eFlash #492

Date: 07-Jul-2021

In this edition: Charters Towers Regional Conference – Full Steam Ahead| qldwater Annual Forum 2021 – Registrations Now Open!| NZ Water Reforms Update| First Symposium of the ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource| Smarter Investment in Wastewater and Water Management forum: Book now!| Position Available – Cairns Regional Council| Positions Available – Cook Shire Council

1. Charters Towers Regional Conference – Full Steam Ahead!

Registrations close this Friday the 9^th July, to attend the Charters Towers Conference being held on the 21^st and 22^nd July.

While we are keeping an eye on COVID restrictions, we are happy to confirm that the conference will be going ahead so register now so you don’t miss out!

The event theme will be focused on ‘Water Quality Challenges in Northern Queensland’.

There will be a site tour taking place on Wednesday 21st July from 2:30pm to 4:30pm for those who would like to visit the Weir Pump Station and the Water Treatment Plant followed by an optional two course dinner for those who would like to join us.

As an additional incentive to attend the Charters Towers Conference, you have the opportunity in Charters Towers to be part of a new idea based on sharing stories through photos and videos.

Before you get scared off – it’s not about you, it’s about the interesting kit you operate, challenges you’ve faced and how you have innovated to address them. For the event, you are invited to bring along your best example of something interesting. To find out more, click here.

The program is available on the event website.

There will be a meeting for the Northern Queensland Alliance participants in the morning of the 21st before the site tour.

There are still sponsorship opportunities still available, please contact Naomi
(ncarragher@qldwater.com.au) if you are interested in sponsoring this event.

Thank you to our confirmed sponsors GanDen our dinner sponsor, Aquatec Maxcon, Royce Water Technologies and Aqualyng ICES our Gold Sponsors and McBerns & Taggle our Silver Sponsors.

**2. qldwater Annual Forum 2021 – Registrations Now Open!**

The Queensland Water Directorate (qldwater) invites you to join us for our Annual Forum in Redland City in September 2021.

The qldwater Annual Forum is being held on the 8th & 9th of September with an additional ‘Automated Metering’ themed workshop being held on the 7th of September.

This year’s forum is being graciously hosted by the Redland City Council with most events based at Alexandra Hills Hotel and at North Stradbroke Island for our day tour.

A copy of the draft programs for the three days is available on our event website.

If you have not been to one of our forums or one of our themed workshops before, it is not something you will want to miss! A chance to network with 100 plus water industry professionals, typically including 30 plus councils/utilities.

This year our focus is trying to get as many people to attend in person as possible. It will be great opportunity to network with likeminded people, as such there will be no virtual registrations for this forum.

7 September – It will be a great opportunity to share experiences in automated metering and our increasingly digital operating environment, as well as the chance to connect with industry experts and vendors.

8 September – A Day on North Stradbroke Island visiting the Seqwater Dunwich Water Treatment Plant & Redland City Council Point Lookout Sewerage Treatment Plant and other fun activities including the Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test! Followed by the Annual Forum Dinner where you have the opportunity to network with other delegates over a three course meal and have the opportunity to listen to our keynote speaker Adam Lovell from Water Services Association of Australia.

9 September – The day will be focused on Industry Strategy (building on the highly successful 2019 event) and 'Is Asset Management for Water and Sewerage in Queensland broken?' Speakers from around the state and nationally will provide case studies on how AM is improving.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available across the three days. If you are interested in sponsoring any of the days, please contact Naomi Carragher on 07 3632 6850 or ncarragher@qldwater.com.au.

This is a great opportunity to connect with your peers across the state. We hope to see you there!

3. NZ Water Reforms Update

The New Zealand Government has released more information on its next stage of water reforms, following the creation of Taumata Arowai as a Crown entity in March 2021.

Currently 67 councils provide most of the country’s water services. More information is available at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Three-Waters-Reform-Programme.

Acknowledged key issues and challenges to be addressed through reform (from “Overview” document) include:

The highly fragmented and dispersed system, in which services and infrastructure are delivered by a large number of providers, the majority of which have a relatively small customer base;
Economic inefficiencies and capacity challenges;
Affordability issues facing many councils and communities, and a constrained financial environment;
Capability at governance and operational levels;
Inadequate oversight and stewardship arrangements, and weaknesses in the regulatory environment, including a lack of transparency and weaknesses in accountability for performance;
Extensive and widespread under-investment in three waters infrastructure;
How the existing three waters infrastructure is often ill-equipped to cope with the impacts of climate change.

The latest release:

Proposes the establishment of 4 publicly-owned entities to take responsibility of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure across NZ; and
Estimates the required additional investment in these services as between $120 and $185B with the average household bill without intervention conservatively between $1900 and $9000 by 2051

The “Overview” document includes maps for the coverage of the proposed entities (P20) with other documents outlining proposed governance models – collective ownership by local authoritiesm, mechanisms to ensure that communities and Iwi/Maori have an influence over service delivery in their area, independent Boards etc.

4. First Symposium of the ARC Training Centre for the Transformation of Australia’s Biosolids Resource

This new Centre is focussed on transforming biosolids as a valuable resource by providing new practices, technologies and products for improved land management and training. This first symposium from the centre is a hybrid event on July 15 & 16 at the RMIT University’s West Bundoora Campus in Melbourne. Those who attended the recent qldwater biosolids forum will remember presentations from members of the new Centre and the strong role they played in promoting the reuse of biosolids. Registration is free via the following Eventbrite link.

5. Smarter Investment in Wastewater and Water Management Forum: Book Now!

The Queensland Government is hosting a forum in conjunction with the Australian Water Association North Queensland Regional Conference. The Smarter investment in wastewater and water management - sharing lessons from the Reef catchment and the south east Queensland region forum is on Wednesday 28 July.

You can view the agenda for the day here.

The half-day interactive forum, organised in partnership with qldwater and the Local Government Association of Queensland, will share insights and lessons learnt in managing water and wastewater for smarter investment across the Reef catchment and improved water quality outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef.

This is a critical opportunity for senior water and water treatment asset managers to share and gain valuable insights on catchment-wide approaches and capacity building opportunities for urban water and water management. For further details and registration, please visit https://ipweaq.eventsair.com/qwd-urban-water-forum-2021/

6. Positions Available – Cairns Regional Council

Manager Major Projects – CW688 (Five (5) year contract position)

Cairns Regional Council is currently seeking a Manager Major Projects to join our Water & Resource Recovery Department.

Primary Objective of the position:

The main purpose of this position is to successfully deliver major projects for Cairns Regional Council. These projects include (but are not limited to) the Cairns Water Security Strategy Phase 1 (CWSSP1) and the Resource Recovery 2030 Program (RR2030).

To be successful in this role you must have:

Bachelor of Engineering or equivalent tertiary qualification.
Registered Project Manager, Australian Institute of Project Management or equivalent is highly desirable.
Extensive experience in successfully managing the delivery of medium to large scale multi-disciplinary, complex infrastructure projects (Circa $200M).
Comprehensive demonstrated knowledge of the technical, legislative, contractual and industry recognised “best practice” project delivery principles.
Knowledge and understanding of the Local Government legislative framework within which a Council operates and a capacity to quickly identify and respond to these requirements.
Significant achievement in leading and managing a multidisciplinary team responsible for project delivery.
Superior communication and negotiation skills, including demonstrated ability to effectively engage with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders.

For a full listing of the Key Duties & Responsibilities and full Selection Criteria please ensure you obtain a copy of the information kit and how to apply by visiting the Cairns Regional Council website, scrolling to the Position Description area, then clicking on "Open" to download the attachment.

Enquiries: Cairns Regional Council Recruitment Team
Ph:(07) 4044 3310
Applications Close: Sunday, 25 July 2021