NEW / HOT TOPICS 1. Release of the 2021/22 benchmarking report for Queensland's Urban Potable Water and Sewerage Industry This is the 12th report in the series of Benchmarking reports for Queensland's Urban Potable Water and Sewerage Industry to be produced by qldwater, which provides a comparison of a selected suite of reported indicators for 72 of Queensland’s urban water/sewerage utilities. All indicators are obtained from the publicly available Qld Govt KPI reporting framework. This report provides a means for Service Providers to compare their performance across a range of areas including capacity and viability, customer service, condition of assets, management and performance. Benchmarking is important for the industry as it allows competition by comparison and helps provide transparency for our communities. The report is available for download from the qldwater website. 2. Sponsorships 2023 Looking for an opportunity to connect with our members? The 2023 Sponsorship Package is now available to download here. Apart from event sponsorships, it also includes pricing for newsletter and webinar advertising. 3. Resource Library The latest addition to our resource library includes a report on water quality testing for treatment optimisation along with a short video (scroll to the bottom of the page for the video) which provides a practical guide to an optimum jar test produced by the team at South Burnett Regional Council. Other documents relating to water treatment can be found in the resource library - the tabs are used to divide the documents into qldwater Resources (documents produced by qldwater), Other Resources (documents produced by other organisations), Member Sample Documents (documents that our members have offered to share with our members - thank you!), Contracts and specifications (documents that we've been collecting over the years that members can use to help draft contracts and specifications), Presentations (delivered at our events) and Webinars. We're also in the process of adding some more fact sheets - details to follow in the next eFlash. REMINDERS / OTHER NEWS 4. Water Supply Regulation e-Alert (Cairns Workshop) The Water Supply Regulator (RDMW) has released their latest ‘Water Supply Regulation e-Alert’ and all members are encouraged to ensure that the right people in their organisations are registered to receive these as they are a key/main part of RDMW’s communication strategy. The Water Supply Regulator will be holding a Drinking Water Regulation Workshop in Cairns on 15th March. The workshop will provide an overview of the revised DWQMP guideline (Guideline for the preparation, review and audit of DWQMPs) and an update on regulatory matters. Registrations close on 8 March. Register here. A Queensland Indigenous Council’s Operators Network (QICWON) Workshop will also be held on 16th March at one of our nearby indigenous councils close to Cairns (TBA). This is an opportunity for operators and managers from indigenous councils and councils predominated by indigenous communities throughout Queensland to come together and share their challenges and achievements. Agendas and invitations for both days will be sent out by RDMW soon. If you would like any further information or would like to receive the Water Supply Regulation e-Alerts please contact drinkingwater.reporting@rdmw.qld.gov.au. Additionally, Tropical Public Health Services (Cairns), as part of the Safe & Healthy Drinking Water Program, is holding a 2-day workshop (13-14th March in Cairns) for water operators and line managers from Indigenous Local Governments aimed at boosting the capacity of water operators and enhancing their understanding of drinking water industry standards and associated regulations. Note that David Scheltinga (qldwater) will be presenting at both events and attending most of the 4 days if you want to catchup and talk SWIM/swimlocal (dscheltinga@qldwater.com.au). 5. AWA Queensland Branch Regional Tech Event Registrations are now open for the AWA Queensland Regional Tech Event in Bundaberg on 16 March to consider how to improve regional liveability by prioritising a whole-of-water-cycle management approach and strategies for securing access to safe and environmentally sustainable water and sanitation services. Keynote presentations will be livestreamed for those who can't join us in Bundaberg, and for those in the region, there'll be an opportunity to visit the recently completed Belle Eden Waterway Naturalisation project. More information at https://www.awa.asn.au/upcoming-events/regional-2023; qldwater members are invited to join at AWA member rates - just type qldwater in the AWA member number field during registration. UPCOMING EVENTS 13-14 March - Queensland Health Indigenous Local Government Workshop, Cairns 15 March - RDMW Water Supply Regional Workshop, Cairns 16 March - Queensland Indigenous Council’s Operators Network Workshop, Cairns 16 March - AWA QLD Regional Tech Event, Bundaberg 10-12 May - Ozwater ’23, International Convention Centre, Sydney 15 August - AWA North Queensland Conference, Townsville 19-20 July - WIOA Queensland Conference, University of Sunshine Coast | 