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eFlash #463

eFlash #463

eFlash #463
Date: 14-Dec-2020

In this edition: Sustainable Services for Regional and Remote Communities Event - Registrations Opening Soon!| Zoho Group SWIM Indicator Review| qldwater Webinars Changes for 2021| Preparing for Storm Season and What to do in a Disaster| Did you know! 

1. Sustainable Services for Regional and Remote Communities Event - Registrations Opening Soon! 

The qldwater/NSW Water Directorate joint 'Sustainable Water and Sewerage Services for Regional and Remote Communities' event in Goondiwindi in February 2021 is gearing up to be an amazing event.

We have received sponsorship support from nine businesses across Queensland and New South Wales. This will be an event you do not want to miss.

Date: 17 & 18 February

Location: Goondiwindi and online

Registrations will be opening next week. Stay tuned, more details are coming soon!

2. Zoho Group for SWIM Indicator Review 

qldwater will be creating a new Zoho Group for people keen to participate in the review of SWIM Annual indicators. While the focus will be on National Performance Report (NPR) indicators, it is our intention to include all SWIM Annual indicator in the future to provide consolidated feedback to the Queensland Government and other regulators.

The next NPR indicator review meeting will be held in late January 2021 so time-frames are short. We have a list of NPR indicators and draft comments ready for consideration now.

Due to the timing issue, we will be automatically including current Zoho members who we think would be interested in the new group (with email notifications). You can opt out at any time.

If you are interested in participating please contact David (dscheltinga@qldwater.com.au) or Louise (lreeves@qldwater.com.au).

3. qldwater Webinars Changes for 2021

qldwater is pleased to announce that next year the Fundamentals and Essentials Webinars will be moving away from GotoWebinar and will be broadcasting through MS Teams.

What does this mean for you?

We have created new registration portals for each Fundamentals and Essentials Webinars. The links for these portals will be sent through the advertisements of upcoming webinars and to receive the link everyone will need to register.

If you are not a qldwater member, there will be a cost of $50 + GST that will need to be paid to attend the webinar. If you are a qldwater member or invited participant this will stay complimentary.

The MS Teams link will be sent out to all attendees who have registered the day before the webinar is to take place.

If you have any questions or queries regarding the above, please don’t hesitate to contact Naomi Carragher on 07 3632 6850 or webinar@qldwater.com.au.

4. Preparing for Storm Season and What to do in a Disaster 

(Information extracted from the Water Supply Regulator's last E-Alert)

 Queensland’s summer weather conditions can impact water supplies through extreme heat, cyclones, flooding, drought and bushfires. As you would be aware, the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting higher than average rainfall this summer, so it is particularly important that you prepare for these potential conditions:

  • check your incident and emergency plan, procedures, communication protocols and contact details are current and readily accessible to all your relevant staff. This includes ready access to drinking water health advisory templates, such as ‘boil water alert’ and ‘do not consume’ notices, as well as delegated signatories for these notices;
  • ensure that your organisation’s contact details are current. Please email Water Supply Regulation at: drinkingwater.reporting@dnrme.qld.gov.au with any updates or to check the information we have on record;
  • ensure emergency power generation equipment and infrastructure is in good working order, that there is ready access to at least three day’s supply of fuel and appropriate resupply procurement arrangements are in place (e.g. via your Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG));
  • endeavour to maintain maximum clear/treated water storage limits, so you have contingency for any loss of drinking water treatment capability;
  • continue operational and verification monitoring throughout the Christmas and New Year period or during an emergency event (unless your disaster management groups and/or workplace health or safety concerns dictate otherwise). Where possible, required E. coli sampling and analysis of drinking water, e.g. via in-house testing, must continue as scheduled or otherwise, reorganised to fit your organisation’s compulsory closure arrangements and to meet Public Health Regulation requirements. Your approved DWQMP and annual report should include this annual monitoring variance;
  • if in-house E.coli testing is not available and laboratories are closed during holiday periods, ensure your preventive measures/barriers are adequate and are functioning throughout your reticulation network(s), to assure the microbiological safety of your drinking water. If testing for free chlorine residuals and turbidity in your reticulation network, they should be checked twice daily during these periods. All incidents and events must be reported, as required by the Act and the conditions placed on your approved DWQMP;
  • check appropriate procedures are in place for the management of high turbidity events; and
  • ensure an adequate stock of in-date treatment chemicals is available and these are securely stored in an enclosed cool, dry storage facility, away from direct sunlight and where possible, above the highest previous recorded flood level.

In case of a disaster
In the event of a disaster and where communication is still available, contact the regulator via phone on 1300 596 709 or by emailing drinkingwater.reporting@dnrme.qld.gov.au to inform the regulator of the status of your water supply and treatment system.

If you cannot communicate by telephone or computer, you should report through your LDMG to update the status of your drinking water supply and treatment system(s).

Office closure: From Friday 25 December 2020 until Monday 4 January 2021 WSR office will be closed. However, the incident reporting hotline (1300 596 709) will be operational throughout this time; if the incident hotline is not answered immediately, please leave a message and confirm by email to drinkingwater.reporting@dnrme.qld.gov.au as soon as practicable. We will contact you as soon as possible.

The qldwater offices will also be closed from 21 December 2020 to 1 January 2021, however we will be monitoring phone messages during this time and have staff available to help with referrals in the event of emergencies.

5. Did you know! 

Did you know that the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program (QWRAP) region of RAPAD is half the size of New South Wales and services only 10,200 people.

To find out more about the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program please click here.

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