VicWater Update February 2023

Welcome to our first VicWater Update for 2023!

I hope you all managed to enjoy some time with family and friends over the festive period, and have returned to work feeling refreshed and looking forward to the year ahead.

At VicWater, we’ve hit the ground running with the launch of our first major event for the year, the People Summit on 25 May 2023. Following the success of our Audit & Risk Symposium last year, we are delighted to once again have the generous support of Pitcher Partners in hosting the People Summit at their Docklands offices. With valued corporate partner Vision Super and sponsors Davidson and Salesforce, we’re pleased to present a varied program focused on safety, culture and leadership in the water sector. I am particularly looking forward to hearing from keynote speaker Julia Banks, former federal MP, who will share her experiences and insights into how to build a safe and respectful workplace culture. Look out for the official launch later this week.

In January we announced the relaunch of our Director Masterclass Program (formerly Director Development Program) for water corporation and CMA board directors, after COVID 19 postponed our 2022 launch. Our delivery partner Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) have taken the opportunity of the postponement to refine the program design. The program now requires a lesser time commitment, has a more interactive learning format, and the content is relevant and open to all current directors, not just recently appointed directors. Registrations are now open through MSDI for the March and May programs.

In addition to these important member experiences, this year the VicWater team will continue to support collaboration in the water sector through the various forums, committees, working groups and subscription projects that we run. At the moment our primary areas of focus include carbon emissions and offsets, circular economy, environmental compliance, safety and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, cybersecurity, skills and training. Some of these are mentioned in further detail below, but if you would like to know more about any current VicWater activities please feel free to contact us at vicwater@vicwater.org.au – we would love to hear from you!

Jo Lim

CEO

Policy Update - February 2022

Practical guidance documents to support the implementation of EPA revised guideline for water recycling

VicWater and DEECA met with Water Futures in December to discuss feedback on the draft guidance documents. Water Futures is now preparing a new milestone schedule for the document which includes seeking more case studies for the guidance, incorporating the feedback into the documents and confirming with EPA that it is happy with draft guidance documents. 

VicWater at Midsumma Pride March

What a wonderful day VicWater had at the Midsumma Pride March on Sunday 5th February! It was a pleasure to be there celebrating diversity and supporting the LGBTIQ+ community with Pride in Water and over 100 representatives from across the water sector.

VicWater CEO, Jo Lim and Engagement Manager, Lauren Vines joined in the march along with several leaders in the water industry.

We are so proud of the water industry's dedication to creating safe and inclusive workplaces for all members of the LGBTIQ+ community. Thank you to everyone who marched with Pride in Water and showed their support!

Vision Super Sponsored Content

Simple ways to help manage your money better in 2023

The new year is an excellent opportunity to reflect on what we want to achieve in 2023, personally or financially. Getting a head start on managing your finances and super can make a big difference in achieving your savings goals.

Here are some simple ways to help improve your finances in 2023.

VicWater Director Masterclass Program

Don't forget to book in for the Director Masterclass Program taking place this March!

Deepen your knowledge and strengthen your strategic leadership and governance skills to create a legacy of healthy and sustainable water systems and communities.

The People Summit 2023

VicWater is pleased to announce that we will be launching our latest event this week - The People Summit, which will run as a one day hybrid event. 

The 2023 People Summit aims to showcase safety, culture and leadership and put a spotlight on all things people. People are the water sector’s most important asset and without them the Victorian Water Sector would be unable to deliver world class services to enhance the liveability of our communities. 

New IWN Program Director

Jason Cotton has been appointed the new Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) Program Director.

Jason is no stranger to IWN and has been part of the IWN family over the last three years, including:

• Deputy Program Manager for the Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration Program
• Emcee of the IWN conference and numerous webinars
• Member of the biosolids to biochar project

 WIOA Awards – Nominations close 22 February

There's still time to get your nomination in for the WIOA Operator of the Year Awards for 2023. VicWater is the very proud sponsor of the Victorian Operator of the Year Award. The award is presented to operators of water or wastewater treatment facilities to recognise excellent performance, initiative and all-around attention to detail.

Greater Western Water helps create thriving communities

Following the launch of Thriving Communities, Greater Western Water’s (GWW) community grants and sponsorship program, 16 local organisations have received funding to help make their projects a reality.

GWW received 90 applications for funding last October, with 11 groups receiving sponsorship of up to $5,000 and five groups awarded grants of up to $20,000.

Yarra Valley Water wins international customer service award

Yarra Valley Water has won the 2022 International Service Excellence Awards in the Service Excellence in a Service Centre (Medium) category.

The coveted award, presented by the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA), recognises businesses that display the highest standard of customer service.

SRW balancing water supply with community safety

In Australia, we’ve had three consecutive La Niña years of above average rain and these created the conditions for much of the flooding in 2022.

When catchments are saturated, the land has limited capacity to absorb water. Any water the land can’t soak up flows across it and into our river systems. If the maximum carrying capacity of a river is exceeded, the water will rise higher than its banks and flow onto the surrounding areas.

Something Powerful

Call for Content

Do you have a water sector event you'd like to promote? Maybe an announcement you'd like us to share on behalf of your organisation? VicWater Update has opened the news and events section of the monthly update to promote visibility of things that are happening within the water sector.

If you'd like something included email Lauren Vines with your request for consideration in our next edition.

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