eFlash #525
Date: 02-Mar-2022
In this edition: Water Skills Forum 2022 –Postponed| Livingstone Regional Conference| Common Model Conditions – Joint Response| NPR and NWA Reports Released| swimlocal – a full data management tool with reporting benefits| SWIM – SA Trial| EOI for Essentials Webinar Topics – help us with your ideas| Next Fundamentals Webinar| Job Opportunity – Lead – Water Policy, LGAQ
1. Postponement of Water Skills Forum 2022
Regrettably the Skills Forum planned for 3 March can’t proceed given the flooding issues in SEQ. We will consult with our stakeholders later in the week as things start to settle down with a possible rescheduling to 3 June.
2. Common Model Conditions – Joint Response
Thank you to those who provided comments on the Common Model Conditions guidance document released for consultation by the Department in December. A collated joint response is available here and was submitted last week.
Don’t forget that the remainder of the STP Model Conditions opened for discussion recently as well (see eFlash #523). There have been substantial updates to this document (beyond simply removing the “common conditions”) so are worth a look too. Any comments on this document are due to us on 9th April, but if you have any questions please email enquiry@qldwater.com.au.
3. NPR and NWA Reports Released
The National Performance Report (NPR) 2020-21: Urban water utilities (www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/) and the National Water Account (NWA) 2021 – Urban regions (www.bom.gov.au/water/nwa/2021/) have both been published on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website.
These reports provide a comprehensive assessment, comparison and benchmarking of water resources management and service provision to communities across Australia.
4. swimlocal – a full data management tool with reporting benefits
As mentioned in a previous e-flash the new version of the qldwater’s swimlocal data management software has been released. This version includes the ability to transfer data directly from swimlocal to the DES WaTERS database. Many councils are currently reporting to the WaTERS system every 3 months via Excel files which is time consuming to complete. With the new version of swimlocal you can just maintain all your data in swimlocal which will automatically (with QA/QC checks in place) send the data directly into the WaTERS database without you needing to do anything else.
As best we can establish, swimlocal is the most cost-effective data integration/management tool currently available for water service providers, it was specifically built by qldwater in consultation with its members, for its members. All of the modest revenue from the annual subscriptions is re-invested into maintenance and development and as a result the benefits to those using the system are ever increasing (e.g., the new web-based Dashboard and Reporting Tool).
There are currently 51 councils/organisations, including a community water quality monitoring group and 2 NSW councils, using the fully licensed version of swimlocal. If you are interested in the swimlocal data management software please contact David Scheltinga (dscheltinga@qldwater.com.au).
5. SWIM – SA Trial
qldwater has started a SWIM trial in South Australia with the Office of the Technical Regulator, DEM and 7 Councils that run a range of non-potable water, sewerage and recycled schemes. The trial will be looking at whether these small SA councils can provide National Performance Report (NPR) data and whether SWIM can help them reduce their reporting burden as it has in Queensland.
6. Livingstone Regional Conference – Time running out!
Our first regional conference for 2022 is only 3 weeks away. Register now to secure your spot!
The regional conference will be held in Yeppoon, kindly hosted by Livingstone Shire Council on the 25th of March, with an optional dinner on the evening of the 24th.
qldwater conferences are an informal opportunity for networking, updates on what’s impacting Queensland’s water and sewerage service providers, and technical presentations.
A preliminary version of the program is available on the event website.
There will be a Central Queensland Trade Waste Interest Group (CQTWIG) Conference taking place on Thursday 24th March.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the Livingstone Regional Conference. Please contact Naomi (ncarragher@qldwater.com.au) If you are interested in sponsoring this event.
To view other upcoming events please visit our website: https://qldwater.com.au/upcoming-events
7. EOI for Essentials Webinar Topics – help us with your ideas
Over the last two years, qldwater has organised a suite of webinars through the Essentials Webinar Series for our members on topics of relevance to the urban water sector. While the initial driver for the webinars was to replace in a small way the industry-wide interaction that was not possible during 2020, we would like the program to continue in a more targeted way… with future webinars to be on topics that we know will be of broad interest to our members.
To keep the webinars relevant to you and your interests, we are seeking topics that you would like to see covered in future webinars. To get your input, we’ve created a word cloud that will be open for the next two weeks.
All you need to do it connect using the link below and type in any topic that interests you… the more people that input a topic, the more prominent it becomes.
Direct Link Here to word cloud.
8. Next Fundamentals Webinar
Register now for our next Fundamentals Webinar on Tuesday, 15 March, 10am-11am, AEST with the topic ‘Presence/Absence of E. Coli Test’, presented by Terry Fagg, Western Downs Regional Council.
More sessions will be hosted in 2022, keep an eye on our Upcoming Events page for details.
Recordings of all previous webinars are available to download on the qldwater website. Please contact webinar@qldwater.com.au with any queries about previous or future webinars or to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
9. Job Opportunity – Lead – Water Policy, LGAQ
As the Lead, Water Policy, you will represent local governments’ interests in policy, program development and funding initiatives associated with water and associated infrastructure.
In this important role you will:
- provide policy advice and design policy solutions
- influence government decision makers on behalf of the LGAQ’s members and
- report on the delivery of programs to the LGAQ’s senior management team and Policy Executive.
You will build on your existing industry networks by fostering relationships with our members and other key government and industry stakeholders.
With this unique opportunity you will have access to flexible working arrangements and an inclusive and caring culture within a highly respected member organisation.
To apply or find out more about the position, please click here.
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