Read about the latest news, events and research from VicWater, and your colleagues around the Victorian water sector.
VicWater Update - February 2025
Incorporating IWN
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to our first VicWater Update for 2025.
We finished 2024 with the news that the Hon Gayle Tierney MP would be replacing the Hon Harriet Shing MP as Minister for Water. Minister Shing was a highly visible and engaged Minister during her two year tenure, and at VicWater we very much appreciated her personal support and encouragement for many of the collaborative and innovative projects that we are undertaking with and on behalf of our members.
We look forward to welcoming Minister Tierney to a VicWater event at the earliest opportunity. Minister Tierney also holds the Skills and TAFE portfolio, so at my recent meeting with her office they were very interested to hear about the Workforce Readiness project we’ve been running with the support of the Victorian Skills Authority (VSA). The project aims to build a business case and operating model for the establishment of a Victorian Water Training Academy that would act as the administration arm to procure, assess and deliver training outcomes for the water industry.
VicWater represents the Victorian water sector at the state level on the VSA Public Safety and Government Industry Advisory Group, and at the national level on BuildSkills Australia’s Water Advisory Group. Through these positions we are able to advocate for the skills and training needs of our members, enlist government support and pursue potential sources of funding, and establish constructive collaborations with our counterparts in NSW and Queensland, including a proposal to agree a minimum standard national water package covering the four disciplines of Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment, Reticulation and Dam Management.
On the subject of skills and training, we’re pleased to be running the VicWater Director Masterclass Program again this year in partnership with Monash Sustainable Development Institute. This program is designed for non-executive directors of water corporations and catchment management authorities to gain insight into contemporary governance issues and ways of thinking to deliver public value and ensure healthy and sustainable water systems and communities. Registrations are now open for Masterclass 2: New Ways of Thinking: Addressing Long-term Challenges on 24-25 March – see item below for more information.
I also want to mention that starting this year, we are now incorporating the Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) newsletter in our monthly VicWater Update. IWN is a program of VicWater, led by VicWater staff members Jason Cotton and Isobel Decru. We’re pleased to provide these regular IWN updates to the broader VicWater membership and our industry stakeholders, and I encourage you to connect in with the IWN team for more information about their current activities and opportunities.
Hi everyone, welcome to the first IWN Update for 2025 and our first as part of the VicWater Update.
At the end of last year, I shared a reflection of 2024 with IWN Members. It was a year of exciting firsts, successful trials, welcomes, adoptions, and a refresh of our operating model and programs.
We welcomed Isobel Decru as our new Deputy Program Director. Isobel is no stranger to IWN, joining us from South East Water and the ARC Biosolids Centre at RMIT where she worked with IWN on the Pyroco Biosolids to Biochar project. We welcomed Victor Perton, Chief Optimism Officer at the Centre for Optimism and Director at Yarra Valley Water as the official IWN Ambassador. We also welcomed Kessia Thomson from Greater Western Water and Liz Rowland from South Gippsland Water onto the IWN Executive Team.
Happy New Year! February kicked off with a Lunch and Learn showcasing Lower Murray Water’s partnership with Untapped Talent to support neurodiverse people within their workplace. This program aimed to foster a workplace where all minds are valued and supported through a series of key sessions to build awareness for managers and employees across Lower Murray Water.
All 15 participating water corporations have advised that they currently intend on progressing with the project and forming the special purpose vehicle (SPV). An oversight committee with members from each of the 15 water corporations will be formed to progress the project.
Save the date for the VicWater Annual Conference, which will take place from 9 – 11 September 2025 at the Park Hyatt Melbourne.
This year the 2025 conference theme is “Future-Ready: Innovation, Optimism, and Opportunity” and highlights the importance of innovative solutions, forward-thinking strategies, and a positive outlook in addressing today’s challenges and unlocking tomorrow’s opportunities.
We will be launching the conference and opening registrations next month.
The Director Masterclass 2 is back in March 2025, running over two days in Melbourne CBD. The Director Masterclass 2 allows for a deep dive into key themes, focus on ways of thinking and will draw extensively on the experience of the facilitators, speakers and participants.
Masterclass 2: New ways of thinking: addressing long-term challenges
This Masterclass will focus on the ‘foresight’ role of directors. It will explore the responses and capacities required to adapt to change including climate, indigenous water justice, sustainable development and diversity and inclusion and some tools and frameworks to influence long term outcomes.
24 March 2025: class – 12:30 – 17:30 followed by dinner 18:00 – 21:00
Empowering Diversity and Inclusion: Mentoring Program to Foster Workplace Equality
The VicWater Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee is thrilled to share that the Australian Water Association (AWA) is connecting diverse talents with experienced mentors, providing guidance, support, and opportunities for professional growth.
AWA has launched a pilot National Mentoring Program in 2025 to connect aspiring water professionals to a community of passionate members, with nominations for mentees opening on Thursday 6 February.
2025 WIOA Victorian Water Industry Operations Conference and Exhibition
WIOA are gearing up for the 2025 Victorian Water Industry Operations Conference and Exhibition, set to take place over two days in Bendigo on the 2 - 3 April.
Mark your calendars for another opportunity to network, learn, and celebrate the outstanding achievements within our operationally focused water industry.
Consider submitting an Abstract for a project or innovative solution, nominating one of your staff members from your Water Operations Sector for a VIC Award this year.
Upcoming Clearwater training – Maintenance of WSUD Assets (street-scale systems)
Sign up now for in-person training on Tuesday 25th February. Join expert facilitators Jamie Comley and Jason Sonneman for the return of Clearwater’s much-loved maintenance training!
This course is designed to improve participants’ knowledge and skills to effectively maintain water sensitive urban design (WSUD) assets, build organisational capacity, collaboration and commitment on the topic, and identify and drive further action to address priority issues.
As part of Lower Murray Water’s (LMW), Seniors Week Morning Tea in late December 2024, LMW invited Bob and Helen Walton from the Red Cliffs Focus Group and Historical Society to present to guests. As a special treat, Bob recited one of his original poems, ‘The red cliffs of Red Cliffs’.
Red Cliffs is a town in the north of the Mallee region, positioned on the river plain of the Murray River just a few kilometers south of Mildura and is serviced by Lower Murray Water.
The poem shares the rich history of the riverine landscape and the growing irrigation and farming district of Red Cliffs.
Photo caption: Portarlington Water Reclamation Plant, L to R: Jo Plummer, Alison Marchant, Libby Coker, Shaun Cumming
Boosting recycled water supply on the Bellarine
Construction at the Portarlington Water Reclamation Plant is now underway, with the works to help almost double the amount of recycled water being produced on the Bellarine.
Federal Member for Corangamite Libby Coker and Victorian Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant joined Barwon Water Chair Jo Plummer and Managing Director Shaun Cumming in December to mark the start of works.
The plant is being upgraded with ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis infrastructure, to enable it to produce higher quality, fit-for-purpose recycled water.
More water and sewer upgrades to boost reliability in Gippsland
Gippsland Water is investing $2.8 million across its service area this financial year to enhance water and sewer system reliability.
It is part of a $21.5 million five-year renewal program, which will see the replacement of water reticulation mains and cleaning and relining of sewer mains to improve the integrity of existing pipes and extend their lifespan.
Romsey’s Water Filtration Plant to receive major upgrade
Construction has started this month to upgrade the Romsey Water Filtration Plant (WFP), with Greater Western Water (GWW) investing $27.8 million in a major project to improve local water supply and security.
The upgraded plant will bring many community benefits including increased capacity, boosted disinfection, advanced treatment processes, and better energy efficiency.
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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