eFlash #588

Date: 10-Jan-2024

NEW / HOT TOPICS

1. Disaster recovery post TC Jasper

Over the Christmas break, the Queensland Water Industry mobilised a mutual aid effort to support Douglas Shire Council with water network and treatment support to restore services following impacts from Tropical Cyclone Jasper. The mutual aid framework was established to coordinate resources and support water utilities who are dealing with disaster and other emergency activations.

Urban Utilities, Unitywater, Seqwater, Townsville City Council and Mareeba Shire Council, along with a number of key contractors like Trillity, have provided active, on the ground support to ensure the restoration of drinking water services at Mossman and Port Douglas. Two rotations of two four-man crews, water treatment experts and safety specialists and two operational vehicles have been deployed to help repair infrastructure and support local crews to have some relief. In good news, as of yesterday, all reservoirs are full and operating well and daily water testing shows that all drinking water quality parameters are green. A great collaborative effort from the water industry.

The work of the mutual aid group has been made possible through strong positive support from Linda Dobe, Dan Harris and the DRDMW team. A big shout out to Minister Butcher for getting out on ground in the disaster affected areas.

2. Latest Benchmarking Report Released

The 2022-23 Benchmarking Report is now available on the qldwater website.

This is the 13th water and sewerage benchmarking report for the Queensland urban water industry, drawing on data from 2022/23.

Following positive feedback from members, the report is again being published as a package that includes two sets of slides formatted for display with charts for all water reporting entities separated into (1) medium, large and extra-large service providers (>1,000 connections), and (2) small and indigenous service providers. The package includes a document providing explanatory notes and additional insights that should be read in conjunction with the charts. The slide deck and explanatory report contains a suite of indicators and benchmarking data for all 72 of Queensland’s council owned urban water/sewerage utilities.

3. The Fundamentals of Pumping Specific Energy

In this webinar, Rob Welke from the Water Pumping Institute will de-mystify what specific energy is and quantify it in terms which are relevant to daily water industry pumping operations. In particular, it will reveal how pipeline efficiency is the major driver of pumping specific energy.

Rob has 55 years’ experience in water pumping and hydraulics and has never sold product, so his presentations are unbiased and packed with fascinating case studies.

The webinar will take place at 10am on 25 January 2024.

REMINDERS / OTHER NEWS

4. Electrical Safety Act 2002 Review

In August 2023, qldwater provided a submission to the Discussion Paper: A response to the Review of Queensland’s Electrical Safety Act 2002 – key definitions and emerging technologies.

The Queensland Government has now released its Decision Paper which is available on the Office of Industrial Relations website. Submissions to the Discussion Paper can be viewed here.

The government intends to expand the definition of ‘electrical equipment’ to include some high-risk extra low voltage items such as solar PV modules and some lithium-ion batteries. The definition of ‘electrical installation’ will be updated to ensure it covers modern energy generation systems, and a working group will be established to ensure the legislative definition of ‘electrical work’ is clear and fit for purpose.

5. QCA Irrigation Pricing Workshops

The Queensland Competition Authority has released a draft workshop schedule for irrigation pricing workshops to be held in late January/early February 2024. To attend a workshop, please register here or by calling (07) 3222 0555. Registrations close on 22 January 2024.

CURRENT CONSULTATIONS

6. National Water Reform 2024

In 2024, the Productivity Commission will advise on the progress of all Australian governments in achieving the objectives, outcomes and timelines anticipated under the 2004 Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative (NWI), consistent with the Water Act 2007 (Cth). This is the third inquiry the Commission has undertaken on the progress of water reform in Australia.

The Commission has released a paper calling for submissions and comments to the inquiry. The paper outlines the focus of the inquiry and identifies a range of issues on which the Commission seeks information and feedback.

All interested parties are invited to make a submission or a brief comment, with initial submissions due Friday 2 February 2024.

qldwater will be providing a submission. To contribute to the qldwater submission please provide comments to Georgina by COB Monday 29 January 2024.