Executive Directors ReportFebruary 13 2012

WSAA Executive Director Adam Lovell

The Water Services Association of Australia is the industry body that supports the Australian Urban

Water Industry

Expected outcomes New governance structures, format for network

meetings and planning processes that support delivery of strategic initiatives

The establishment of Water Skills Australia to address skills development for the industry

A revised NWI – in conjunction with stakeholders Established, clearly communicated policy positions 5 year research roadmap for the urban water industry

supported by a strategy for advocacy and delivery Improved member services Targeted, improved stakeholder communication A break-even or slightly surplus budget

WSAA DRAFT BUSINESS PLAN 2012 – 13

Focus on rolling out the WSAA strategy

THE NEW WSAA GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

BoardBoard Executive DirectorExecutive Director

Healthy Liveable Communities Committee

(Chair: John Ringham)

Healthy Liveable Communities Committee

(Chair: John Ringham)

Customers and Industry Policy Committee

(Chair: Shaun Cox)

Customers and Industry Policy Committee

(Chair: Shaun Cox)

Asset Management Committee

(Chair: Kevin Hutchings)

Asset Management Committee

(Chair: Kevin Hutchings)

NetworksDrinking WaterWater RecyclingGHG and EnergyEnvironment Water Conservation

NetworksDrinking WaterWater RecyclingGHG and EnergyEnvironment Water Conservation

NetworksSource Management Civil assets Mech/Elec and SCADA Codes Metering Intelligent Water NetworksSafety and Wellbeing Disaster Recovery (WSIAAG)

NetworksSource Management Civil assets Mech/Elec and SCADA Codes Metering Intelligent Water NetworksSafety and Wellbeing Disaster Recovery (WSIAAG)

NetworksChief Financial OfficerEconomic Regulation HR Managers Customer Services (proposed) Communication Managers Network

NetworksChief Financial OfficerEconomic Regulation HR Managers Customer Services (proposed) Communication Managers Network

Collaboration Committee (to be formed later in 2012)Responsible for:

·Delivery of cross-committee initiatives·Oversight of the national and international R&D investment·Oversight of the implementation of the Research and Innovation strategy·Oversight of TAG

Collaboration Committee (to be formed later in 2012)Responsible for:

·Delivery of cross-committee initiatives·Oversight of the national and international R&D investment·Oversight of the implementation of the Research and Innovation strategy·Oversight of TAG

Research Managers NetworkResearch Managers Network

Safety and Wellbeing Network

(Chair: Kevin Young)

Safety and Wellbeing Network

(Chair: Kevin Young)

NATIONAL POLICY INITIATIVES NWC Review completed and awaiting Cabinet approval WSAA (as agreed by NWC) will revise the urban water scope of the NWI

DCCEE has released a report “Role of Regulation in facilitating or constraining adaptation to climate change for Australian infrastructure” Focus on 6 areas of regulation Licensing to protect infrastructure water restrictions sustainable water strategies urban-rural water trading water sensitive urban design third party access regimes

Project developed following urban water policy reviews from NWC, PC and IA

Project objectives determine the features and objectives

of a successful urban water sector

identify the pathway/s to achieving this

develop a white paper which proposes an update to the national urban water policy agenda

NATIONAL URBAN WATER POLICY AGENDA

In principle support from NWC and DSEWPaC

Project will include engagement of WSAA member utilities and other stakeholders (federal, state , local governments, regulators, customer representatives, environment representatives)

Delivery of final draft of white paper in time for Ozwater’12

NATIONAL URBAN WATER POLICY AGENDA

Update

Development of the Job Classification and Competency Framework

Representation to the ABS for recognition of Water Industry ANZSCO Codes

Formation of the WSAA HR Managers Network

Round 2 Consultation Workshops for the Certification of Water Treatment Plant Operators

WATER INDUSTRY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

SHAUN COXMelbourne Water

WSAA Key Messages

WSAA agrees with proposed barriers. Proposed additional category to address legacy issues

WSAA believes in a risk management approach to adaptation planning

Implementing responses to climate change will require collaboration of water utilities with regulators and policy makers

The draft and final reports will be released in May and September respectively

PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION CLIMATE CHANGE

ADAPTATION INQUIRY

“Barriers to effective climate change adaption”Inquiry into the regulation and policy settings to enable effective climate change adaptation. Issues paper released 31 October 2011

Long-term energy policy framework to guide development of Australia’s energy systems

Paper recognises issues such as climate change, water policy and environment frameworks

Water industry submission on behalf of WSAA members

• To state importance of interrelationships such as water energy nexus

• Opportunity to remind government how much energy policy impacts on the Australian urban water industry

DRAFT ENERGY WHITE PAPER 2011

Submissions due March 16. Final paper released mid

2012

CARBON AND ENERGY POLICY UPDATE

PC Climate Change Adaptation Inquiry

Draft Energy White Paper

2012 Conferences

WSAA Report Releases

Electricity & Carbon Forecasting Project – Round 2 completion

ELECTRICITY AND CARBON COST FORECASTING WSAA members jointly engage SKM.MMA to

price for a 20 year period using Australia Federal government prices for

Electricity Networks charges Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) Carbon Price

Benefits

Cost savings to individual businesses

Consistent price forecasting across the water industry

May mean water authorities are able to get price forecasts more often providing more up to date and better business decision making

ADAPTWATER Update continued

Module 1 Sydney Water prototype (desktop model) complete

Prototype simultaneously manages impacts of extreme events (flooding) and incremental losses (sea level rise) on sewerage assets.

Demonstrates ‘asset by asset’ approach = high resolution for location-specific climate change impacts.

Quantifies impacts, enables scenarios and compares the cost effectiveness of adaptation measures

ADAPTWATER Update

Modules 2 and 3 have commenced Prototype to be extended to Melbourne Water and SA Water.

Sydney Water Pilot (extension of water assets and additional climate change impacts)

Modules 4, 5 and 6 – WSAA pilots and full scale rollout to Sydney Water and other WSAA members

Climate change adaption report

Replacement costs for the Australian water and sewer networks combined could reach $350b. We know from the Queensland floods and Victorian bushfires that climate change will affect our industry. We need to share information, learn from catastrophic events and equip ourselves with robust data and tools to be prepared.

Energy use in the provision and consumption of urban water in Australia: an update

Since the last analysis in 2008, more energy has been used in water supply treatment, principally because of the increase in desalination and water recycling. However, energy for urban water services is still a small fraction of the total energy associated with water use (12%).

WSAA REPORT RELEASES

Cost of Carbon Abatement Tool

Wastewater utilities are in the unique position of being both major energy users and potential sources of renewable energy. The CCA tool is a dynamic decision support tool that standardises and simplifies the assessment of carbon abatement opportunities to help realise this potential.

Cities of the Future – OzWater 11 Report

Should the industry view the ‘environment’ and the ‘community’ as a customer?

WSAA REPORT RELEASES

NHMRC's current Water Quality Advisory Committee (WQAC) is working on several projects in relation to ADWG

Later this year, several proposed updates to ADWG will be released for public comment

These proposed updates will include updated versions of the disinfection information sheets and advice on boil water advisories

The other major project of the current WQAC is to progress the inclusion of health-based targets in ADWG

NHMRC is considering convening a national workshop on the issue of health-based targets in the next couple of months

WATER QUALITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

WSAA is preparing a water industry submission on Health Based Targets (HBT) for the Health Regulators Forum

The industry supports the µDALY as the most useful, currently available metric for implementing Health Based Targets. However:

how it is introduced and regulated is critical to its success clear messaging needs to be part of the

development of any guideline around Health Based Targets as this metric is difficult to communicate

the µDALY is a target and should not be seen as a pass/fail metric. Falling short of the target does not mean unsafe, but may trigger a specific risk assessment tailored to the local conditions

HEALTH BASED TARGETS IN ADWG

It is expected that the introduction of Health Based Targets should not add a significant regulatory or infrastructure investment impost

However, this is a more conservative measure and may require higher levels of treatment in some situations

There are other considerations in relation to the implementation and validation of the Health Based Targets that will be included in the submission

HEALTH BASED TARGETS IN ADWG

WSAA Update and Member News delivered to 2500 subscribers per month

New branding established

New website to be launched March 2012

Energetic Communications Managers Group

Stronger presence at Ozwater

New templates for WSAA communications

Research projects – membership and customer

Communications support for projects and initiatives

COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE

OzWater 12 – Ecological FootprintWSAA co presenting with Dr Chris Dey (University of Sydney)

Description of the tool

Overall approach to environmental assessment of water utilities

Benefits to the Australian Urban Water Industry

2012 CONFERENCES

Enviro 2012 – Cost of Carbon Abatement Tool

Abstract submitted - collaboration with Phil Woods (Sydney University)

Description of the tool

Carbon abatement opportunities identified within water industry

Case studies from participating water utilities

Benefits to the Australian Urban Water Industry

2012 CONFERENCES

Almost 800 member employees have access to WERF and WaterRF

Since July 2011, approximately 550 reports have been downloaded from the WERF and WaterRF sites

The Annual WERF Research Forum was held in December 2011, with 35 WSAA members participating

Sessions covered emerging research on Operations & Technology, Asset Management and Novel Technologies, Nutrient Removal and Recovery, and Storm water

WSAA members have participated in numerous US webcasts, with WRRF hosting a couple of webcasts screened specifically for WSAA members

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

WSAA has developed an R&D Charter to cover the principles of communication, sharing of research outcomes and potential collaboration between WSAA members and affiliates

The R&D Charter will minimise duplication and document agreement on members sharing research outcomes and collaboration on projects. Paper recognises issues such as climate change, water policy and environment frameworks

Submission on behalf of WSAA members

• To state importance of interrelationships such as water energy nexus

• Opportunity to remind government how much energy policy impacts on the Australian urban water industry

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

WSAA has invested in WaterRF and WERF for the last three years Investment is successful based on member

feedback and continued investment supported Plan to expand the investment to include the

WateReuse Research Foundation (WRRF) WSAA is assessing the success of the investment

against pre-determined KPIs. These include: member access and use of research outcomes WSAA influence over the WERF and WaterRF

program areas leverage from our investment tech transfer of outcomes

WSAA is considering new ways to maximize value and establish its role as part of the new Research and Innovation Strategy.

US RESEARCH INVESTMENT

MICHAEL MALOUFWatereuse Australia

The strategy will provide a research roadmap and articulate the research needs of the industry and detail WSAA’s role in facilitating delivery of research outcomes and encouraging innovation

Strategy Working Group formed to develop the framework and key priority areas - which are

Customers and stakeholders Changing world Sustainable urban communities Water quality, health and environment Building capability in our people

The strategy and roadmap will be developed in consultation with the WSAA Committees and members and will be presented to the WSAA Board and at Ozwater in May. Implementation will begin in July 2012

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION STRATEGY

AUSTRALIAN URBAN WATER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

COALITION

Four strategic research priorities (proposed)

safe and healthy water

water security

managing floods

valued water solutions

National Urban Water Science Needs and Capabilities Forum (proposed)

National Urban Water Science Strategy (proposed)

In principle support from CEO, NWC Needs a championKen Matthews? Geoff Gallop?

2012 ASSET MANAGEMENT PEFORMANCE

IMPROVEMENT PROJECT 42 utilities participating from Canada, United States, China, New Zealand, Philippines and Australia

Key deliverables; industry report, utility report , independently assessed Aquamark assessments, leading practices workshop and accredited participant staff in Aquamark

Aquamark has been comprehensively reviewed and updated and will be used as the key methodology

Key themes are governance and practical application of frameworks, efficiency, project justification and prioritisation and forecasting/ decision making tools

Project commenced in early February 2012 and will conclude in December 2012 after leading practices workshops in Sydney and the United States

AM PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTSSuccessfully completed and delivered via industry workshop

Blockage Management Manual and Software Tool

Good Practice Guideline on Infiltration and Inflow

Condition Assessment Selection tool

Each deliverable will help our members make informed AM decisions regardless of their position in the AM journey.

AM PROGRAM PLANS AMFORUM12 for full associate WSAA

Members and eligible urban water industry professionals.

Funded by the WSAA AM Program

Supported and attended by the WSAA AMC

Designed to take you on a journey through water supply and sewerage AM

Extremely beneficial to new AM practitioners as it will expose them to experienced professionals and provide opportunity for networking, information sharing and fresh ideas.

Partnership Agreement between Isle Utilities and WSAA was signed on 22 Dec 2012

First TAG Australia meeting was held yesterday at WSAA Sydney office

Isle Utilities has visited the majority of the 29 TAG Australia members

WSAA is exploring other services where Isle Utilities may be able to assist; for example, field trials of new technologies or products

TECHNOLOGY APPROVAL GROUP (TAG) AUSTRALIA

A shared goal is to achieve a profitable and harmonious relationship between Australia’s urban water utilities, (represented by the WSAA) and Australian companies that supply into the water sector, (represented by “water AUSTRALIA” and the Industry Capability Network).

The objective is to maximise the opportunities for Australian suppliers into the water sector and in turn, to build a capable, disciplined, Australian supply chain to meet the changing needs of the utilities.

AUSTRALIAN WATER SUPPLIER COMPACT

AUSTRALIAN WATER SUPPLIER COMPACT

The Board approved WSAA entering the Compact subject to adopting a number of principles:

WSAA members will not support any agreements or mechanisms that involve shortcutting full cost and technical evaluation of any products and services, whether Australian made or not

WSAA will bring low hanging fruit to the Compact and set up a portal on the WSAA website for upcoming projects from members

WSAA will seek from the Compact and WaterAUSTRALIA , benefits including an embedded carbon model

The Asset Management Committee will be the procurement group to progress the Compact

SMART WATERMARKUpdate

Expert Panel assessed 600 products with 300 approved

Stakeholder Forums in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

2011 Product of the Year Awards

5th Wave of Newspoll national survey of public attitudes to water saving

Ozwater Water Efficiency workshop

Judge for Savewater! Awards

Joined Water Stewardship Australia

SMART WATERMARK FUNDING

Utility Support: SA Water, Unitywater and Gladstone Water Board agreed. Positive discussions with number of other utilities

New HAL funded project started identifying water efficiency in the horticulture industry

Bid submitted to 2012-13 HAL fund

Leveraging $80k free advertising on TV, online and in consumer magazine

And one last thing

THANK YOU

Our vision

“Valued water solutions for a better future”

Our mission

“WSAA will advocate, collaborate and innovate to

deliver value for its members”