OzWater'23 is united by water

Water professionals from across Australia and worldwide gathered in Sydney last week for Ozwater’23 to share innovative ideas, connect with water community colleagues and inspire positive change.

The theme of Ozwater’23 was United by Water. It encouraged water professionals and leaders to work together to build our sustainable water future.

The Ozwater’23 program challenged delegates to think outside the box and reflect deeply on where the water sector is headed. The three days featured a lineup of inspirational keynote speakers, engaging forums and panels, interactive workshops and technical presentations.

Key learnings and ideas are still fresh on everyone’s mind following Ozwater’23.

Plenary speakers

Ozwater’23 kicked off with a call to climate action from plenary speakers Mick Liubinskas, CEO of climate technology company network Climate Salad. He was followed by Olivia Tyler, Industry Innovation Lead for Sustainability and Circular Economy at Western Sydney University.

Liubinskas urged delegates to believe in Australia’s capacity to help solve the world’s climate challenges – and to believe in their ability to confront them.

“Even though we put 200 years of growth on the environmental credit card, we can pay that debt down by our innovation, collaboration and ingenuity that we’ve invested in,” he said.

Tyler encouraged Ozwater’23 attendees to think differently about what they can bring to the table – individually and collectively – in pursuit of climate action.

“[For] us to truly galvanise and unite under a banner of climate action in its fullest form and at the individual level, we have to do things differently. We have to follow our nose and the road less travelled to challenge the status quo,” she said.

Wide variety of speakers

Day Two of Ozwater’23 featured a keynote address from lawyer, entrepreneurial leader and Yawuru/Bunuba woman Cara Peek, who challenged delegates to leave their ego at the door regarding First Nations engagement.

“If you truly believe we are united by water – that despite our egos’ best efforts, clean water is not a privilege for the few but, in fact, a fundamental human right for all – then you may need to check your bias and remove yourself from the centre of the conversation,” she said.

On Day Three, Ozwater’23 delegates were guided by Social Living Solutions Founder Patricia Falcetta and MindStrength Founder Dr Jodie Lowinger to consider why supporting neurodivergence can work in everyone’s favour and how to lean into anxiety for resilience.

“Neurodivergent people tend to come at problems from a different angle, have great attention to detail and possess out-of-the-box thinking,” Falcetta said. “Is it actually the individual that’s disabled? Or is it the environment that is disabling them? Do we need to create awareness and education around this to provide environments that enable all?”

“Worry typically is about focusing on all things out of our control. Problem-solving is empowering: identifying your action plan, implementing your plan, reviewing and revising,” she said.

Workshops and panels

A new addition to this year’s Ozwater’23 program was the Day Two yarning circles, allowing participating delegates to share knowledge and personal perspectives and to speak and listen from the heart.

With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collaboration a key theme within the Ozwater’23 program, a vital workshop session on Day One explored how the water community can move beyond engagement to collaborative and meaningful actions with First Nations people.

University of Canberra Associate Professor of Indigenous Water Science Bradley Moggridge asked delegates to acknowledge the diversity of perspectives that First Nations people can bring to the table.

“Water is part of our law. It’s in our Dreaming; it’s in our songs and dances. [But] our diversity is crucial to understand. Working with Aboriginal [and Torres Strait Islander] people, you have to understand our diversity,” he said.

Water Leaders Forum at OzWater’23

Another key highlight in the panel schedule included the Water Leaders Forum. It gathered senior leaders in water to contemplate strategies for immediate action on the most pressing water-related issues.

With the need to accomplish more with less a big challenge facing all water companies, Don Holland, Canadian Market Leader – Water at GHD, said the solution lies in collaboration.

“Internally and externally, collaboration is our way out,” he explained. “[It’s] what we’re doing today: learning together, learning how to collaborate across boundaries, whether that be within your organisation, state, [or province],” he said.

The Ozwater’23 Directors Forum also dished up some cutting-edge thought leadership, particularly around what the water sector can do to contribute to the decarbonisation agenda.

“[Meeting] the 2050 [net zero] target is not a problem of execution; 2050 is a problem of imagination,” Chair of Sydney Water Grant King told attendees.

“We do not yet have what we need to hit net zero by 2050, and therefore we have to invent a lot more. We have to think much more creatively, we have to imagine worlds that, today, would seem inconceivable.”

Australian Water Awards

It wouldn’t be Ozwater without the announcement of the Australian Water Awards. This year’s winners showcased a dazzling spectrum of excellence, innovation and leadership.

The highlight of the Ozwater’23 Gala Dinner was the ANZ-sponsored awards recognised winners in 11 categories. It culminated with the announcement of Ian Law as Water Professional of the Year and Chelsea Hayward as Young Water Professional of the Year.

The Australian Water Association congratulates all winners and finalists for their outstanding contributions to the water sector.

Award winners

R&D Excellence Award (sponsored by Water Research Australia)
Goyder Institute Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin Research Program
SA Department for Environment and Water, Flinders University, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia, and other contributing organisations

Organisational Excellence Award (sponsored by Hydroflux)
Activating South Australia’s Reservoir Reserves for Recreation
SA Water

Infrastructure Project Innovation Award (Regional) (sponsored by SMEC)
Jubullum Aboriginal Community Water Project
NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Clarence Valley Council and Ecoteam

Infrastructure Project Innovation Award (Metro) (sponsored by SMEC)
Australia’s First Biosolids Gasification Facility
The Logan Water Partnership: Logan Water, Downer, WSP in Australia, Stantec, and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Water Industry Safety Excellence Award (sponsored by WSAA)
Epsom Main Sewer Relining
Melbourne Water

Customer Experience Award (sponsored by WSAA)
Leak Alert Program
South East Water

Best Water E-Journal Paper – in Honour of Guy Parker
Evaluating and Comparing Circular Economy Options in Yarra Valley Water’s 2030 Strategy
Lisa Ehrenfried, Jodie Bricout, Tim Grant and Francis Pamminger

Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize (sponsored by Xylem)
Mikayla Rodger from Meriden School NSW

Student Water Prize (sponsored by Guidera O’Connor)
Integration of Ecological Response Feedback for Optimisation of Water Resource Management
Rebecca Carlier, The University of Newcastle (NSW)

Young Water Professional of the Year Award (sponsored by Xylem)
Chelsea Hayward, Senior Process Engineer, Jacobs

Water Professional of the Year Award (sponsored by Eurofins)
Ian Law, Principal, IBL Solutions

Next year

Next year, OzWater’24 will be held in Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will take place from Tuesday, April 30 to Thursday, May 2. There is already significant interest in the 2024 event, so make sure you are connecting with the AWA to get your spot for next year.