Celebrating success in New South Wales

Water industry operators headed to the inland city of Tamworth for the NSW Water Industry Operations Conference.
Image: WIOA

As 2024 came to an end and the water industry prepared to enter 2025, water industry operators headed to the inland city of Tamworth for WIOA’s 45th NSW Water Industry Operations Conference.

In November 2024, the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre (TRECC) was packed with people from across New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding states for the 45th NSW Water Industry Operations Conference.

The event featured a dynamic program of activities and presentations. Industry leaders from organisations such as SafeWork NSW, Sydney Water, Griffith City Council, NSW Public Works, Riverina Water, MidCoast Council, Hunter Water, Port Macquarie Hastings Council, and Water Research Australia shared their expertise on a range of topics, providing valuable insights to attendees.

Cutting-edge research

There were six papers presented at WIOA NSW. A team from Sydney Water studied the taste and odour of drinking water coming from its Orchard Hills distribution network. Ultimately, they found that they could identify the cause of the problem and make changes while keeping residents informed of what was happening.

A different team from Sydney Water looked at water quality from the Quakers Hill purified recycled water discovery centre. This demonstration plant forms part of the Greater Sydney Water Strategy. They found that a collaborative and integrated approach is key to introducing purified recycled water into the network, with more lessons to be learned in the future.

The combined paper from Water Research Australia (WaterRA), Veolia ANZ and Coliban Water was particularly noteworthy. Together, they were running an industry-funded research project that sought to capture the lived experience of water industry operators to understand their decision-making processes.

A full social calendar

Over the two days, attendees experienced our record-breaking exhibition, featuring 133 exhibition sites at this Tamworth event. This surpasses the previous record of 130 sites in Canberra in 2017 and the 128 sites in Tamworth in 2022.

Highlights included the Women of Water Breakfast, which was an amazing chance to connect and network with others in our community growth. Other events included the lively Meet the Exhibitors Dinner and the prestigious 2024 NSW Awards Gala Dinner, hosted in the architecturally stunning Tamworth War Memorial Town Hall. Both events were warmly received, adding significantly to the event’s overall success.

Competing for state pride

The NSW IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water Competition, which included nine samples, was a wonderful success. The NSW Main Tapping Competition started staggered and concluded with a memorable finale.

The annual awards were announced on the Thursday evening in the Tamworth War Memorial Town Hall, adding a celebratory flair to the event.

The winners were:

One of the big prizes that was announced after WIOA NSW was the Kwatye Award. This award, presented in conjunction with TRILITY and open to WIOA individual members, recognises an initiative involving cultural, diversity, and inclusion-based activities within a project and/or community. The winners were Steve Nash and Daniel Reid from Goulburn Valley Water for their work on the Gawarn Baring Walking Track and Fishing Platforms.

Gawarn Baring (meaning Echidna Track in the Taungurung language) is a new 2.5-kilometre walking track. It starts on the Goulburn Valley Highway, across from the Great Victorian Rail Trail and near the Trawool Resort. The track then winds its way across the footprint of Falls Creek, rising 278 metres to the retired 100-megalitre Trawool Reservoir, which historically supplied water to the Seymour township.

The project was designed and delivered in partnership with the Taungurung Land and Waters Council (TLaWC) and Biik Cultural Land Management. A cornerstone of its success has been the ongoing involvement of Traditional Owners, who collaborated closely with Biik as part of the project team. This remarkable team effort has rightfully earned the recognition of the Kwatye Award—an achievement well deserved by all involved.

Why WIOA conferences work for you

WIOA CEO Dean Barnett wanted to thank everyone involved in the Conference.

“Thank you to all the participants, sponsors, exhibitors, presenters and delegates, as well as all the award nominees and winners,” he said. “Together, we have significantly impacted the water community, and your involvement truly reflects the spirit of connection and leadership in our industry. Your contributions—whether as a participant, sponsor or exhibitor—have helped create an unforgettable event and a powerful platform for collaboration and growth.”

Andrew Whitehouse from Hydroflow Australia was a WIOA NSW Advisory Committee member and talked about his enjoyment of attending WIOA Conferences.

“We enjoy engaging with WIOA’s conference because we love speaking with the operators and installers who attend,” Whitehouse said. “Our products are innovative and provide the kind of practical improvements the installers notice immediately, and in turn, they encourage change from the ground up.”

Events like this are only possible through the generous support of WIOA’s sponsors and Advisory Committees. The team at WIOA extended their deepest gratitude for their unwavering commitment to advancing the water industry, as their contributions are integral to the success of all conferences.

What’s happening in 2025

WIOA is thrilled to announce that the NSW Conference for 2025 will take place much earlier in the year than previous events. With Newcastle becoming the epicentre of water industry operations, mark 23 and 24 July on your calendar to network, learn, and celebrate the industry’s outstanding achievements.

There are still opportunities to submit an abstract or nominate a staff member for an award.

Together, WIOA is driving innovation, fostering networking and building a stronger future for the water industry operations sector.

For more information, visit wioa.org.au

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