Collaboration has long been a feature of Victoria’s water sector, but new pressures around emissions, technology adoption and operational efficiency are pushing utilities to work together in more structured ways.
According to VicWater Chief Executive Officer Jo Lim, the fact that Victorian water corporations do not compete for customers creates unique opportunities to tackle shared challenges collectively.
“We do pride ourselves in the Victorian water sector that we are incredibly collaborative,” Lim said.
With each utility serving its own geographic area, collaboration often allows businesses to solve a problem once rather than repeating the same effort across multiple organisations.
A collective approach to net zero
One of the strongest examples is the sector’s approach to emissions reduction.
Victorian water corporations are required to meet the government’s net-zero targets, but many operational emissions cannot be completely eliminated due to the nature of water and wastewater treatment processes.
That reality has led utilities to explore carbon offset solutions alongside emissions reduction initiatives.
Lim said 15 Victorian water corporations have now established Zero Emissions Water Carbon Offsets (ZECO), a dedicated entity designed to help members access carbon markets collectively.
The model builds on the earlier success of Zero Emissions Water (ZEW), which brought together 12 water corporations through a power purchase agreement to secure 100 per cent renewable electricity.
By entering the market together, utilities gain greater purchasing power, broader access to opportunities and potentially lower costs than if they acted independently.
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Technology is creating new opportunities
Collaboration is also becoming an important tool for digital transformation.
VicWater’s Intelligent Water Networks (IWN) program provides a framework for utilities to jointly investigate, trial and assess emerging technologies before wider deployment.
Artificial intelligence is one area attracting growing attention.
Lim said AI has the potential to improve customer experiences, support operational efficiency and enhance the work performed by utility staff.
Rather than each utility testing technologies independently, the IWN model allows members to evaluate use cases together and better understand where the greatest value can be achieved.
At the same time, the sector is focused on ensuring appropriate governance, oversight and ethical frameworks are established as AI adoption increases.
Beyond digital transformation
Technology collaboration extends beyond data and AI.
Lim highlighted ongoing work across the sector to address contaminants of concern, improve emissions-reduction outcomes, and develop circular economy opportunities.
That includes exploring new treatment technologies for biosolids and investigating processes such as biochar production, which can transform wastewater by-products into alternative products with potential future value.
The sector is also examining waste-to-energy opportunities and technologies to address emerging contaminants that are attracting growing public attention.
Building a model for future challenges
For Lim, the success of initiatives such as ZEW and ZECO demonstrates that collaboration can move beyond information sharing and become a practical delivery model.
As water businesses face growing infrastructure demands, climate pressures and workforce challenges, the ability to pool expertise and resources may become increasingly important.
“I think there’s opportunity for us to do more in that space,” Lim said.
For Victoria’s water sector, collaboration is no longer simply a cultural strength. It is becoming a strategic tool for delivering innovation, managing costs and achieving outcomes that would be difficult for individual organisations to achieve alone.
This article is based on the inaugural episode of the Inside Water podcast featuring VicWater CEO Jo Lim. Listen to the full conversation for further discussion on water security, infrastructure investment, digital transformation and the future of Victoria’s water sector.
