many other agencies and organisations engaged and contributed to this project so far.” An Urban Utilities project team is working alongside delivery partner, Fulton Hogan Utilities, on the naturebased solution at Cannery Creek. Construction is expected to be completed in 2024. Urban Utilities is a water distributor/ retailer that supplies drinking water, recycled water and sewage services to more than 1.5 million people across Southeast Queensland.

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THE FLOW-ON EFFECT How ifm is helping wastewater treatment companies such as Aerofloat protect our most precious resource

This is one of the core goals of ifm, who are working with Australian wastewater treatment companies to streamline their operations and make them more efficient through the integration of digital sensor technology. This white paper discusses the challenges around water treatment and how ifm is working with industry to address these. It also highlights the partnership between ifm and Australian wastewater treatment specialist, Aerofloat, and how ifm’s sensors and easy-to-use IO-Link connectivity solution has saved time and costs for Aerofloat’s customers.

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COVER STORY Smart data

Smart water meters provide essential data to detect leaks and reduce consumption Taggle is a supplier of smart water solutions in Australia for councils and water utilities. Its work in Dubbo has shown the importance of understanding water usage and utilising the best use of infrastructure through the IoT. THE DUBBO REGION has suffered some of the worst Mother Nature has had to offer: global pandemic, a mouse plague of biblical proportions and before the floods at the beginning of 2022, it had been in four years of severe drought. The region gets most of its water from the Macquarie River, supplied by the Burrendong Dam, which flows into the river, supplying water to Wellington and then onto the city of Dubbo. In 2019, the dam reached a level as low as 1.8 per cent. Although rain has since alleviated the lack of water in the region – for a time – the Dubbo Regional Council knew there would be future droughts. One key area the council considered is conservation. In 2015, the council looked into smart water meter technology not only to

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modernise the ageing infrastructure in place, but to streamline water usage and get information about how the necessary resource could be better managed and therefore make savings on usage. Stephen Carter is the manager, water supply and sewerage, for the council. Even back in 2015 he knew that something needed to be done to make not just the residents, but the council itself, more accountable for water use. Smart meters and the provided technology wasn’t a hard sell when the idea was put forward. “Dubbo had never gone through harsh water restrictions like the ones implemented at the time,” Carter said. “It wasn’t a hard project to push at all.” Before investing in the technology, the council conducted a study to see

Dubbo citizens enjoying life around the swimming pool Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

what was available and what would be suitable for its needs. “I gathered data around the technology,” said Carter. “I went to seminars, as well as conferences on smart metering. We held off until we knew the technology became more secure and sustainable. In the midst of the drought, the council wanted to see what water our facilities were using, particularly in relation to parks and land care.” It was then that the council approached Taggle, a Sydneybased company that specialises in smart metering technology. Taggle integrates its Byron Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) into Honeywell’s V200HT smart water meters, which were available in multiple sizes, as well as a range of add on telemetry devices that connected to existing manual water meters. This advanced technology meant Taggle could guarantee a battery life of 15 years. The data from these meters is ingested into Taggle’s Aqualus Water IoT Platform to be delivered to the council. This offers water

utility companies and councils an interoperable and scalable solution, allowing them to collect a myriad of data points to help them manage their water supply. “With Taggle’s portal we were monitoring the water usage of the council facilities, particularly the parks and land care side of things. It snowballed from there. We were getting good data from them.” There are many advantages of smart meters and the data they supply. For example, it does away with the uncertainty of leaks, several of which were found when the new meters were installed. “Certainly, some customers discovered they had major leaks when we put the new meters in,” said Carter. “They got a bit of a shock in terms of the consumption they had.”

There was also the possibility of going into more of a deep dive due to the data that was being provided. For example, one resident thought her new bill was a little high. Due to the information the smart meters gave they could narrow down the time during the week where a lot of water was being used. The resident realised that a lot of usage being recorded was when she had her water sprinkler on. It is this type of information that can allow residents to better gauge their usage – again, something that is essential in regional New South Wales as weather patterns change and drought bites.

The council worked hard to understand how to make the best use of the technology. Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

The Macquarie River runs through Dubbo. Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

While there were teething issues, Taggle was on hand to help go through the various features of the system. One of the main issues during roll out was COVID-19 affecting the workforce as they tried to install the meters. The main contractor was from Victoria, so once they entered New South Wales, they couldn’t return home for some time. Why Taggle? “Taggle were the ones that were advanced in technology and had the best value for money, plus they are a local Australian company,” said

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COVER STORY Smart data

The Taggle Portal was integrated into the Dubbo Regional Council’s billing system. Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

Smart meters have increased customer’s understanding of their water use, particularly at different times of the day. Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

Carter. “We went out for tender, and they were competitive. We also looked at other councils that had been using them and they were happy with them.” There were also some unintended side effects of the roll out. “We have found two stolen meters, so far,” said Rebecca Eade, Dubbo Regional Council water and sewer client services co-ordinator. “I’m assuming we’ll find some more.” While there has been a lot of work involved in the initial roll out – whether it’s the physical installation of the meters themselves, getting used to the data from the Aqualus water software, or getting used to using the customer portal – the long-term benefits are obvious. “I was part of Council’s Coordinated Drought Response Team, and once the smart water meters were fitted to our open spaces and sporting facilities, we were able to work with our operations teams to understand and manage the water they were using,” said Dubbo Regional Council communication’s lead Kellsey Galea. “When we were going through the drought, they were probably one of the biggest users across town. The council had a lot of public scrutiny around the fact that we were still watering our high profile parks and gardens, when we were asking

people not water their own gardens. It was a bit of an eye-opener for our own staff, too. The system helped us with our own water management just as much as it’s helped our ratepayers.” There are many features with the types of solutions Taggle can offer utilities and councils, including better accuracy of meter reads, no more estimated bills, the likelihood of water theft being greatly reduced, and the aforementioned diagnosis of leaks before they become a problem. Another key with Taggle is that other sensor types can also be implemented on Taggle’s’ Byron Network. For example, water pressure, sewer and rivers levels and weather sensors, while the data from other sources or radio networks can all be utilised for

better water management. Carter is seeing a lot of these benefits as the council starts to collect the data and the processes are streamlined. “Overall, it’s been a benefit to us to have these meters installed,” he said. “A normal meter has a life of seven and a half years, whereas these ones are 15 years. “So basically, replacement programmes have been extended out and there are more accurate meter readings. We were spending a lot of time investigating water leaks and all that sort of stuff and people wanted reduction in bills. Now we just inform them of their usage and there is the customer portal they can use. We can tell people they’ve got a leak and we can get it fixed pretty quickly.”

Dubbo Regional Council staff have worked together to develop positive outcomes with Taggle Systems. Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

The smart meters have been central to a coordinated management model. Photo by Taggle Systems, Dubbo Regional Council.

Learnings from the experience “I’d recommend other councils to get a project control group together early, which is what we did,” said Galea. “We realised that the project touched a lot of our organisation – from customer service to rates, to IT, to the water guys to the operations team, and the communications perspective. “Right from the outset, we set up a regular fortnightly meeting, and sometimes weekly, to make sure we’re all on the same page when the roll out commenced. “Customer service knew what was happening at the same time IT knew, at the same time the rating department knew. I would recommend that to any other council; which would be something to get right, along with keeping your community informed. “We are thrilled to have such positive outcomes in Dubbo. We now have over 45 councils and water utilities using Taggle’s smart water meter solutions, and last year we saved 9 billion litres of water across Australia,” said David Peters, CEO at Taggle. “The data and analytics allows the councils to make decisions and keep consumers informed, and this helps ensure a resilient water supply for a sustainable healthy community.” For more information visit taggle.com.au

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INSIGHT Thought leadership

Why the narrative needs to change with resources Academic Peter Cook talks to Inside Water about how our water resources need to be sustainably managed. “WE DON’T REALLY have a water shortage problem. The issue is that the water’s never where we want it to be when we need it.” Peter Cook is Director, National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) College of Science & Engineering at Flinders University in Adelaide. Situated in one of the driest states on the driest inhabited continent on the planet, Cook knows a thing or two about water – especially groundwater, which is his specialty. When it comes to water use, reuse and conservation, Cook has spent the past 20 years studying ground water and its role in Australia’s

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

ecosystem. Along the way he has collected many awards such as being the recipient of a CSIRO Chair’s Medal, the Darcy Distinguished Lecturer award in 2009 (the first time the award had been given to a scientist from outside North America), a Canada International Fellowship and an array of others. He knows how important water is and that it needs to be treated with respect. His starting point is education. He knows that most people realise water needs to be better looked after as a resource for many different reasons, but they sometimes lack the insight that would make them look at water in a different light. Such as?

An Artesian spring in the outback.

“It was frustrating that in the middle of the Millennium Drought a few years ago people had signs on their front fences saying, ‘bore water in use’,” he says. “We know that watering your garden with the reticulated water supply was banned, except under certain severe conditions. But the implicit assumption of this signage was, ‘don’t come knocking on our door, we can water whenever we like because we’re using underground bore water’. Well, bore water is still a resource we should be conserving. And so that gave the wrong impression about the availability of underground water.” Then there is the issue of contamination with people not realising that even a small chemical spill can have long-term ramifications. Or that when water is

“ We need to be careful with our

underground aquifers and how we manage groundwater because it’s usually replenished very slowly

taken from an underground aquifer, a sudden down pour won’t replenish it straight away. “We need to be careful with our underground aquifers and how we manage groundwater because it’s usually replenished very slowly,” he said. “Similarly for contamination; if we contaminate the groundwater, it’s going to be there a long time because groundwater typically moves only at a few metres per year. If we spill chemicals in a river they’re probably flushed out the bottom and sometimes the river can recover in a few years. Groundwater systems don’t work like that – the chemicals can stay there for a very long time. “We’ve got to be smart, because they’re resources that have been there for a very long time. And if we use them carefully and sustainably, they’re a great resource, right?” And this needs to be reinforced due to the recent past with post colonisation Australia not looking after the resources as well as it could have, mainly due to ignorance. The Great Artesian Basin – the 1.7 million sq km underground reservoir of water that encompasses three states and the Northern Territory – is integral to the country’s water future. “The water in there is thousands or millions of years old. If we were to overuse it, it will be a very long time before it was full again,” he said. “The Great Artesian Basin is an example of where our management has improved the future outlook. In the past, one of the problems of that basin was that the early pastoralist put bores in the ground to water their stock. The groundwater would flow naturally out of the bores without having to be pumped. In some cases, rivers and lakes formed around these bores, which were left flowing naturally. That caused a big loss of pressure in some of those aquifers.

“The government and industry got together and spent a lot of money putting taps on those bores. That certainly has improved the outlook for the basin.” Unsurprisingly the biggest industrial use for groundwater is irrigation. By Cook’s estimate, agriculture and related fields use about two-thirds of all ground water. And in his current hometown of Adelaide, groundwater is used for irrigation of school ovals and there are also industries that take advantage of the underground supplies as well. The general manufacturing industry is a big user of water through Australia. Because of the large demand for groundwater, reuse is now becoming more of the narrative, even with some of it happening unintentionally. “There’s a lot of recycling that happens by accident,” he said. “For example, the Murray River ends up in Adelaide at the end of its journey.

Peter Cook is Director, National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) College of Science & Engineering at Flinders University in Adelaide

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As it winds its way towards the city, some of that water would have been pumped out of the river and been applied for irrigation. Now some of that would seep back into the groundwater and find its way back into the river. Some of that water will have been used more than once, so there’s reuse that occurs.” While that is natural reuse, there will be a time when treating wastewater and reintroducing it as fresh water will be the norm for some parts of the country. He cites Namibia in south-west Africa, which has an extremely dry climate, where for the past 50 years the government has been treating its wastewater and putting it back into the pipe to go to peoples’ houses. “I don’t know exactly how many places in the world that are doing that now but for a very long time they were the only place doing it,” said Cook. “For most of us that’s a bridge too far. “But if you put it back in the river

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INSIGHT Thought leadership

and then 50 kilometres down the river you take it out again we’re a little bit happier with that because there’s another level of mixing and dilution processes that occur. We should have two pipes going to our houses. “Currently, we clean the water up to drinking water standards and then we flush it down the toilet, we put on our lawns, etc. This doesn’t make sense. If you’re starting cities from scratch, you might give them two pipes. One for drinking water and one for other uses like watering your lawn.”

A desalination plant in use in Victoria.

How does Cook see the future of water in terms of sustainability and being there for everybody to utilise to its potential without wasting it? “The future of water is going to have lots of solutions – there’s not one solution to the water problem,” he said. “There is desalination; in some areas, it will be the best option. While expensive to build and maintain at the moment, there are improved technologies happening so we can get better and cheaper desalination. “In some areas there needs to be more managed aquifer recharge,

which is essentially using the underground system as a dam. You pump water into the ground when water is available. You store it underground and pump it out later. That’s an area that’s got huge potential for improvement and involvement of industry.” Cook also said that in some of the wine areas south of Adelaide, the effluent from some of the treatment plants gets some primary treatment and then gets injected underground as storage. It is then delivered to vineyards for irrigation. Going back to the education

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aspect, Cook believes if we get that right, then the rest will follow in terms of how the supply is managed. “In some areas, we need to use water smarter. This just isn’t in the groundwater space, but everywhere. We need more information and a better understanding of the scarcity of water,” he said. “There is still a belief in some areas that underground water is this infinite supply. You put a pipe in, and you can just take and take. That isn’t the case. This is a finite resource.” An old drilling rig used to drill for water in the Artesian Basin.

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FOCUS Pipelines

The role of plastic pipes in supporting society’s needs

The Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia (PIPA) was founded in 1999. It has worked quietly to improve Australian society, and Inside Water wanted to find out more about what they have done. 24

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Plastic pipes underpin a significant portion of Australia’s infrastructure. Photo by PIPA

PLASTIC PIPES AND fittings have transformed the way we live by delivering essential services and utilities to our homes, businesses and communities. Across a range of industries, from civil and domestic infrastructure to

“ We help advance the use

of plastic pipes and fittings as a smart, efficient, and sustainable solution

”

manufacturers and suppliers of plastics pipe and fittings, plastic resin suppliers, fabricators, pipeline installations, rubber seal ring manufacturers along with training and certification bodies. As a non-profit association, PIPA works to promote the appropriate and contemporary use of plastic pipes and fittings throughout Australia. This is achieved through our four key pillars of advocate, educate, technical and sustainability. “By collaborating with our members, industry professionals and global counterparts, we leverage the latest insights and technology to develop robust guidelines for best practice manufacture, installation, and use of plastic pipeline systems,” said the

association’s Executive General Manager, Cindy Bray. “Underpinning our approach is a commitment to future-focused leadership,” said Bray. “Through research, education, technical expertise, and advocacy, we help advance the use of plastic pipes and fittings as a smart, efficient, and sustainable solution.”

The robust nature of plastic pipes means that they have a long life and are suitable for many industries. Photo by PIPA

A sustainability story Not all plastics are the same. Too often, plastic pipe systems are mistakenly put in the same category as single-use plastics. To help educate a wide range of audiences, PIPA has developed key messages to tell its sustainability story. Plastic pipe systems deliver essential

agriculture, mining and gas, plastic pipes and fittings play a critical role. They’re effective, efficient, and safe. The Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia (PIPA) was founded in 1999 and is the peak industry body representing www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

FOCUS Pipelines Pipes are long-life products, not single use, made from materials engineered to be robust, reliable, and recyclable everyday services and utilities. It is important to consider the vital role plastic pipes play with human, social, economic, and environmental sustainability. They bring drinking water, gas and electricity to peoples’ homes and communities. They also protect the network of wires and cables that deliver internet and communication services. There are other uses such

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as in irrigation systems – essential for growing food and carry away sewerage, rainwater and stormwater – protecting communities. Engineered products designed to last Pipes are long-life products, not single use. They are made from materials engineered to be robust, reliable, and recyclable.

Plastic pipes are robust, engineered products, enabling to be used in a wide range of applications and environments. Photo by PIPA

Plastic pipes can have a service life longer than 100 years. Engineered polymer materials are a suitable choice for infrastructure applications. Plastic pipes are a durable product remaining functional without excessive maintenance or repair. Testing of pipes that have been in service for decades has shown that the properties and performance remain unchanged over the long term.

Unlike many plastic packaging applications, which have multiple layers of different materials, plastic pipes are made from a single material and therefore easier to recycle. Safe for people and planet Plastic pipes provide the highest level of safety for carrying drinking water. They don’t contain phthalates or heavy metals and are manufactured to Australian Standards. According to Bray, plastic pipes offer advantages in terms of chemical resistance over the other pipe options and are not affected by soil environments that are corrosive to metals and concrete. They do not end up as pollution in oceans and waterways, do not corrode like other pipe materials, and do not contribute to microplastics in the environment. Compared to other pipe materials, plastic pipes have the lowest failure rate for pressure water applications.

Using resources responsibility and sustainability Recycling rates remain low for plastic pipes due to their longevity. A large number of plastic pipes currently in use are still in their first life cycle. Plastic pipes are easily recyclable into new pipes when they reach end of life. The production plants are clean and efficient with processes designed to reuse any scrap materials to make other pipes. Based on numerous life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies, plastic pipes have a better environmental profile than alternative pipe materials in all categories and cross their whole lifecycle. Plastic pipes are often the first choice when replacing and upgrading other pipes throughout the world. This is due to their performance, durability, service life, simple installation, energy

Plastic pipes are manufactured to Australian Standards for long life performance. Photo by PIPA

efficiency, recyclability, and cost effectiveness. Through the whole lifecycle – manufacturing, use and disposal – the plastic pipe industry has, and will retain, its long-standing commitment to improving sustainable practices and outcomes, in a way that benefits all Australians. Australia’s vast landscapes require large-scale, specialpurpose systems to move water, wastewater, gas and to protect underground networks of power and communication cables. Plastic pipeline systems are robust and long-lasting, providing reliability now and into the future. Find out more about PIPA www.pipa.com.au Visit PIPA’s microsite to learn about the sustainability of plastic pipe systems www.pipa.com.au/sustainability/

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FOCUS Pipelines

Getting water infrastructure ready for future challenges The first couple of decades of the 21st century have provided a set of new challenges that Iplex is not only facing head-on but also looking at solutions that will move the industry forward. OVER THE PAST 80 years, Iplex has seen many changes and challenges within the water industry. The company has always been about delivering innovative, sustainable and practical water management solutions for potable water, wastewater, stormwater and irrigation systems. These challenges include climate change, population growth, and a variety of sustainability and carbonneutral targets set by local, state and federal governments. “We also have an enduring issue, which is around our ageing, infrastructure assets,” said Donelle Jones, Iplex’s Head of Customer Experience (CX), Marketing and Innovation. “Those are the things that we will be focusing on as we move into the future. How do we provide more innovative, more sustainable

The EZIpit system is helping simplify gravity sewer construction. Photo by Iplex

water solutions to the industry as we move forward? The pipe industry is reasonably conservative and risk averse, according to Donelle, which is why any solutions provided must be tested to the nth degree to meet high expectations. “The expectation from our clients is that whatever solutions we provide to the industry, including products that are leakresistant or leak-free, will last for the intended service life of the product, which, these days, can be between 50 and 100 years.” Iplex invests heavily in research and development as it creates new products with technology partners. It is not just about the practical solutions that can be offered but the sustainability of the product itself. Many procurement contracts now have sustainability clauses in them. While a solution may be fantastic, if it does not hit the environmental mark, it might not be considered a solution. “With sustainability, there’s more considerations about what types of materials should be used as well as a lifecycle analysis of the product,” said Jones. “Then there are Environmental Product Declarations and also Best Environmental

Practices; there are so many things that go into our research and development.” Education is also key. Jones cites the bad rap that polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe gets. While it sometimes gets lumped into the single-use plastic category, PVC pipe can be expected to remain in service for many decades and has an outlet when it reaches end-of-life. Jones also pointed out that as time goes on, a lot of ageing underground pipe infrastructure needs replacing. Back in the day, conventional clay pipes were the norm, but they are susceptible to cracking and ingress of tree roots causing major leaks, whereas plastic piping is more flexible and resistant to this type of failure. Then there are the asbestos cement pipes that are problematic and have issues that plastic pipes will never have regarding health impacts and complexity to replace. As it stands, there are many reasons why asset owners are looking at replacing older pipes. “The relining of pipes to rehabilitate old pipes is a common trenchless method. It is an area that’s growing in relevance all the time because of the ageing infrastructure that’s in the ground,” said Jones. “From a sustainability perspective, it’s always going to be better to try to reline rather than dig up because digging up old pipes introduces more carbon into the atmosphere through the construction process, and it’s also more disruptive to the surrounding community.” What are some of the products that can meet these demands? EZIpit For a start, there is the EZIpit, which is designed for gravity sewer networks. As well as meeting stringent standards in terms of being water and corrosion-proof, there are

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a couple of other features that make it stand out. “The speed and safety to install when compared to the conventional products are two of its main benefits,” said Nathan Swaffer, Iplex’s Product Marketing and Training Manager. “It is also very durable. Yes, it’s plastic, but it doesn’t mean it’s weak. Plastic is a very durable material in the types of harsh environments that sewer pits can be exposed to. Gases that come up through sewers have been known to corrode the traditional materials used in such applications.” When EZIpit was being developed, product designers also considered the soil type, including coastal environments, which are often prevalent in Australia. “The surrounding soils can be full of acids, and that can attack conventional materials,” said Swaffer. “They are known as acid sulphate soils. Then we bump up against the coastline, so we can have a lot of salt in our environment, which can also be harmful to a lot of conventional materials. This makes EZIpit durable in that application, while its flexible corrugated riser design makes it durable from a structural sense.” Restrain Iplex developed the Restrain sewer pipe for gravity sewer applications. It is a PVC-U pipe that can be installed using trenchless techniques, and it’s when it’s used in this capacity that it comes into its own, according to Swaffer. As he explains, a trenchless pipe needs to be pulled through a new hole or existing pipe. Usually, individual pipes need to be connected to make up the full length of the pipeline. This is where it can get tricky in terms of making sure the integrity of the joints between the pipes is reliable and kept intact while

being pulled through the hole. This isn’t an issue with the Restrain range. “If you think about a traditional pipe, it often just plugs into a spigot socket joint,” said Swaffer. “There is a rubber seal between the pipes, which can be pulled apart. So, to pull a run of traditional trenchless pipes through a hole, you need the joints to hold, which usually means welding or gluing the pipes together. And that’s okay. But welding on-site can require a lot of space; it can be expensive. It’s a specialty trade, and sometimes it goes wrong. “Restrain gets rid of the welding and allows the installer to screw the pipes together at the joint as you are pushing or pulling them through the hole. That saves a lot of time and requires less space on site. The other benefit is that instead of digging a big start hole – we call them pilot holes – you can choose to keep that hole small because we can manufacture the pipe in smaller lengths to fit into an existing maintenance hole. That’s one less cost.” Flowtite GRP jacking pipes The Flowtite GRP jacking pipes are designed with trenchless installation in mind. The Flowtite Jacking pipe has high axial compressive strength and stiffness, manufactured by RPC Pipe Systems in South Australia. Swaffer says that the Glass Reinforced Polymer (GRP) material that the pipe is made from is tough and can handle the high pressures and forces encountered in pipe jacking.

Restrain is a rubber ring jointed PVC-U pipe with a threaded spigot and socket. Photo by Iplex

He said it is proving popular among asset owners with large-scale infrastructure projects on the go. This includes new pipelines bringing the water supply into communities and cities or installing important sewer treatment lines. “These pipes can be big or small in diameter,” said Swaffer. “They have a unique role to play in the large bore, large-diameter space. A big hole is bored or cut away, and the pipes are then pushed into the ground. So once again, quite a niche, specialty space because you’re applying big loads onto these pipes as you jack them through the hole. “The additional benefit of GRP is that its carbon emissions, compared to some other materials, are significantly lower,” said Swaffer. Looking forward? Jones believes designers will look at water and wastewater systems a little differently as we head into the next couple of decades, where water conservation and sustainability will no longer be buzzwords but part of the vernacular. “We’ll be starting to think more about the greening of buildings, and maybe some gardens on the sides of buildings,” said Jones. “All it will take is the efficient movement of water around buildings. These types of things will become part of what we think about when we’re designing buildings and infrastructure into the future.” For more information visit iplex.com.au

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FOCUS Pipelines

Creating the future of water for councils and communities A key issue for councils and water corporations is having the support of communities during infrastructure upgrades. Interflow understands this, and explained to Inside Water how it supports all parties.

ONE OF THE leading pipeline infrastructure companies in Australia and New Zealand, Interflow, has a vision that supports the growth of its people, fosters partnerships with its customers, and ensures the wellbeing of the communities it serves. By helping local councils to create, renew and maintain robust pipeline infrastructure, the organisation is supporting the growing needs of local communities for generations to come. All-in-one Delivery Partner Interflow has served the needs of local councils, water authorities and

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pipeline infrastructure asset owners for more than 85 years. It has earned its position in the water industry by continually challenging the status quo. As an experienced delivery partner, the company provides end-to-end services for local councils and water authorities via its self-performed capabilities and network of subcontractors. Interflow’s services encompass project planning, design, construction and maintenance across the water, wastewater, stormwater and culvert segments from inception to completion. Innovation lies at the core of

Interflow works with councils and communities to manage assets. Photo by Interflow

Interflow’s service offering. From proactive asset management to emergency repairs, the company is dedicated to developing bespoke solutions that drill to the heart of its customers’ problems. They provide robust, sustainable solutions to serve the community’s growing needs for generations. Interflow said that since the company’s inception in 1936, its people have taken a proactive approach to understanding its customers’ needs. From metropolitan water authorities to small local councils, the company works closely with its customers to develop tailored solutions that work for its customers and the community. Effective and efficient asset management Interflow demonstrated a proclivity for innovation early on. This was exemplified in the 1990s when the business pioneered trenchless pipeline rehabilitation. By saving them time and costs associated with excavation, trenchless technologies have quickly become the preferred construction methods for local councils and water authorities across Australia and New Zealand. The company recognises that asset owners have moved towards ‘trenchless tech’. Dig and replace methods, particularly in urban areas, can be disruptive. It can impact residents, commuters and the environment with dust, noise, and a hefty site footprint. Trenchless technology can minimise these impacts by reducing environmental disruption to a single point of entry and minimising project time and costs. It presents valuable cost savings to local councils, who often look for the most efficient and effective ways to preserve critical pipeline

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From metropolitan water authorities to small local councils, the company works closely with its customers to develop tailored solutions infrastructure without compromising on quality. Creating a healthy environment As councils expect quality solutions that will support the community for years to come, there is also a demand for environmentally responsible solutions. Throughout its history, Interflow’s people have worked in some of the most sensitive areas. They have always gone above and beyond to preserve and protect the working environment. Trenchless technology enables service providers to remain customer-focused

and environmentally savvy by reducing excavation emissions and environmental risks. It is well established that trenchless pipeline construction methods also reduce air and noise pollution, benefiting the surrounding ecosystems of wildlife and residents. Bringing the community along on the journey Beyond the delivery of projects and environmental management, Interflow can manage all community engagement aspects of a project with expertise. Open communication with residents is fundamental to keeping

the community connected and informed. This includes providing regular updates, seeking permission to enter private property, and responding to residents’ concerns where appropriate. Interflow strives to complete every project on time, within budget and without incident. This enables residents to go about their daily lives with the peace of mind that the water infrastructure running beneath their neighbourhoods is operating reliably. To find out more about Interflow’s solutions for water infrastructure networks, visit interflow.com.au

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FOCUS Instrumentation and measurement

Why ultrasonic systems matter in wastewater applications Pulsar is a specialist in ultrasonic instrumentation for wastewater in industrial and environmental markets. It has developed, manufactured and marketed instruments, which include ultrasonic level transmitters, clamp-on flow meters and open channel flow meters. Inside Water looks at how these instruments are applied in the water industry. 32

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EARLY ULTRASONIC SYSTEMS were based on analogue electronics and were tricky to set up and unreliable in all but the simplest of applications. The biggest challenge was ‘false echoes’, which was where signals from hard elements that surrounded the measuring sound such as stanchions, struts or stirrers, interfered with and overwhelmed the ‘true echo’. Ultrasonic measurement devices have evolved to be more than level sensors – from asset management and predictive maintenance to total expenditure (TOTEX) and event duration management – today’s industry is demanding more. These days, average ultrasonic systems are more than just

sensors, they are small pump station controllers. Ultrasonic measurement operates by exciting a piezo-electric crystal to emit a pulse of ultrasound. The sound reflects off objects and the return ‘echoes’ re-excite the crystal. The time taken for the signal to return is related to the distance of the reflecting object. Advancements in technology allow echoes from fixed objects within the path of the sound to be disregarded, and the true echo can be identified. Meaning that now, there are few applications where this technology won’t work. The non-contact nature of this technology means no moving parts, so no maintenance. Almost all wet wells are fitted with non-

Using an ultrasonic with high acoustic power can give a reliable signal return from a turbulent and foamy surface.

contact ultrasonic devices. Level measurement isn’t the only function. They are also used for pump control, differential measurement, and volume measurement. When a technology has been around for as long as ultrasonic measurement, there are bound to be some myths and rumours bubbling under the surface. One of the latest being that radar measurement is superior to ultrasonic measurement. While radar does have its place and advantages in certain situations; the advancement of digital signal processing, low voltage and high acoustic power output in ultrasonic transducers, has meant that nearly 95 per cent of all applications can be solved with ultrasonic measurement.

What are the benefits of ultrasonic? The technology is a well-proven, well understood measurement technique and is consistently and routinely used throughout industries all over the globe. Ultrasonic measurement is reliable and gives accurate readings every time. Aside from its consistency, there are a number of standard control routines providing users with a good level of control. Today’s market is diverse, with customers demanding more specific solutions to their measurement requirements. Businesses are constantly being reminded to reduce their power consumption and have their carbon footprint at the forefront of their minds. There are low-power, loop- or battery-powered operating ultrasonic systems that have been developed to provide a solution to those issues. These systems provide answers to the instances of monitoring levels in remote locations and reducing power consumption on site. Advances in power management technology mean that the battery life of these systems is measured in years – something that has been unachievable in non-contacting systems. A non-contacting system does an upstanding job, deriving distance by firing a signal and listening for the return echo. But now, with millions of dollars of research and development, tens of thousands of installations and an advancement in technology, ultrasonic measurement remains the foundation stone of process control and measurement. What is radar? Non-contacting radar technology comes in two different types, pulsed and Frequency Modulated

The dB Transducer series is a range of level sensors for wastewater and industrial environments Photo by Pulsar Measurement

Continuous Wave (FMCW). Both technologies work by emitting radio frequency energy and measuring the time it takes for a signal to return from a target with a higher dielectric constant than air. The key difference between the two types of radar measurement is that pulsed radar emits a series of radio frequency pulses and measures the time it takes for the signal to return from the target to the emitter. A challenge when at the speed of light, is that the signal will return in a fraction of a microsecond. Whereas FMCW measure times of flight, but transmits continuously, constantly, varying the frequency of the signal. The frequency of the returning signal is compared to the signal being emitted at that moment using a mathematical technique called Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The difference is between the two corresponding to the time the signal has taken to return. FMCW is said to be the more accurate of the two because of its narrower beam angle and in most cases a stronger signal. How are radar and ultrasonic technologies different? There really is no difference in control and measurement functionality with radar and ultrasonic measurement. The only major factor in determining which technology to use is the measurement type. Users can start off by assuming that ultrasonic

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FOCUS Instrumentation and measurement

measurement will solve their problem, even in the cluttered busy wet wells we see in everyday sewage treatment applications. Radar echo strength is also related to the dielectric constant of the reflecting object. If something is being measured with a low dielectric constant and there are obstructions with a high dielectric constant, there will be some measurement problems. Ultrasonic is only concerned with the surface texture of the object for its ability to reflect sound, rather than from what the object is made. When should radar technology be considered? 1. Longer range open-channel flow MCERT applications Monitoring Certification (MCERT) schemes are independent schemes designed to provide a framework for businesses to meet quality requirements. Under class 1 certification, the first three most accurate devices listed are ultrasonic, with a 0.04 per cent combined accuracy, compared to a radar on the same scheme having a class 2 certification with a combined accuracy of 0.22 per cent. However, radar does have its advantages on those applications, more than a few meters of measurement range. 2. High-temperature applications Where the surface of the substance being measured is hot, it can create a temperature gradient above the surface. This will affect the speed of sound and creates an inconsistent ultrasonic signal, which effectively will reduce measurement accuracy. 3. Acoustic noise interface Electrical noise interference can be ignored by using low voltage but high acoustic power ultrasonic measurement. However, sometimes acoustic noise can interfere with the signal. By using a radar sensor for

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

these applications, it can eliminate this rare occurrence. 4. Foamy applications Radar measurement will produce more stable results than an ultrasonic sensor with limited acoustic power on foamy applications. This is because the foam interrupts the signal of the ultrasonic transducer. You can use a sensor with high acoustic power. However, one thing that both technologies have in common, is that it is virtually impossible for them to see through the foam to the liquid surface. 5. Dosing plants and intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) One feature of radar is that it can read through the container wall. This is useful in chemical dosing plants where chemicals are supplied in plastic IBC tanks. The low dielectric constant of plastic means that users can accurately measure usage and stock levels, without having to introduce a new process connection to the container. 6. Digesters One of the long-standing issues with ultrasonic measurement is that it has struggled with the inability to measure reliably within the methanerich, elevated temperature and pressurised environment of a sludge digester. With businesses making an effort to be environmentally friendly with biogas generation, radar measurement is seen as a way to measure levels within the digesters by following a standard set of communications and protocols that communicate with the rest of the site. Whatever a user is measuring, or trying to achieve, they can be restassured that ultrasonic measurement will achieve what they want it to. However, for the five per cent of applications outlined above, radar will solve the problem. One thing that will be essential to the outcome

The dBR Radar transducer range is a compact FMCW radar sensors that offer high accuracy and repeatable level measurement. Photo by Pulsar Measurement

of a measurement is that users need to ensure they choose a controller that is retrofittable with both technologies. If the application suddenly changes, or the conditions of the process change, and they need to swap the one technology for the other, they need to ensure they have a control system that enables them to carry out that function. Having a control system with the flexibility for both technologies ensures that these decisions can be made quickly, without having to retrain engineers, or having the expense of installing a new control system. Also, servicing with on-site maintenance is made simpler. The user will only need one set of control spares meaning only one set of instructions to learn. For more information visit pulsarmeasurement.com

FOCUS Instrumentation and measurement

Maintaining water networks priority for ifm ifm provides sensors for numerous industries and purposes. The company promotes ecologically conscious decisions. This includes contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, such as the provision of clean water and sanitation. ALREADY A DRY continent, Australia’s water scarcity issues are likely to be exacerbated by changes to weather patterns, caused by climate change, as well as the demands of a growing population. As the world’s driest inhabited continent, Australia has always faced challenges in terms of meeting its water consumption needs. Its average rainfall is roughly 470 mm a year – below the global average – and temperatures

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in Central Australia can reach over 50˚C. Further to that, what rainfall Australia does receive is concentrated along the north and east coasts of the country. Australia’s inherent water scarcity is compounded by the twin challenges of climate change and population growth. The Productivity Commission noted in a 2021 report that drought conditions are likely to become more frequent, severe, and prolonged in some regions and

ifm works tirelessly to ensure that its partners understand how to integrate ifm’s sensors into their systems.

that reductions in supply should be expected alongside growing demand due to population increase. In this context, the provision of safe drinking water is a key challenge, and more sophisticated and effective methods of treating water are crucial to meeting the demands of today and tomorrow. Industry expert Freddie Coertze, who serves as national IoT business manager and digital strategy leader for ifm, said the company’s goal is to help maintain Australian water networks and make them more efficient. “In Australia, maintaining our water networks is a make-or-break issue. This is why ifm is committed to working with local companies that are tackling water scarcity issues,” Coertze said. But not all water is created (or recycled) equally, and each state has regulatory frameworks in place that govern how different types of wastewater are treated, as well as the quality standards that must be met when transforming wastewater into usable water for different purposes. On-site wastewater management systems must perform effectively and be properly managed to reduce risks to public health and the environment. Among the criteria that govern the handling of wastewater are the source of wastewater, site constraints, treatment methods, and the quality of effluent needed for proposed end-uses of treated water. Australian states have their own regulatory frameworks that govern the conditions for the construction, installation, and alteration of wastewater management systems will be granted. Grant Smith, senior applications engineer at ifm, said that the challenge for wastewater treatment operations is to run plants effectively along the entire cycle – producing a

result that is economical, effective, safe, and in line with environmental regulations. Accounting for these various factors means there is no one-size-fits-all solution. “At ifm we understand the customer needs and focus are on offering scalable solutions that best fit the application. We offer hardware and solutions for water and wastewater treatment plants, and we have a consultative approach because we understand that each application and project is different,” Smith said. Smith said that ifm has supplied various IO-Link Solution wastewater treatment projects – providing hygienic pressure sensors that continuously detect the pressure, temperature, level, and flow in the tanks – connected via IO-Link Masters back to a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). Integrating IO-Link sensors into wastewater treatment plants allows for greater accumulation of monitoring data and process transparency, from the machine level to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. IO-Link is a short-distance communications network that connects smart sensors and actuators – components responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system – back to an industrial control system, allowing for a more transparent monitoring of data, as well as doing away with complex physical wiring processes. Coertze noted that in more traditional environments, different sensors would each have to be wired back through separate channels, whereas with IO-Link there is just one channel where all the information pertaining to what’s going on inside an operation – variables such as pressure, temperature, level, and flow – is gathered in one place. IO-Link allows

transition from traditional 4-20 mA analogue data collection methods to a more digitalised process that ensures a continuous flow of accurate and lossless data. “In the past, conversion losses and EMC interference during the analogue signal transmission of the level caused inaccuracies,” said Coertze. “The IO-Link utilises purely digital transmission of the measured values, so the exact measured value is now transmitted to the controller — eliminating any risk of signal interruption.” Coertze noted that screened cables and associated grounding are no longer necessary. Instead, the data can be transferred via industrystandard cables. Furthermore, analogue input cards are no longer needed. “These features save time because you don’t need to integrate separate

The IO-Link sensors easily fit in place. Photo by ifm

Sewage systems may not always be visible, but proper measurement can make things better. Photo by ifm

data – there are fewer engineering hours in paying someone to integrate – and also saves on installation costs,” he said. “It’s almost a plug-inand-play system; you screw on the cables and you’re good to go. That’s why it’s good for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to use ifm’s IO-Link system.” As Youssef Attallah, NSW branch manager at ifm, summarised, “with IO-Link you get more diagnostics using less wiring”. Attallah also pointed out that ifm has been working with water treatment companies with sensor and control systems for many years, and that its sensors and IO-Link solution is cost-effective for smallto-medium size enterprises. One such enterprise is Aerofloat, an Australian industrial wastewater treatment specialist that ifm has been working with to help provide

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FOCUS Instrumentation and measurement

affordable, Australian-compliant treatment services to customers. Attallah says that Aerofloat is an ideal customer for ifm because it provides wastewater treatment solutions across various industries. As a homegrown Australian company, it gives new opportunities for ifm products to be utilised in new ways by new companies in an Australiaspecific context. “One day, Aerofloat will be installing a solution in a food factory, the next in a winery, the third somewhere else – no two days are the same. For ifm, as a company with an international footprint, it’s great to see our products utilised in new ways for new customers,” Attallah said. Michael Anderson, general manager of engineering and operations at Aerofloat, co-founded the company in 2009 with his father and managing director, Ray Anderson, and sister Katie Moor, who is the general manager of business operations. Michael said that Ray, a chemical engineer, was doing consulting work when he spotted an opportunity to solve a problem treating grey water on houseboats on the Murray River in South Australia. The three teamed up to address the problem, with their individual skill sets complementing well. Ray’s experience in the wastewater treatment industry, Katie’s chemical engineering background and business acumen, and Michael’s passion and adeptness in product design. “We got to work designing the product, got it certified to Australian standards, commercialised it, and installed about 200 systems,” said Michael. “It took roughly three years, and at that point the Environment Protection Authority relaxed its standards for grey water discharge from houseboats on the Murray. The market we had been solely catering to disappeared.”

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Michael said that Aerofloat then had to pivot by scaling up the technology it had developed to supply a new product – Aerofloat’s Dissolved Air Flotation systems (‘AeroDAF’) – for industrial wastewater applications. From working on quite small projects, Aerofloat has grown to doing projects for industrial wastewater plants, breweries, food manufacturers, as well as projects for local and state governments. “We’re committed to innovation and sustainable solutions,” Michael said. “We have a number of patented technologies and we’re very research and development focused. I’d say our biggest point of differentiation is that we’re an end-to-end solution provider in wastewater treatment. Every customer is different, and that’s why relationships like the one we’ve built with ifm are so important. We’ve done some reliable wastewater treatment plants exclusively fitted out with ifm instrumentation.” Tim McCann, operations manager at Aerofloat, said that the ifm relationship has been key for Aerofloat. “ifm is well known for reliable and high-quality products, so having their brand associated with Aerofloat is a great selling point for us,” McCann said. “Technologically speaking, ifm’s IO-Link technology suits us as a business perfectly because it saves us and our customers on time and wiring costs. We also gain more visibility in terms of data collection than we’d otherwise have.” McCann added that because ifm has so many instruments in its portfolio, there are always new products that can be added to Aerofloat’s arsenal in servicing its wastewater plants. “With IO-Link, if we want to add a new instrument in later, I really like that we don’t have to upgrade our control panel,” Michael said.

The AeroDAF system works well in industrial wastewater applications. Photo by ifm

“Where you would usually want more PLC inputs and outputs on analogue signalling, we can just get this instrument into one of the field modules – which is fast and straightforward. Having that scalability, flexibility, and ease of add-on functionalities is important in helping us respond not only to customer demands but also to potential changes to the regulatory structures that govern our industry.” McCann agrees, stating that the ease of use – as well as the initial and ongoing support Aerofloat has received from ifm – of IO-Link has made a difference to their business. “I wish IO-Link was available in all of our other instruments – it’s so easy to set up, easy to run, is more costeffective, and we’ve received great support,” he said. In supplying innovative and alwaysevolving instruments to assist with wastewater treatment – an industry that will only grow more important given Australia’s harsh climate conditions and growing population, ifm will continue to play an important role in collaborating with Australian businesses. For more information visit www.ifm.com/au/en

The AeroDAF system utilises ifm technology. Photo by ifm

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FOCUS Digital transformation

Horizontal directional drilling – then, now and the future Stephen Loneragan from HDD Engineering provided Inside Water with his words on the history of Horizontal Direction Drilling (HDD) and why industry innovation remains essential. STEPHEN LONERAGAN OF HDD Engineering has lived and breathed Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) design and engineering in Australia and overseas since the early 1990s. His forthright perspective on the HDD industry tells it how it was and is now. He has been collaborating with Maxibor Australia for many years, Loneragan took Inside Water through what can be done to enable HDD to add more value to the installation of pipelines across the Australian infrastructure sector. Horizontal directional drilling – then Back in the good old days, before hi-vis was a “thing”, HDD was equal parts black magic and art with the occasional dash of engineering thrown in for flavour. That was

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

The Iceman horizontal drilling machine is perfect for cold weather trenchless drilling. Photo by Maxibor

because we didn’t know any better. It was, at the time, a new and emerging pipeline installation technology. Drilling a 200 m bore, pulling in a six-inch pipeline, and getting the exit point within 5 m or 10 m was a huge success and worthy of a decent “pull back party” for the crew. Most of the time, a client wanted (or hoped for) both ends of the pipe to be on both sides of the river. As the HDD industry here in Australia grew and more experience was gained, the lengths and diameters of the crossings also increased. The dash of engineering became more of a required key ingredient. It was still an emerging technology and lacked the project precedent from which to draw references and learnings. Australia led the world in HDD development from the late 90s to around 2010. The east coast of Australia was particularly isolated from much of the Australian and the US oil fields, where much of the HDD technology was being derived and modified. As a result, we had to use our brain and “figure it out” to develop

first-principles, engineering-based solutions. The clients also had few reference points and were forced to look at the first engineering principles. That was the basis for deciding whether to proceed. The Sydney Water Corporation (now Sydney Water) was an early adopter of HDD technology. It is a major reason technology has grown into a substantial industry here in Australia. To its credit, it embraced many failures in the early days. Still, the HDD industry improved by embracing and learning what went wrong. It has changed practices, calculation methods and construction techniques. Sydney Water is one of the biggest users of HDD technology. These days, running a pipe hoop stress check is normal practice. There hasn’t been a collapsed HDPE pipe for a long time. But from my firsthand experience in the early 1990s, I know there were a few. Despite these setbacks, the industry embraced the failures and worked out solutions and what would develop into industry best practices. Some notable Australian achievements in this period included: • 1998: Several 1100 m long bores drilled for Telstra in sandstone. • 1999: An Australian contractor was the first to forward ream large-diameter granite bores using downhole motors. • 2001: The first HDD bore in the world, over 2000 m, was drilled under the Tamar River in Tasmania. • 2005: Sydney Water drilled dual 2500 m long bore holes in the Blue Mountains. • 2013: A pipeline was installed across the Narrows to Curtis Island at 2500 m. Many of these were the world’s first, industry-leading bores. Since then, bigger and longer bores have been

drilled worldwide. Many of these bores have exceeded 3,000 m and in some cases, extended further. Horizontal directional drilling – now Has the HDD industry lost its industry-leading way in the past 10 years or so? I think, yes. In Australia, bores at 1500 m or longer have been increasingly rare in the past ten years. A bore close to 2,000 m was completed for Caltex in 2014. There are now few industryleading long bores being drilled relative to other parts of the world. Given the great start, it begs the question, why did it stop? The Australian HDD industry seems to have stopped innovating, stopped pushing the boundaries, and stopped using first principles engineering to deliver unique solutions. Don’t get me wrong, the industry’s size has grown, and there are many more projects than before, but very few could be considered highly complex or “interesting”. The Australian industry is doing a lot of 100 to 500 m HDPE pipelines with straight alignments daily. Such work is excellent but is not developing our industry and its people. One reason is that asset owners have become overly reliant on industry design engineering professionals who do not have the long, more challenging bore experience. As a result, the advice customers get is primarily from people without long bore experience. They only know how to push and advise on what they know. Small and simple is not wrong, but it’s not keeping our industry at the cutting edge. It does not allow stakeholders to fully utilise the technology, maximise value and deliver more optimal solutions. Infrastructure and asset owners need more faith in selecting a

contractor that can provide a full suite of services. They should be working with contractors that design, engineer and install complete turnkey HDD delivery capabilities. Adding to this challenge is the HDD knowledge and experience of on-site asset owners and principal contractor representatives. They often believe they know better than experienced HDD contractors. It can create an impediment to the delivery of the HDD works in the lowest risk and better value way. Opportunities to save time and cost for the project’s overall benefit are missed if there is unnecessary and uninformed pushback on changes proposed by experienced contractors. The other big problem is when the asset owner conceptualises a pipeline project and then engages a large engineering design firm to develop the detailed design. The trenchless component of projects does not necessarily get allocated the requisite skills and priority required to optimise trenchless solutions and methods to provide significant value to a project. This is where we end up with a poorly conceived job for the contractors to deliver. Neither the consultant nor the graduate engineer has the knowledge or the experience to suggest a less conservative, potentially innovative design. Occasionally, consulting engineers will have the foresight to go

The Gallagher 660e directional drilling machine can drill up to 3 km in a single shot. Photo by Maxibor

to a contractor to ask for help. Contractors are often reluctant to give out clever or innovative solutions. They have no guarantee that they will win the project and that others will benefit from their unpaid time and ideas. There must be a better way of doing things. Horizontal directional drilling – Future HDD Engineering strives to fill this void and develop our industry, starting with innovative engineering solutions first principles. With 25-plus years of boots-on-the-ground HDDspecific construction experience, Maxibor provides key support to big design houses. They can enhance their initial designs without issues of probity and contract expectation associated with contractors. As projects progress, asset owners and their project engineering consultants increasingly reach out to specialist HDD designers and contractors. Their experience in long bores ensures the development of innovative trenchless solutions for complex project challenges. This is the approach adopted on the Sydney Water Refresh Vaucluse Diamond Bay project. Comdain is working with Maxibor and HDD Engineering to develop a constructive design for this landmark project, including a 1.85 km pipeline. For more information visit maxibor.com.au

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FOCUS Digital transformation

Reducing customer water leaks and bill shock South East Water has become one of Victoria’s most progressive utilities, particularly when it comes to the modernisation of its network. Inside Water got the chance to understand how they are digitising their network to the benefit of their customers, and themselves.

Digital water meters make sure pristine urban environments don’t get affected by unwanted leaks, which can have an adverse effect on these areas if neglected. Photo by Iota

IDENTIFYING LEAKS EARLY has prevented an average of $150 in unnecessary usage charges from being added to a customer’s next bill according to South East Water. As the cost of living has increased, customers continue to be conscious of their bills. They have higher expectations of utilities to inform them of their usage and potential issues. Mikala Hehir, General Manager of Customer and Community at South East Water, explained how new digital meters and Internet of Things (IoT) platforms help identify leaks, saving customers water and money while protecting a critical resource. Since May last year, the 35,000 digital meters installed across its network have saved over 200 million litres of water. Recent research conducted by South East Water found that about

five per cent of households have a water leak they don’t know exist. Without intervention, these leaks can go from a minor inconvenience to a major disruption, wasting Australia’s most precious resources and costing customers money. For utilities, these water leaks can be expensive, disruptive and lead to dissatisfied customers. This is a significant issue when customer expectations are high. There is increased demand for lower bills and more usage visibility. Hehir said that traditionally utilities rely on analogue meters and bill quarterly. Once the utility and the customer are aware of the leak, it can be a serious problem. With this in mind, South East Water has been working to develop fit-for-purpose digital solutions to help reduce issues like water leakage. Innovative data-reading technologies like Lentic, Sotto, OneBox, footprint and Flow Lotic have been developed by its in-house research and development team and then tested and proven in the network. These outcomes have been created for the benefit of customers, the environment and the utility. Embracing digital Digital water meters have become one of the most critical tools in helping customers manage their water usage and avoiding bill shock. South East Water has commenced a large-scale trial rollout of digital meters. There are around 35,000 digital meters already installed, with plans for an additional 65,000 to be deployed by the end of 2023. The utility has developed an IoT platform called Lentic. It performs data ingestion and validation on the data from digital meters. It has integrated seamlessly with existing enterprise systems data, providing high-quality and reliable insights for

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operational decision-making. “Lentic is designed to integrate with our other enterprise systems like the customer relationship manager (CRM), allowing customers to track their water usage using the customer portal,” said Hehir. “They can identify unusually high usage early on, before it becomes a major issue. “We have set up an automated process, so the customer’s contact details are in our Salesforce CRM system. From there, we can send out a communication, like an SMS message, to automatically warn them about their usage. “In just under 15 per cent of the houses that have digital meters, we were able to notify them of leaks some were aware of these, some not - and have been able to help the customers save money.” Near-real-time visibility and insights An SMS, alongside the portal’s daily updates, has unsurprisingly been received well by customers. In one recent example, a customer was in the process of building a house but was not present. They were unaware of a substantial leak of close to 30,000 litres over 24 hours. The builder was also unaware of the leak. South East Water’s customer service team was alerted to the leak via the Lentic system. The leak was detected quickly and fixed early. If the customer had waited 85 days for their next bill, the leak could have cost around $10,000. South East Water and its commercial arm, Iota, have continued to create, develop, manufacture and license new technology for their communities to combat some of these pressing water sector issues. They are also listening to their customers to outline the next steps. Talking to its customers is critical for South East Water. Over the past

12 months, as part of its 20232028 Price Submission, it formed a 40-member community panel of a cross-section of customers. The primary goal was to understand what water services are the most important to the community. Across the variety of public workshops, one-on-one interviews, focus groups and surveys, it was clear that digital, and digital metering, is crucial for most. South East Water’s deployment of digital meters, plus its central platform that operationalises

Up to 65,000 digital water meters are going to be rolled out into suburban environs. Photo by Iota

In 2018, the Queensland Government estimated that one slowly dripping tap could waste nine thousand litres of water a year.

the data, has had several positive customer and environmental outcomes. The platform allows customers to access their own data and detect unusual usage early on, creating a much more positive experience and increasing engagement. The detection and prediction of future disruptive events allow the world’s most precious resource to be preserved. For more information visit iotaservices.com.au

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FOCUS Digital transformation

Digitisation of water systems is the path forward The increased impact of climate change and once-in-acentury climate events has had enormous impacts on water systems around the world. Xylem spoke to Inside Water about how it is using digital technology to move forward and support communities. APPROXIMATELY 2.3 BILLION. That’s the number of people who suffer from water stress on the planet. Then there are the almost 18 million people that are displaced annually due to floods. As those of us who live in Queensland and New South Wales can attest, that displacement has been highlighted over the past decade with ‘oncein-a-century’ floods hitting both states on a regular basis. It was these kinds of statistics that got water technology provider Xylem to get its own house in order and commissioned its 2021 Sustainability

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Xylem’s view on sustainability. Image from Xylem

Report. The report highlighted three main areas of focus that not only Xylem intends to embrace, but that the wider community – not just water associations, utilities and those peripheral to water-based industries – should also look to as the uses for the world’s three per cent of potable water gets stretched as the planet’s population gets bigger. The three areas are: First, to help its customers and communities be effective in their use of water. In other words, streamline its use and reuse so the most can be made out of the diminishing resource using the latest technologies. Second, provide solutions to help decarbonise the water sector, thus help reduce greenhouse gases. Lastly, making sure this precious resource is shared equally throughout all countries and sectors of society. This is the social responsibility of the equation. Brian Krishna is the Australia and New Zealand managing director of Xylem. He has been with the company for 11 years in various roles having spent the previous seven years before that at its predecessor, ITT Water and Wastewater. Krishna is a person who takes these three priorities to heart as he helps

drive the company to achieving these goals. “We need to live in a world where water’s not a barrier to human health, or prosperity, and to deliver that we need to work on sustainable practices,” said Krishna. Digitisation is a key step towards the sustainability angle. As Krishna points out, when these systems are in place, the data collected can quickly help remedy any negative impacts – from plugging leaks that are found, to getting information on how best to utilise water without wasting it. “Digital technology can help our customers analyse these things,” Krishna said. “They can also help peripherally with things like greenhouse gas reduction, which is using technology to help with energy savings. In other words, using more efficient, optimised solutions that provide both short and longterm benefits.” Over his time at Xylem Krishna has seen the transformation in some industries, like mining for example. He says mining is an industry that has not only changed some of the ways it does things, but, in his opinion, sometimes gets treated unfairly . The industry is a huge user of water, and will be so for the foreseeable future, especially as the world tries to move away from fossil fuels. “The reality is that to actually save the planet we need to dig more ore out of the Earth to electrify the globe and to decarbonise it,” he said. “We will need more minerals like nickel and copper, and then all

“ We need to live in a

world where water’s not a barrier to human health, or prosperity

”

the rare earth metals like lithium and cobalt to help reach those goals. We need a short- and long-term plan to get there in the right way and as sustainably as possible.” Which brings us to the third purpose the Xylem finds important – making water accessible to all those that need it. “We work alongside partners like WaterAid in Australia, as well, around the wash programme, which is all about water, sanitation and hygiene,” he said. “These issues don’t just exist in below the poverty line communities in other parts of the world. Some of those issues, particularly around education around water use and sustainability, exist in advanced manufacturing plants in Australia, and they exist in communities in Australia.” Having been involved in the water industry for more than a decade, Krishna knows that education is one of the key elements moving forward. The more people know about water resources, the more data they collect, and the more they analyse the data, not only do they better understand the issues, but they can start acting on remedying some of the underlying problems that need to be dealt with. “At the end of the day, every drop counts,” said Krishna. “Only three per cent of the world’s water is potable. That three per cent has only ever been on the earth since the dinosaurs. We can’t generate any more water because we just don’t have it. The way we use water today, and how we recycle it, is vitally important to our future. That’s why education is important, particularly in city communities where there is still a lot of wastage occurring.” Areas where data collection is important, and where Xylem products can help in terms of digitisation, include the pumping

and transporting of water, as well as water and wastewater treatment. “Treatment includes various advanced technologies, such as UV disinfection, and ozonation,” said Krishna. “It could also be aeration in a wastewater tank. We have several technologies that can work together to provide an optimal outcome. In the treatment space for digital, we have optimisation tools that can reduce energy in a wastewater plant by between 20 to 30 per cent plus. It’s possible using artificial intelligence and things like digital twins.” He said a lot of technology improves over time. All of the products and services Xylem has provided to industry and the community over the past 100 years are now in digital form so can help transform industries as they move forward in this space. “They have all been face-lifted to have a digital connection, even our wastewater sewage pumps,” Krishna said,. “We released a product five years ago called Concertor and that’s now got digital capability to optimise the sewage pump cycle. It will only use the energy required at the demand. That is saving huge amounts of net energy or greenhouse gas and the carbon footprint.”

The Wedeco LBX Series UV disinfection system has been key to Xylem’s work in keeping water clean. Photo by Xylem

The other area the company is working on is in the testing and analytics space. This includes equipment such as advanced water monitoring systems. “For extreme weather events we have systems that can help provide early warning support,” he said. “They are resilient in wet weather events and help with things like deploying emergency pump systems or diverting water in an overflow system into empty pipes. A lot of net-work support can be done to avoid flooding in the underground network because there’s sometimes empty pipes in there that we can move water into and then try and store it in that location while there’s an extreme event happening. “The analytics is a really important part of our business for determining the health and quality of waterways, particularly after any major event. “To understand what’s been the outcome of an event, as far as effect on water goes, is important. We do a lot of continuous monitoring in that space to help us get all of that analytical information across to customers so they’re seeing eye to eye with the data in those reports.” For more information visit www.xylem.com/au

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FOCUS Sustainability

Carbon neutrality sets standards for others to follow Hydroflux was created to deliver the highest level of engineering and scientific know-how to the emerging issues of sustainability, climate adaption and environmental protection with a specific focus on water and wastewater. “HOW MANY CARBON emission savings are you going to make in delivering this project for me?” It’s a question that a lot of contractors, suppliers and anybody who wants to work with government departments, water authorities, and an increasing number of private enterprises are going to have to think about before submitting a tender. It is a sign of the times. Julia Seddon knows it. Seddon is the CEO of Cress Consulting, a branch of Hydroflux, a company that specialises in water management across a whole stream of water initiatives. The Cress Consulting part of the business specialises in sustainability so was the ideal lead

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

Hydroflux sought carbon neutrality for its numerous benefits. Photo by Hydroflux

when the company decided to become carbon neutral certified. “Because the business works across the breadth of the water industry, we have noticed there are some agencies and businesses that are really sophisticated in their tendering processes,” she said. “They tend to have some very strict requirements around sustainability. “There’s an increasing expectation among clients, particularly those that are at the more mature end, that companies need to be aware of the climate issues. Large utilities like Melbourne Water and Sydney Water and many in the food and beverage (F&B) space have all got strong, tough targets on carbon and reducing emissions.” Hydroflux’s carbon neutrality certification was brought about due to the company realising there were many immediate and long-term benefits. Seddon said Hydroflux itself doesn’t have a huge carbon footprint, but some of its clients do, which led management to think that they should get their own house in order first if they were going to start advising clients on carbon and emissions responsibilities.

Seddon and her team started off doing a detailed sustainability analysis for all of the companies within the Hydroflux group and identified key issues and hotspots where they knew where there could be some improvements. She said that overall, there was a strong and solid understanding of the need to limit emissions and global warming to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels as laid out by the climate change accords that have come into effect over the past two decades. “Essentially that involves the company making up-front commitments,” said Seddon. “The managing director of our group of companies made the commitment to become carbon neutral. Being Hydroflux, the time frame was extremely ambitious.” Most companies take between six to 12 months to become certified. Hydroflux took about three. The first step was to start off compiling a comprehensive emissions inventory so that it could account for all the carbon emissions throughout the organisation and then look closely into the areas of the business that could stop emissions. The audit discovered plenty of places where such savings could occur – from energy it used on a day-to-day basis and opting for electric vehicles, through to the type of light bulbs that were being utilised in the office. Seddon points out that even though Hydroflux got the certification, it is still a work in progress due to issues such as having energy contracts in place that haven’t run out yet, as well as diesel- and petrol-powered vehicles that haven’t reached their use-by date. In the case of the vehicles, when they do need replacing, it will be with those whose carbon footprint will be a lot less. During the audit process, the company did a deep dive on many

aspects such as when comparing the amount of energy it costs to produce an electric vehicle and its ongoing running costs. “The analysis showed that electric vehicles produce less emissions,” said Seddon. “If you’re able to use green electricity, which is what we’re moving towards across Australia – we know that the state-based grids are becoming greener over time – that those emissions reduce your footprint even further.” Hydroflux used a three-step process to implement the plan. There was the inventory, the reduction plan, and a financial outlay in terms of purchasing carbon offsets. “There are steps within those steps. For example, it might be that we think we can reduce emissions by 10 per cent in a particular area,” she said. “It’s not a huge price to pay, to be able to say we’ve dealt with our carbon emissions at this point. We know that we’ve compensated for the carbon that we’re emitting into the atmosphere as a result of our own activities.” For those that sell products and services to Hydroflux, Seddon is letting it be known that they are also looking at others’ sustainability and carbon emission practices, too. “Sustainable procurement is another thing that the business is implementing. Once we’ve done that, then we can move on to the next thing,” she said. Sustainability is one of the main planks of the company’s business model. As well as carbon neutrality, it realises that water is a valuable asset on such a dry continent as Australia, so educating clients and the wider community about this issue is something Hydroflux takes seriously. “The business sees it has a role to play in raising that level of awareness around the value, the preciousness,

of water,” she said. “When you’re looking at a wastewater project, for example, if you consider it end to end, you’ve spent probably $5/ kL or more purchasing clean water, heating, cooling, or running it from here to there. Then you might have spent another $5/kL treating it and then discharging it. It all adds up.” Seddon said that given more than 85 per cent of Greater Sydney’s water supply relies on rain, the city is vulnerable to periods of drought and at risk of running out. The state government is looking at feasibility studies of making some of the dam walls higher, but even then, it will be hard to meet the area’s water needs and a higher dam wall, or more dams, are unlikely to fix the problem. Desalination plants are expensive to build and run, while shipping water in is prohibitively costly. “It’s a bit frightening, to be honest., I recall Sydney Water running a water

The new energyefficient light bulbs helped Hydroflux reduce its carbon emissions. Photo by Hydroflux

Moving to a three-bin recycling system was just one step of becoming a sustainable business. Photo by Hydroflux

conservation campaign at the time around something like ‘water is life’,” she said. “You can’t have life as we know without water, yet we just turn a blind eye to conserving it all the time.” With the company’s expertise in many aspects of the water industry, and its new carbon neutrality certification, Seddon is confident that it can play a leading role in making sure that when it comes to industrial water applications and reducing a company’s carbon footprint, Hydroflux can help meet both governmental and consumers’ expectations in that space. “This is where the company culture lies now,” she said. “We’re helping companies contribute to the overall reduction of emissions. That’s in the future for Hydroflux.” For more information visit www.hydroflux.com.au

www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

ASSOCIATION VicWater

Resilience and readiness in the Victorian water sector VicWater is the peak industry association for the Victorian water sector, representing all 18 state-owned water corporations. We are excited to partner with Prime Creative Media for its new publication Inside Water. VICWATER’S TAGLINE IS ‘Better Together’, and collaboration lies at the heart of our value proposition to members. We know our members are better together, whether influencing government, promoting best practices and industry thought leadership, planning for future challenges, or generating shared value through the efficient use of resources.

An important part of what we do at VicWater is to provide opportunities for our members to connect and share their innovations and experiences with each other and access new insights and ways of thinking from outside the sector. This is exactly what we did at our Annual Conference on 8-9 June at the Langham in Melbourne, with more than 200 delegates joining

By Jo Lim, Interim CEO, VicWater

Facilitator Tania Fryer, Jonathan Spear, Pat McCafferty, Sarah Cumming, Damian Wells and Andrew Crisp on the Are We Ready panel. Photo by VicWater

Ron Ben-David, Gerard Brody and moderator Beverley O’Connor on the Great Water Debate panel. Photo by VicWater

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

us in person and online. After two challenging years, it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the chance to catch up with old friends and make new connections. The conference was a long time in the making, originally planned for September 2021 and twice postponed due to COVID. When the VicWater team started planning the event in March 2021, we chose the theme ‘Resilience and Readiness’, thinking it would be an opportune time to reflect on the lessons we had learned as we emerged from COVID. Little did we know that we still had many months of lockdowns and restrictions ahead of us. When we were finally able to run the conference, the ‘Resilience and Readiness’ theme was, if anything, even more apt given the rapid pace of change and increasing complexity of the world around us. The conference program featured expert speakers and panellists, internal and external to the industry, who helped delegates unpack what being resilient and ready means for the water sector. Some program highlights included: Keynote speaker Dr. Norman Swan shared his reflections on Australia’s COVID experience, where we’ve been, where we are now and where we are likely to go. He also talked about the importance of maintaining public trust through open and honest communication, with his key message being that if you lose the public’s trust, it’s very hard to earn it back. This resonated strongly with conference delegates who understood the direct application in the water sector. Conference dinner guest speaker Liv Garfield, CEO of Severn Trent Water (co-presented by VicWater and the Water Services Association of Australia), was an audience favourite, with a highly engaging

and informative presentation on challenges and opportunities in the UK water sector. The Great Water Debate pitted Ron Ben-David and Gerard Brody against each other in an argument centred around minimising price versus maximising value. Although the maximising value side won the day, delegates came away from the session with a balanced understanding of what we need to do to ensure the financial sustainability of the water sector while maintaining quality customer services, and greater insight into how water corporations are striving to do both. The Circular Economy Panel, facilitated by Rob Gell and featuring Cheryl Batagol, Sarah Thomson and Helen Millicer, explored the potential for the water sector to not just participate in the circular economy, but to be at the very centre of it by demonstrating leadership and bringing together all the other key sectors such as energy, waste and transport in an integrated circular economy framework for Victoria. The Digital Water Business session gave delegates insights into how digital technologies can be used to not only drive efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction, but unlock entirely new value propositions for communities, industry and the environment. Industry speakers Damian Wells, Steve Capewell and Tony Wulff talked about how their organisations are tackling major digital transformations and the lessons they’ve learned about the need to maintain focus on your purpose and be deliberative about change management with your people. The Are We Ready? Panel brought industry speakers Pat McCafferty, Sarah Cumming and Damian Wells together with Victorian Emergency

Dr Norman Swan giving his keynote speech. Photo by VicWater

Cheryl Batagol, Sarah Thomson, Helen Millicer and facilitator Rob Gell on the Circular Economy panel. Photo by VicWater

Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp and Infrastructure Victoria CEO Jonathan Spear to discuss how the water sector can service changing communities, how we can prepare for disasters and how we can recover from them. Pat and Damian reflected on their experience during Victoria’s severe storm event in June 2021, which saw their teams out on the ground at the earliest opportunity to assess and repair damage to water assets and support local communities by handing out bottled water and providing information and advice. The session shone a light on the critical role that our sector plays in times of crisis and the recovery period beyond. The Returning to Traditions Panel, facilitated by Patricia Karvelas, gave delegates a thought-provoking and, at times, confronting insight into the significance and meaning of water sovereignty and water justice

for Traditional Owners. Speakers Erin O’Donnell, Paul Paton and Brendan Kennedy clearly articulated the demands and expectations of Traditional Owners to have a strong, recognised and respected role in land and waterway management in Victoria, and to see significant volumes of water returned to Traditional Owners for whatever use they see fit. The conference wrapped up on the second day with an interactive workshop where delegates were asked to think about the barriers to the Victorian water industry being more resilient and ready and what VicWater and our members might do to overcome those barriers. We hope that delegates came away from the conference with a deeper understanding of the key issues our sector faces, a view of how the future should look, and a set of actions we can take to plan for the resilience and readiness of our industry.

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ASSOCIATION Australian Water Association

Ozwater’22 brings industry together The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) hosted Ozwater’22, Australia’s international water conference and trade exhibition. The three-day conference saw thousands of industry experts come together for the largest water exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere. OZWATER’22 IS RUN by the Australian Water Association (AWA). It is a member organisation for individuals and organisations operating throughout the water management space. Its members are from water utilities and authorities, local, state and government agencies, regulators, private sector consultants, contractors and suppliers, universities and research organisations and much more, covering the full scope of water management. It has more than 5,000 individual members and more than 500 corporate members. AWA CEO, Corinne Cheeseman, spoke to Inside Water to discuss the outcomes of Ozwater’22, some key highlights, issues brought to light, innovations and the industry’s future. Cheeseman has been CEO since May 2020 but has been involved in the water industry for more than 20 years. She had led AWA in driving change, digital transformation and

delivering strategic objectives. Cheeseman explained that since its establishment 60 years ago, the AWA has always encouraged adaptation and innovation. Having formed in 1962, it ran with the post-war installation of water and sanitation high on the national agenda. AWA started as a volunteer-run organisation, and this continued for its first 20-plus years. Today, it has more than 30 staff nationally, with more than 400 volunteers helping the industry meet its goals. “Over the six decades, so much has changed in water management,” said Cheeseman. “Originally, water infrastructure was the solution to providing reliable water supply and treatment of wastewater, so most of our members were engineers. Today, a range of solutions and a multidisciplinary approach is needed to solve complex water problems. So today, our members are from a more diverse range of organisations

AWA CEO Corinne Cheeseman addressing Ozwater’22. Photo by AWA

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

and disciplines, including scientists, engineers, urban designers and planners, consultants, researchers, educators, community consultation, policy makers, regulators, data analysts, data scientists, information technologists, strategists, asset managers, catchment managers, field workers, manufacturers and tradies.” Australia’s changing weather patterns over the past few decades have contributed to an increase in the organisation’s numbers. “The Millennium Drought in the early 1990s was a huge challenge. During this period, our membership grew as the Association became a key thought leader and connector of a range of people in different disciplines who were required to meet the issues associated with climate change,” said Cheeseman. There were over 130 technical presentations, 82 pitch presentations, multiple workshop and panel sessions, and keynote speakers across the three days of Ozwater’22. The discussion on First Nations People Knowledge & Participation was one of the highlights and an important topic for achieving water sustainability in the country as Australia goes on its reconciliation journey. The sub-theme on Achieving a Circular Economy was also important and insightful. This has been a topic for many years. There were tangible examples where AWA members were progressing towards this, which will be a key part of the water sector in the future. “The discussions on Rural, Remote & Regional Water are much needed if Australia is to meet the unique challenges of water management there, which ties into the need for the Voices for the Bush Conference that we are holding in Alice Springs in August to focus on the very real challenges and solutions for regional

and remote water managers,” said Cheeseman. Cheeseman acknowledged that it is always a great challenge to organise and host Ozwater. It has been made more difficult in the past few years with border closures and changing COVID restrictions. She said the success of the event came down to the AWA team and its Ozwater Program Committee, who make each Ozwater a success, as well as all the presenters, attendees and exhibitors who deliver great content, as well as the exhibition itself. The Ozwater Gala Dinner celebrated the achievements of the water sector through AWA’s National Water Awards. According to Cheeseman, the water sector is collaborative, and it is the building of relationships and work that continues long after the event, which makes it so important. AWA has sought to share, connect and inspire, and Ozwater’22 lived up to this promise. There is no other event like Ozwater where you can come to be inspired by thought leaders, hear about projects and research across a range of core and cutting-edge water topics and participate in discussions through workshops and the forum, said Cheeseman. Ozwater’22 was such a great success that she is confident it will continue to increase its numbers and impact ahead – which is why she is already looking forward to Ozwater’23, which will be held at the International Convention Centre, Sydney, from 10-12 May next year. While Cheeseman could not get to as many panels and workshops as she would have liked, she received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Dr. Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Bauman AM’s speech stirred and connected with many attendees as she offered a way forward that is both collaborative and respectful. Her

AWA and the Ozwater Planning Committee celebrating 60 years of the AWA. Photo by AWA

clear message was that we needed to listen when collaborating with others, which was a very powerful message at the outset of the conference. “I also thought Dr. Catherine Ball’s presentation on cyber-attacks in the water sector was a frightening wakeup call to modern threats facing water management in the context of a connected world. She also had some great takeaways about how we can all manage our risks around cyber security,” said Cheeseman. When looking at the innovations that came out of Ozwater’22, one that caught our eye at Inside Water were the saltwater sniffing dogs. Cheeseman agreed that seeing what these dogs are capable of is amazing. The dogs can find saltwater leaks and other potential leaks faster than traditional methods and pinpoint the exact locations where they are occuring. They have a minimal environmental impact, too. “It’s a really exciting and simple way to deal with a range of issues that would regularly need investigation, including leaks into stormwater grates and canals, main pressure leaks and illegal discharge of septic wastewater,” said Cheeseman. “It’s heartening to see the innovations occurring all over the sector that our members drive. I thought this was a standout as innovation does not always need a technological solution, so this is a great example.” Carbon emission reduction was a topic of discussion at the event. Several speakers talked about how the water sector is working to reduce carbon emissions and meet its targets. Cheeseman spoke about the importance of opening the discussions, with sharing and learning being great opportunities at Ozwater. Those working in the water sector know that availability of water is impacted by climate change.

“As water managers, we have to manage with less water – more extreme and frequent droughts, as well as the impacts of floods on our assets and customers,” said Cheeseman. “For example, in the recent floods, the impact on water treatment plants meant customers had to save water, which is quite ironic but something we must manage.” People may not know that 13 Australian water utilities joined the UN-led “Race to Zero” campaign at COP26 this year. Since then, others have come on board. They pledged to reach Net Zero Emissions by 2050 or earlier, a commitment that must be matched by sectors worldwide. The students in the Student Stream were impressive and gave everyone in attendance great optimism about the future of water management in Australia. Cheeseman identified Elkia Szczecinski (Curtin University) as deserving of mention as the Student Water Prize winner. Her research focused on compounds in drinking water that cause plastic tastes. Her exploration of improving the efficiency and cost of desalinated water production will help resolve this problem while offering greater long-term sustainability benefits. Cheeseman is already working with the Ozwater Program Committee to plan for Ozwater’23 in Sydney next year. She is looking forward to seeing the water management leaders in Australia and abroad together again under one roof. While she does not want to give too much away just yet, Cheeseman did say there will definitely be a focus on resilience and climate change as it is now a core business for water managers. While there are many challenges ahead, the water sector will continue to work towards a sustainable water future.

www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

Inside Water is a new multi-platform publication for the Australian water industry. It is focused on the people, products and technology that enable sustainable and innovative management of Australia’s water resources.

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Circular economy and the water industry

PROFILE

Water corporations – circular economy powerhouses

Goulburn Valley Water provides water and wastewater services to 128,000 people in 54 towns, covering an area in northern Victoria of more than 20,000 sq km. Chris Edwards spoke to Sarah Thomson about the circular economy and what it means for the water industry. SARAH THOMSON IS passionate about the circular economy and has pushed it hard. “Some of my colleagues think I am obsessed with it, but it’s my passion,” said Thomson. The General Manager of Strategy, Governance and Finance at Goulburn Valley Water spoke at the VicWater 2022 Annual Conference about the potential role of water corporations in the circular economy and why she is so passionate about it. “It’s the power of a brilliant idea. The work that we have done in our region is really showing that water corporations have the potential to play a pivotal role in transitioning to a circular economy. It’s an incredible opportunity, we could provide water,

(Above) Sarah Thomson during her time volunteering for WaterAid Photo by Goulburn Valley Water.

wastewater and resource recovery services,” said Thomson. Thomson is a former Deloitte accountant who found herself wanting to achieve something else in her life. She was looking for a greater purpose. Within a short period, she moved from her Melbourne office to Kakadu in the Northern Territory to work for the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation. From there, Thomson visited a friend in West Timor, Indonesia and was inspired to start working with international nongovernmental organisations (INGOs) such as WaterAid, Burnet Institute and World Vision. “It was while I was in these countries that I saw how water and

sanitation underpin the very basics of society,” Thomson said. “Strategies and policies that encouraged the development of clean water and good sanitation infrastructure have seen those countries develop faster, such as South Korea, Singapore and India.” Thomson pointed out that water corporations across Australia have a role in encouraging the creation of circular economies. They have the potential to lead, as a trusted broker between industry, community and government, to propel the transition to a circular economy. “Every organisation I have spoken to aspires to do things in ‘cleaner and greener’ ways, but this transition is a complicated beast,” she said. “It can’t be done operating in silos, it requires leadership and coordination. I think that water corporations are well placed to provide this. “Imagine if we could play a pivotal role in our community’s shift to a circular economy by producing renewable products such as biomethane, biochar and hydrogen. We could also recover valuable phosphorous from the organic waste we receive into our wastewater treatment facilities.” She said she could can see a significant opportunity for water corporations and local councils to work together to aggregate organic waste in order to create economies of scale. There are also opportunities for water corporations to make products like urea, a key ingredient in fertilisers, because urea can be produced from hydrogen. This could help Australia shore up its sovereign supply chains in food which have been vulnerable due to COVID and the recent war in Ukraine. The shortage of urea in Australia this year has been part of the big increases in food costs that the country has seen.

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PROFILE

Thomson also spoke about the importance of engaging the community by discussing the circular economy at a regional level. Given the importance of manufacturing, agriculture and transport to the local economy, it was vital for Goulburn Valley Water to take a whole-ofcommunity approach to explain what it wanted to achieve. One thing that Thomson was able to lean on was her knowledge of strong community leadership in challenging times. She gave an example of when Shepparton – in the Goulburn Valley service area – had COVID outbreak, and half of the population was locked down. Normally, such a situation would be a nightmare for a small regional area. However, local community leaders came together and mobilised the population. Everyone in lockdown

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

Shepparton High Rate Anaerobic Lagoon, the size of the MCG, with bioenergy production potential and solar arrays nearby. Photo by Goulburn Valley Water

Goulburn Valley Water has a large farming enterprise which it uses to dispose of wastewater Photo by Goulburn Valley Water

could still get fresh food, meals and whatever else they needed. Such community-oriented action reflects a willingness to work together and the aspiration to improve Shepparton. “I think we can use the same community-led approach for the transition to a circular economy. We’ve got significant emissions with some big industries here. We want to reduce those emissions and start seeing waste, such as wastewater and organics, as a resource, creating jobs and building resilience,” she said. In 2020, Regional Development Victoria and the Goulburn Regional Partnership supported the creation and development of the community-led GoulburnMurray Resilience Strategy. This resulted in a collaboration with Ross Garnaut and John Hewson through Goulburn Valley Water

and the Committee for Greater Shepparton, a business advocacy committee. The collaboration saw a community thought leadership workshop. Former Liberal leader Hewson, and Australian economist Garnaut, played roles in supporting the development workshop. From these workshops came the establishment of a circular economy working group in January 2021. In April, they were joined by engineering firm Aurecon, which introduced a multi-disciplinary team to the Goulburn Valley business community. Together, they worked to understand the opportunities available within the circular economy. The end of 2021 saw the creation of the Embedding Regional Resilience Through the Circular Economy white paper. “The white paper was a bit of a thought piece. It was to get people to understand what the opportunity could look like and to create a vision for the region. It’s not set in stone; it’s just a starting point,” said Thomson. The paper showed what could be done in the region, not what must be done. This document gained support from manufacturers, energy companies, universities and government entities. Sarah said that companies realised that they had to work with others to achieve their goals instead of operating in silos. Thomson spoke about the importance of the multi-loop circular economy. It focused on building a strong and sensible plan for transitioning to renewable energy and securing the future for the region. The model comprises three loops that build on top of each other to maximise the use of resources and minimise what is not used. “The big aspiration is to move our

farms, utilities and factories from the old fossil fuel world into the new green energy world through innovation and technology.” The first loop focused on wasteto-energy. It was an opportunity for farms, utilities, councils and factories to make the most of local biomass to reduce waste and create alternative energy sources. The current wastewater treatment facility in Shepparton was scaled to a population of one million people to manage the large quantities of industrial waste – which is large for a regional area populated by around 50,000 people. “The progression to making green biomethane, hydrogen, biochar and other green products are potentially the most exciting for many regional businesses,” Thomson said. “The opportunity for farms, utilities and factories to create green hydrogen, renewable energy, green fertilisers, and biogas is enormous. It also provides new industries for Australia, such as the creation of hydrogen fuel cells or hydrogen fuel cell-compatible vehicles suited to Australian conditions, that could provide numerous jobs.” There are also new industries that have not been thought about yet according to Thomson. For example, Australia will need to measure carbon transparently, which require the use of the blockchain. The country will need to track how things are produced and transported and all the interlocking components. She thinks a place like Shepparton could set up this industry and employ locals. “The second loop is really important,” she said. “One in four heavy vehicles in Victoria is registered in Shepparton, so reducing or eliminating the emissions from this sector would make a real difference. We have been speaking with Hyzon, the hydrogen heavy vehicle

company working with Twiggy Forrest, about the opportunities to transition our region’s trucks to renewable hydrogen.” One of the biggest things Thomson pointed out was the importance of communication. Having stakeholders from across the region at all levels involved in the conversation was key to developing a solid understanding of the goals. Socialising and engaging with the community have been key to discovering that people across the region know about the circular economy and its importance. “I was talking to the CEO of SPC Ardmona last week. He has a good understanding of the many opportunities that the circular economy presents,” she said. “There is a circular economy workshop planned in the near future focusing on materials, and SPC Ardmona will send staff to that workshop. It is clear that they are seeing the challenge and want to be involved in the solution.” Thomson acknowledged that governance is one of the biggest challenges of such a creation, particularly when working across the various boundaries of community, business and government. Thomson believes strong governance requires bringing together a broad range of multidisciplinary experience in areas

Sarah Thomson in her garden. Photo by Goulburn Valley Water

such as public-private partnerships, probity, commercial and financing, as well as a strong understanding of the region’s communities, industries and governments. This kind of governance will be very important for the ultimate success of a circular economy. In expressing her love for Shepparton, Thomson stresses numerous opportunities for the projects to grow the Goulburn Valley region. The opportunities in the energy space could support many businesses and build the region’s ‘clean and green’ credentials. “We found that everyone has been thinking about the circular economy. They all really want to shift our economy, but everyone was thinking about it separately,” she said. “What became clear was that there was a fair bit of benefit in teaming up and working together for the region. The key is thinking of this circular economy as a whole, rather than individual components. “An executive from one of our major industrial businesses said to me the other day that he would like the Goulburn Valley to be a world leader in the circular economy. I would love to be part of driving and realising this aspiration. I can’t think of a better way to use my time on this planet.” For more information visit www.gvwater.vic.gov.au

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PROFILE

Gippsland Water – getting ready for anything Sarah Cumming is the Managing Director of Gippsland Water and is conscious of the challenges facing her customers. Inside Water interviewed her to discuss resilience, readiness, and presence at the VicWater 2022 Annual Conference. GIPPSLAND WATER REPRESENTS an area of over 5,000 square kilometres. While it is one of the larger regional water providers, it is unique in that at least 20 per cent of its revenue comes from major industrial customers, such as power stations. Its major population centres include Traralgon, Warragul, Drouin, Moe, Sale, and Morwell. The utility also provides clean drinking water to over 70,000 households and businesses throughout the region. Cumming sat on a panel at the VicWater 2022 Annual Conference that discussed Are We Ready? Preparation, Recovery & Changing Communities. The session examined the readiness of people, organisations, communities, and

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

Moondarra Reservoir in Gippsland, Victoria.

water corporations in an everchanging situation regarding Australia’s water supply. Many parts of Australia have recently suffered “unprecedented” disasters. Cumming said, “the challenge becomes your ability to withstand not just an event, but a series of events. There might be multiple back-to-back events of the same type. However, they might be quite different”. The frequency of these events suggests that they are no longer unprecedented but something that requires planning, preparation and considerable thought. Cumming pointed out that what works in one community or region may not work in another.

“It’s less of a regional issue and more of a state-wide one. The nature, extent and unpredictable nature of weather events mean that things can happen anytime. Our region has suffered through many bushfire-related events, but recently it endured multiple flooding events, each short in duration and each was equivalent to a one-in-100-year event, placing enormous strain on our capacity to treat and deliver safe water,” she said. One thing she found intriguing from the panel was the suggestion from a fellow panellist that people should be able to look after themselves for 72 hours in the event of an emergency. This recommendation came from the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency. All the panellists felt this personal responsibility had some merit. Cumming found a specific area within the 72-hour concept that could have a massive positive impact, particularly when it comes to maintaining water infrastructure, improving community resilience and how water is used. “I know in my region if every house had a tank, the Moondarra Reservoir may last up to an extra month in an extreme drought,” she said. “That’s a big deal, in that the impact of having a single tank at every house is far greater than I’d ever thought it would be.” When overlaid with the beneficial impact of tanks in reducing localised storm water flooding, and household firefighting benefits, household tanks could contribute significantly to both household and community-level resilience. One issue regarding water and being ready is collaborating with local stakeholders. Of particular importance is ensuring that the Country Fire Authority (CFA) districts know where they can draw water from. Cumming spoke about talking

“ We must have greater

literacy in the community about what impacts the services we provide have while maintaining their trust

to the West and South Gippsland Fire District and reiterated that the reticulated water supply system is not designed to guarantee firefighting needs. “Drawing from certain water sources during an urban or bush fire event can put the system under a lot of strain and lead to no water being supplied to affected areas,” she said. There can be different issues at play in the event of a bushfire, but communication is critical in the eyes of Cumming. She is a believer in practising how to handle disasters and readiness, and specifically multiday exercises that leave participants exhausted. “Practice activities can sometimes feel like you’re actually responding to another incident. We’d just been through a series of extreme events last year before taking part in a government-led cyber event simulation exercise, and it felt so real,” she said. These exercises are designed to leave organisations reassessing all their contingency plans and asking, “are we ready?” Cumming emphasised one idea she raised in the panel discussion – having draft communications templates ready to go. She pointed out that while fixing the problem and making it safe is paramount, keeping customers informed is also becoming increasingly important. Reiterating the importance of communication to both residential and business consumers, Cumming believes that peoples’ perception of how water is managed has led to trust issues during disasters, particularly when other utilities have not yet resumed their operations. This is part of the challenge of managing an essential service that historically has focused on not being seen by customers, and that also maintains very high standards of service.

“Communities need to understand that challenges are coming up more frequently,” she said. “We must have greater literacy in the community about what impacts the services we provide have while maintaining their trust – when we say things like ‘this service is under great strain or has been off but is now back on and safe to drink’. We have seen situations in other regions and states where after extreme floods, communities were sceptical that the water was safe to drink because everything else was still out of action. We want to be open and transparent about the challenges we face, to create that trust and connection with the services we provide.” As part of that transparency, an important issue for water corporations will be staff and workforce management. With more disasters happening back-to-back, it becomes more important to look at how to manage the staff that are out there dealing with these issues. Cumming pointed out that if specialist crews are out there for extended periods, they may become fatigued and suffer from stress. On top of that, water corporations and other utilities are now looking at how to keep their assets safe. Cumming gave the example of one utility in New South Wales that sought to place its pumps a couple of meters in the air. However, they ran their models of future climate change and opted to place their pumps that little bit higher due to the conclusions shown in the modelling. For example, if a flood event occurred, the pumps might be submerged, whereas now they would still be serviceable, “It’s about having that mindset of constantly questioning whether you’re ready,” she said. “We’re looking at that overall impact and how we react going forward

Sarah Cumming, Managing Director of Gippsland Water.

”

with that mindset around future events, unknown events, and more designated resources to manage our staff safely through events.” While Cumming has seen some unique events in the past few years in her role, she sees enormous potential in a whole-of-community approach to readiness. Working with local industry, government, organisations and communities, there are many opportunities for the tens of thousands of customers throughout the region to be ready for whatever happens. “There’s a sense within our community that more needs to be done. These days, it is an option to have solar hot water or a water tank. I believe that we need to be building houses that are suitable for decades to come that will be ready for these events, that will be part of our future,” she said. For more information visit www.gippswater.com.au

www.insidewater.com.au INSIDE WATER

LAST Word

The lighter side of water In this section, Inside Water aims to look at the lighter side of water and water-related issues. If you’ve seen an amusing story, let us know so we can consider it for the next issue. Is water lava? Hank Green is a popular American science communicator who has been making waves through various YouTube channels. Of note is his channel, SciShow, which focuses on science news. There is an associated podcast called SciShow Tangents. He also appears on his own Instagram and TikTok channels discussing science. Green posted a TikTok video in early 2021 responding to a simple question: is ice a rock? He pointed out that geologists say that ice is a rock. He was then asked a followup question, “If ice is a rock, then is water lava?” As people who work in water, we would probably argue, with some confidence, that water is not lava. For a start, it is not hot. Green was inclined to agree with you at face value. However, once he read into it, he was of a different point of view. Lava is any molten rock that comes

INSIDE WATER July/August 2022

out of a terrestrial planet. Molten means liquefied by heat. Since geologists say that ice is a rock, and it is liquefied by heat, water is lava. So, when people ask you what you do next time you go out… tell them you deal with molten rock every day. Technically, you’re not wrong… according to at least some scientists. In fairness, many say this is not true, but it’s unlikely that this will come up in a casual conversation. Where is the largest drinking water storage tank in the world? The largest drinking water storage tank measures 436,633.45 m³ (436,633,450 litres). It is owned by Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation - Kahramaa and was launched on 25 January, 2020. It is also known as the Water Security Mega Reservoirs program. Total storage capacity of Phase 1 of the project is expected to be about

The sun rises over the water in Doha, Qatar.

10 million m³, expanding to about 17 million m³ at the end of Phase 2. Consolidated Contractors Company built the enormous facility, excavating and backfilling more than three million cubic metres of earthworks. The facility includes pumping stations and interconnecting networks of large-diameter water pipelines. The program is an ambitious water project aiming to address the enormous water demand in Qatar following its increasing growth, development and population. As a strategic project, it enhances Qatar’s water security and provides a high-quality service following the highest international and local standards. It promotes Qatar’s sustainable advancement ensuring harmony between economic, social and environmental development.

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