eFlash #601

Date: 04-Jul-2024

NEW / HOT TOPICS

Annual Forum – Registrations Now Open!

Registrations are now open for the 2024 Annual Forum with the theme “Managing the (Infrastructure) Risk Curve”.

The theme of this year’s forum is “Managing the (Infrastructure) Risk Curve,” where Water Service Providers, industry professionals, and regulatory agencies will come together to address strategic challenges in the water sector as well as discuss the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in the water sector.

The forum consists of site tours, the Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test, Award Dinner and a day of presentations, updates, and discussions on current issues that are of strategic importance to Queensland’s water sector. It is a chance for attendees to deepen their understanding of key industry developments and exchange ideas with peers.

The draft program will be released soon.

2. TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test

Show off your water quality and compete against other councils in the 2024 TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test at the qldwater Annual Forum on 22 August. Submit your entry forms now for a chance to win bragging rights and potentially national and international glory!

For more information and to download the entry forms, click here.

3. qldwater Awards – Nominations close soon

Nominations for the Young Operator of the Year and the Operator of the Year (Civil) Awards are due by Wednesday, 10 July so time is running out to acknowledge the hard workers in your teams. The 2024 winners will be announced at the WIOA Queensland Awards Dinner on 24 July 2024.

Download the forms here.

4. Grant success for qCRAC contaminants project

We are pleased to announce that the ARC Linkage project “Identifying sources of contaminants of concern entering Australian sewers” has been successful in securing funding for three years.

The qldwater Consortium for Research and Advocacy on Contaminants of Concern (qCRAC), joins Queensland and Victorian water utilities, Queensland Health and EPA Victoria, with researchers at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Queensland. We would like to thank the eleven water utility members of qCRAC for their ongoing commitment to supporting research for our sector.

The aim of this Project is to establish an ongoing program that will allow identification and quantification of sources of contaminants of concern entering sewer systems, through wastewater catchment mapping and analysis. The project will determine background releases of chemical contaminants in domestic wastewater, and establish domestic contaminant baselines, and ultimately develop a novel contaminant database that links chemical profiles to specific sources in wastewater.

The grant will fund a full-time post-doctoral research fellow, a research analyst and three PhD students.

5. Submission on EOW Code for Biochar

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation released a final draft of the End of Waste Code for Biochar for a short two-week consultation ahead of the planned finalisation.

The revised code includes some new lower Resource quality criteria for certain heavy metals in biochar that will be challenging for utilities to meet due to the concentration effect of processing biosolids to biochar. This increases the risk for utilities that are seeking to invest in advanced thermal treatment technologies to manage contaminants of concern (PFAS and microplastics) in their biosolids.

The Directorate has provided a response to the proposed limits in a submission to DESI. You can read our response to the consultation here.

6. Workforce Skills Survey Report

qldwater, with funding through QWRAP, engaged Balmoral Group Australia to deliver a Queensland Water Workforce Skills Survey Report which provides a detailed review of available information and data about skills and workforce. The report will help qldwater in its role as Industry Skills Advisor and QWRAP Partners to inform BuildSkills Australia on water industry workforce dynamics emphasising skills, training needs, and challenges in attraction and retention. These are crucial matters for the delivery of safe drinking water, maintenance of water infrastructure, and effective environmental risk management across Queensland communities.

REMINDERS / OTHER NEWS

7. Water Supply Regulator Updates

Water Supply Regulation Survey

Each year there is an online survey sent to service providers to hear what you have to say about how the Water Supply Regulation (WSR) team communicates and interacts with you. This survey has already been sent to the primary registered contact for the water area of your business.

There is still opportunity for those who have not yet responded to do so. Please click here to access the survey or use the QR code below.

Drinking Water Regulation Workshop, Brisbane

The Water Supply Regulation team is hosting a workshop at 111 George Street, Brisbane from 9.00am to 3.30pm on Wednesday 17 July. The agenda includes discussion around the impacts on drinking water services during disasters, why we should care about trihalomethanes, cyber security, the impacts of fraud, forgery and falsification on the water industry and more. As usual, David Scheltinga will be there to provide an update on SWIM and swimlocal.

Contact drinkingwater.reporting@rdmw.qld.gov.au for more information.

8. Productivity Commission delivers report on National Water Reform

The Productivity Commission has released its final report on the inquiry into National Water Reform.

The inquiry examined 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). The qldwater submission to the inquiry is available from the qldwater webpage.

The final report has some welcome recommendations for Queensland, with the following targets to implement over the next three years:

finalise and implement its First Nations Water Strategy
progress its current program of approved water security infrastructure projects, focusing on cost effective investments
continue its Urban Water Risk Assessment program to understand drinking water quality, water supply security and water and sewerage service delivery risks across remote and regional Queensland
expand independent economic regulation for urban providers and replace capital grant funding for regional urban providers with transparent community service obligation payments.

The final report can be accessed from the Productivity Commission website.

9. Continuation of Levy Exemption for Water Treatment Residues

The water treatment (alum sludge) exemption extension was an amendment to the Waste Reduction and Recycling Regulation 2023. It was made on Friday 28 June 2024 and extends the levy exemption until 30 June 2029. Please see the amendment regulation at Waste Reduction and Recycling Amendment Regulation 2024.

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation will be establishing a working group to discuss options of alum sludge use including whether there are alternatives to alum use. Please contact Georgina Davis to register your interest.

10. Careers in Water

The AWA Careers in Water website have now officially been launched. New additions to the site include “Resources’ and “Jobs” pages. To get your bearings on the new navigations, take a look at the how-to video that will tell you everything you need to know.

11. NAIDOC Week 2024

NAIDOC Week runs from 7-14 July, celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The theme for 2024 is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.

Find an event near you.

12. Queensland Government Budget Updates

Some more announcements have come through this week for water infrastructure funding including:

$10 million to Douglas Shire Council to fund a second water supply intake on the Mossman River
An additional $87.5 million towards the Cairns Water Security Stage 1 Project, raising the total to $195 million
$11.46 million for geotechnical investigations at Wivenhoe Dam