Sam Skinner's the winner of 2024 Young Water Professional

Sam Skinner has gone from strength to strength in his career. His dedication to the water and wastewater industries saw him win the Young Water Professional of the Year award at OzWater’24.

“Water was central to everything we did,” said Sam Skinner, Lead Process Engineer at Aurecon. “Living in Mildura was a very formative experience. I grew up on the banks of the Dhungala, or the Murray River (also known as Millewa/Mille/Mirri). There was work on the family vineyard, swinging out into the river on a rope swing when it was too hot. The Millennium Drought rammed home the importance of water management and its importance to life.”

This insight helped drive Skinner into water and wastewater management. It was with Laurie Curran Water, under director Laurie Curran, that Skinner enhanced his appreciation for the industry.

“Laurie would talk to clients about different water challenges,” Skinner said. “It was a great opportunity to learn about a range of different things, including operations and commissioning water treatment plants. I was at university while working for Laurie, and I have to acknowledge the role of my supervisors, Peter Scales and Anthony Stickland, in taking me on to research solid-liquid separation.”

Another aspect of Skinner’s development and passion for the water industry was his senior high school teaching in Tanzania. When he had to wash himself with a bucket for six months, it created an appreciation for the availability of water and wastewater infrastructure in Australia.

Challenges in industry

According to Skinner, many issues impact the water and wastewater industry. One such challenge was responding to and recovering from the Black Summer bushfires. The Australian Water Association ran a hackathon (an event in which many people meet to engage in collaborative problem solving) that brought together a vast array of stakeholders to work together on preparing for the next round of bushfires.

“I think that is one of the industry’s big challenges,” he said. “It often takes a crisis to prompt action, preparation, or investment in resilience. That’s why the best time to plan for something like a drought is when there’s plenty of water. Sadly, that doesn’t happen often.”

One of the issues Skinner has noticed is the need to trade off spending to build resiliency against water bills and innovation against water security and safety. All of these come together to impact people in different ways that society will have to deal with in preparing for the future.

“Adaptive planning and approaches have been one method for dealing with these trade-offs,” he said. “It’s used more frequently as a key part of good decision-making. Balancing current needs with the needs of the future while also tackling a range of other objectives will need to be managed with some urgency.”

Net zero

As part of his work, Skinner is working to help water utilities work towards achieving their net zero goals. He believes that the collective efforts to achieve net zero are having a significant impact on the industry.

“Over the last decade, we’ve seen a real shift in expectations of the industry beyond core issues like delivering water and wastewater services,” he said. “There is now a need to play key roles as thought leaders in reaching net zero.”

It’s important to look at scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Scope 2 emissions are associated with electricity use, and water utilities have been working hard to reduce those emissions by installing solar panels. That portion of the emissions pie has seen great efforts and is on its way to being eliminated.

“The next big challenge is dealing with scope 1 emissions,” said Skinner. “That includes direct emissions from wastewater treatment from a large number of lagoon systems. Viewing wastewater as a resource provides a real catalyst to help with the foray into the circular economy and reaching net zero.”

His role at Aurecon

Skinner works on hydrogen, energy, water, and oxygen, also known as HEWO. This section provides an opportunity to bring multiple industries together to work towards net zero and beyond.

“Hydrogen and oxygen are the fundamental components of the water molecules,” Skinner said. “Renewable hydrogen production requires a source of renewable energy, and, of course, water is central to the equation.”

Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen creates opportunities for energy use. Skinner points to using oxygen in different areas, including its use as a high-purity oxygen source or as ozone for wastewater treatment.

“There are all these different elements that water touches on and is central to,” he said. “One of the exciting things at the moment is around the push towards a hydrogen economy. A lot is being made of it now, and it will be a pivotal moment. Funding is being directed to a range of hydrogen hubs around Australia, and that investment is driving the increased excitement about renewable hydrogen’s role in the country’s decarbonisation.”

While the existing schemes offer many opportunities for success and failure, Skinner believes there will be successful application areas as part of the overall renewable energy mix. These projects will be needed to tackle some hard-to-decarbonise industries that rely on fossil fuels.

“The Goulburn Valley has great potential for developing a hydrogen ecosystem,” said Skinner. “Many industries across the region depend on natural gas as part of their processes, and there are not many alternatives to help them get to net zero. However, one way to get there is an ecosystem approach that considers the wastewater treatment plant as a source of water and energy. With the range of industries centred within the Goulburn Valley, they can all work together to develop an ecosystem of energy producers and users that can help decarbonise the region and produce regional prosperity.”

Supporting sustainability

That commitment to sustainability and working towards a circular economy has seen Skinner and Aurecon continue to support their clients. Different approaches have worked for different groups, and as an engineering consultancy, Aurecon can play the role of provocateur and challenge its clients.

“We can spark challenging conversations that our clients may not be able to have themselves,” he said. “That has resonated strongly with me. One of those conversations has been around community attitudes to water recycling. Getting out there in the community and talking to them about water recycling, understanding their attitudes towards it, and engaging with them about the benefits has been fascinating. Gauging how their attitudes after the community consultation and engagement can change through education.”

These days, Skinner is finding that people are more knowledgeable about the wastewater treatment and water recycling processes. More knowledge leads to greater support for these projects than he might otherwise anticipate.

With so much investment and interest in water infrastructure, Aurecon is playing a vital leadership role in the water industry to develop a circular economy. Understanding the ecosystem and communicating with the community are essential parts of the development of the circular economy.

“As part of that discussion, we are talking to energy and water utilities, along with local government, community organisations, and First Nations groups,” Skinner said. “We’re trying to embed Traditional Owner values right at the start of the project so we can go into projects and set a clear vision for everyone.”

Young Water Professional of the Year winner

When asked what this recent award meant to him, Skinner took a few seconds to consider. He hasn’t had much time to reflect on what becoming Young Water Professional of the Year means for him.

“In the immediate aftermath, it was brilliant,” said Skinner. “It was really nice to feel the support from friends and colleagues across the industry. Going through the award process was a chance to reflect on all the people who have supported me personally. Laurie Curran and Jack Timmins are examples of those who gave me a chance.”

Skinner also cited his supervisors at the University of Melbourne and his colleagues on the Australian Water Association committees he has served on.

“There are so many smart individuals working on so many different aspects of water and across industries,” he said. “Just being involved in the community is a reward in itself.”

Similarly, Aurecon has been fantastic for Skinner and his development. He has learned from some great engineers, communicators, and mentors. In the future, he hopes to continue helping water authorities, clients, and the community achieve net zero and beyond.

“It’s about leaving the place better than we found it,” Skinner said. “By changing the mindset from do no harm to regeneration, the water and wastewater treatment infrastructure of the future can provide societal, ecological, economic, and environmental benefits.”

For more information, visit https://www.aurecongroup.com/ and https://www.awa.asn.au/