eFlash #566

Date: 21-Apr-2023

NEW / HOT TOPICS

1. Dr Georgina Davis announced as new qldwater CEO

It is with great delight that we announce the appointment of our new CEO, Dr Georgina Davis.

Dr Davis has an impressive and extensive CV, most notably as CEO for the Waste and Recycling Industry Queensland (WRIQ) and previously the Queensland Farmers’ Federation. She brings to the table a great understanding of water planning, having been a Panel Member for the Queensland Government’s Bradfield Report and she has worked on the feasibility of a National Water Development Infrastructure funded project, through to determining the impacts of emerging contaminants which are also prevalent in the waste recycling space.

Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia Queensland Northern Territory (IPWEA-QNT) President Angela Fry said “we are extremely pleased to welcome someone with the depth of experience and knowledge as Dr Davis to the Queensland Water Directorate. Possessing a strong history of leading peak bodies, Dr Davis will be a great asset to qldwater advocating on behalf its membership.”

qldwater Strategic Priorities Group Chair, Narelle D’Amico, said the appointment of Dr Davis was great news for the Directorate to start the rebuilding phase after the loss of a number of long term staff.

“The water sector is facing a number of challenges and Dr Davis has the right advocacy skills, experience and connections to take the lead and be a strong voice for the Queensland urban water industry. We look forward to working with her,” Narelle said.

Dr Davis said she was attracted to the role as it builds on her previous work across the utility sectors (water, electricity, and waste), and she is excited about the opportunity to focus on water which she believes to be a great connector and enabler.

“Water is not just fundamental for sustaining life and growing crops but for our productivity and for our future growth and development, and there is so much more that we need to do to realise a sustainable water-future.”

During her time at WRIQ and previously with Energy Skills Queensland, Georgina has completed workforce planning strategies and understands the struggle to attract and retain good staff, and the WH&S impacts on those left to carry the burden for an understaffed workforce.

The urban water sector’s struggle to be a career of choice and working towards a willing and appropriately skilled workforce that embraces new technologies will be a key focus when she starts her new role with qldwater.

Georgina will start in the qldwater CEO position on 29 May 2023.

2. Snapshot Report

Work is well underway on the 2022 Snapshot Report for the Queensland urban water sector. In previous years we usually received data from around 18 Councils, but this year we were pleased to receive 33 responses.

The Urban Water Industry Workforce Composition Snapshot Report help to analyse Queensland water industry workforce trends and issues like attraction and retention, competition from other industries and labour shortages.

Jess Dean will be delving deeper into the data over the coming weeks to identify emerging trends as we build on the data collected since 2010.

Previous reports are available on our website.

3. Welcome to our new Affiliate Member

This week we welcomed Hansen Constructions NQ (HCNQ) as an Affiliate Member.

HCNQ is a 100% Queensland owned and operated civil construction business located in Townsville and has been operating since 2003. With a unique indigenous cultural background, HCNQ is a 50% owned by Indigenous Australians organisation.

HCNQ is a proud equal opportunity employer with a diverse multi-skilled workforce, where 20 percent of HCNQ workforce identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Affiliate Membership funds are directed towards enhancing qldwater communication products and provide an excellent opportunity for enhancing brand recognition with our core members. Memberships also open access to a wealth of useful industry resources.

Affiliate Memberships are available to industry partners, consultants and service providers located in and outside Queensland. More information and an application form are available here.

REMINDERS / OTHER NEWS

4. Release of National Performance Report 2021/22

The Bureau of Meteorology have released the latest National Performance Report 2021-22 which benchmarks the pricing and service quality of Australian water utilities. Indicators include water resource supply and usage, financial operations, bills and pricing, assets, water quality compliance and customer performance.

The report covers 166 performance indicators from 86 service providers including bulk water authorities, water utilities, and councils. Part A reports on key indicators and provides analysis. Part B is a data file of the complete dataset.

Published annually and prepared independently by the Bureau, State and Territory governments, and the Water Services Association of Australia, the reports support commitments under the National Water Initiative.

Read the Urban National Performance Report information sheet (PDF) to find out more.

5. Urgent Job Vacancy Napranum Aboriginal Council

Napranum Aboriginal Council urgently require a temporary or permanent Operator, having lost their Water/Wastewater supervisor recently. They are looking for someone with a Chlorine gas certificate and experience.

We understand that everyone is suffering with staff shortages at the moment but if you can help, or know of anyone that can, then please contact David Scheltinga (dscheltinga@qldwater.com.au).

6. Water Supply Regulation Update

Three workshops are planned for the next three months:

3 May - Barcaldine Workshop: The key focus will be on the revised DWQMP guideline (Guideline for the preparation, review and audit of DWQMPs) with complementary presentations by service providers and Queensland Health. If attending, you MUST complete a registration to enable us to confirm catering arrangements:

22 June - Brisbane Recycled Water Workshop: Conducted face to face and via TEAMS. The first session will have a general focus and will include presentations on regulatory requirements across government agencies as they relate to recycled water. There will also be presentations from service providers about their use of recycled water and the final session will get into the detail of Recycled Water Management Plans which are required for certain types of recycled water schemes.

31 July - Brisbane Drinking Water Workshop: Conducted face to face and via TEAMS. This workshop will be similar in focus to the earlier workshops conducted this year and will provide an overview of the revised DWQMP guideline (Guideline for the preparation, review and audit of DWQMPs). In addition, there will be other presentations from service providers, Queensland Health and qldwater.

Invitations for the two Brisbane events will be sent out closer to those dates.

Also a reminder that the revised DWQMP (Guideline for the preparation, review and audit of DWQMPs) applies now. If you are conducting a review of your DWQMP, remember to refer to the revised guideline, which includes some additional requirements for catchment categorisation, raw water quality information and customer complaints. Please contact your allocated WSR officer if you have any questions or email drinkingwater.reporting@rdmw.qld.gov.au.

7. WSAA Voice to Parliament Stories

The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) are curating a page on their website to share First Nations knowledge and stories in relation to water, along with thoughts and information from First Nations people and others on The Voice to Parliament.

They plan for it to be a growing library of resources and would welcome ideas and involvement from your utilities. They are particularly interested in sharing stories from First Nations people about The Voice. For example, if you have a First Nations Board member it would be great to have them record a short video or write a short blog that we could share on the WSAA page. Please reach out to Sandi Kolbe if you have ideas or someone who would be able to assist in building this important library of information.

8. Three Waters Reform NZ

Big news from our friends in New Zealand, with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins last week announcing changes to the Three Waters Reform Programme. Instead of the proposed four large entities, the NZ Government are now suggesting ten entities roughly aligned with New Zealand’s existing regions, enabling them to be better connected to the communities they serve.

Under the reform, water services that are currently run by 67 councils across New Zealand will be combined into ten publicly owned, specialised water service entities. The entities will be owned by local councils on behalf of the public, but will be operationally and financially independent from them. This will enable the entities to fund the significant long-term investment required in water services infrastructure.

More information about the reform process is available here.