eFlash #613

Date: 15-Nov-2024

Essentials Webinar: Building personal resilience to avoid burnout

The urban water sector is facing unprecedented challenges. There are increasing workload pressures associated with unfilled vacancies, the strain of working with ageing infrastructure, the uncertainty of organisational restructures and high-risk weather events – it’s no wonder stress levels are rising, from frontline operators to senior management.

If you’ve been feeling the weight of these pressures, know that you’re not alone. To help our sector build resilience and manage stress, qldwater is hosting a special webinar: Build personal resilience to avoid burnout on Wednesday 27 November 2024 from 10.30 – 11.30am.

The presenter, Belinda Chapman, is a seasoned water management professional with over 20 years of experience and a passion for supporting water leaders. She blends her deep sector knowledge with leadership coaching, offering simple, actionable strategies tailored to water professionals who operate in high-pressure environments.

This one-hour webinar will cover:

Practical tools to improve your well-being
How to spot early warning signs of burnout in yourself and others
Resources for seeking and providing support
Ways to build empathy and maintain effective collaboration

Don’t miss this opportunity to prioritise your mental health and take control of the stressors around you. Empower yourself and your team with the skills to thrive, not just survive.

qldwater End of Year Drinks

We invite all our members and partners to celebrate the end of a successful year with drinks at Parliament House.

The qldwater team is working with the incoming Government and we hope that this will be an opportunity for the industry to interface with new Ministers and Senior Government Officials.

Date: Wednesday, 4 December 2024 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm

Venue: River Deck, Parliament House, 69 Alice St, Brisbane

Cost: Members $80 | Non-Members $110

Sole sponsorship available. Download the sponsorship prospectus here.

qldwater Micro-Credentials Training 2025

After securing DESBT funding last year, qldwater developed micro-credentials on five key topics chosen by members:

SCADA and telemetry systems for the water industry
Making Use of Water Quality Data
Fluoridation of Water Supplies (for Operators and Non-Operators)
Operational Implications of the Drinking Water Quality Management Plan

Following a successful first round, more face-to-face training dates will be available in 2025 across regional and South East areas. Initial courses on Water Quality Data and DWQMP start the week of 17 March, and SCADA the week of 31 March at qldwater’s Brisbane offices, with further regional sessions throughout the year. Prices and times TBC. For updates or to register, contact skills@qldwater.com.au.

IPWEA-QNT Conference

Last week the qldwater team had a booth at the Institute of Public Works Engineering – Qld and Northern Territory Annual Conference at the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane.

It was great to catch up with some of our members and to spread the word about our key programs.

David Wiskar presented the water awards at the Excellence Awards Gala Dinner and Ceremony. Congratulations to the following winners:

Innovation & Sustainability in Water and the Public Works Project of the Year Awards: LGI Limited - Landfill gas powered renewable energy behind the meter at Toowoomba’s Wetalla sewage treatment plant.
Projects $5 mil to $10 mil: UU and Downer WSP - Redbank Plains Pump Station
Projects $10 mil plus: UU Breakfast Creek Trunk Sewer Augmentation
Asset management winner: Bundaberg Regional Council – Washppl Creek Naturalisation
Employer of the Year (Public Sector): Toowoomba Regional Council

DETSI Point Source Information Portal released

The Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) have released their Point Source Information Portal.

The aim of the portal is to provide information to help understand and manage point source activities contributing nutrients to the Reef catchment. Data and information are provided on point source facilities, wastewater management practices and release water quality, with detailed information on sewage treatment plants (STPs) and aquaculture farms. It also includes links to project reports that can be downloaded.

The portal was developed by the Science Division of DETSI in collaboration with Griffith University and funded by the Office of the Great Barrier Reef & World Heritage as part of the Great Barrier Reef Point Source Evaluation and Stewardship Delivery Project.

If you have any feedback or require more information, please email psd.help@des.qld.gov.au.

Mark Pascoe Sandpit Event

The International WaterCentre will host its second Mark Pascoe Sandpit Event on Monday, 2 December 2024.

The event is a tribute to Mark Pascoe, founding CEO of the IWC, to honour his vision for IWC to create "sandpits" for water sector actors, sometimes polarised, to come together and play - to find new and innovative ways to collectively consider and progress a complex water issue.

This year the event will explore the topic “Bridging Boundaries - Collaboration within and beyond water.”

Speakers include Rob Fearon (UU), Lisa McLean (Circular Australia) and Andrew Chesterman (previous CEO Redland CC).

For more information and to register, follow this link.

Safety By Design Workshop

The Essentials Services Commission has formed a partnership with key leaders in family violence and economic abuse to develop better practice guides for energy and water businesses to support consumers who are experiencing family violence.

The Guides, featuring the principles of Safety By Design will help businesses identify risks and harms in their systems and processes. Safety by Design is a proactive approach to preventing the potential for products and services to be weaponised. The program aims to build capacity for water businesses and support them to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. This will be done through a nationally consistent approach (and consistency across retailers) – aiming to create a community of practice.

The workshop is part of the Building Collective Capability phase of the project. In this session, we will explore key themes and emerging opportunities to support better implementation. Invited attendees include all organisations who have participated in the workshops to date, including industry, community sector, ombudsman and regulators.

Tuesday 3 December 2024, 10:30 am - 11:30 am AEDT

Please register at Safety by Design Partnership | Online Workshop

Citizen science project on PFAS in drinking water

The Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants (ALEC) is looking for volunteers to collect 100 drinking water samples from across Australia to be analysed for PFAS.

There is no cost to participate – ALEC will send participants all the equipment required to collect samples and return it to them.

More information is available here.