3 November 2006

2005/06 ANNUAL REVIEW

Thanks to Eloise Stanley for publishing our latest Annual Review which was mailed out to General Managers and contact persons in our 95 member councils in the second week of October. We hope you find the Annual Review to be an informative summary of the work undertaken and our achievements in 2005/06. Thanks also to the support of all 95 member councils that have now renewed their membership for 2006/07.

WATER LOSS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE

Welcome to Mirko Sramek who commenced in October as Water Loss Program Manager having come from a NSW Department of State and Regional Development and Sydney Water Corporation background. A successful training workshop was held in mid October to provide training to representatives from 15 interested councils on Water Loss Management, the Water Loss Management Program and on our latest publication titled Water Loss Management Program Awareness and Education Guidelines which was mailed out in early August to General Managers of all NSW local water utilities. Thanks to the attendees and to presenters David Wiskar from Wide Bay Water Corporation, Daryl McGregor from DLM Environmental Consultants and Peter Clifton from Riverina Water County Council.

STP O&M MANUAL TRAINING

A training workshop was also held in October on the use of the O&M Manual for STPs that was published for member councils in October 2005. The workshop provided the opportunity to have the writers of the manual present to advise users of the manual how to make the best use out of the template document. Training was given on how this template can be tailored and technical data entered to produce an O&M Manual for your specific STPs. Thanks to the attendees and to presenters Larry Greentree and Deependra Puswella from DoC and to Carl Peterson and Eloise Stanley from the Water Directorate for assistance.

NSW DROUGHT CONDITIONS

Improvements to the NSW drought conditions in October were again insignificant with the Department of Primary Industries declaring that 89.3% of the area of NSW was officially drought affected. The area of NSW classified as marginal was 8% and the area classified as satisfactory was only 2.7%. In October the drought was acknowledged as Australia-wide.

LGSA CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION SUMMIT , MLC CENTRE, SYDNEY , 27 NOVEMBER

It is very timely that registrations for the Local Government and Shires Associations’ Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Summit are now open. Details are available at http://www.lgsa.org.au/ClimateChange . The Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW Climate Change Summit will address the important issue of climate change mitigation and adaptation within Local Government in NSW. The Summit will be held at the MLC Centre in Sydney on 27 November – councils are strongly encouraged to attend. A draft agenda and registration information for the summit can be viewed on the Associations’ website at http://www.lgsa.org.au/ClimateChange . The summit presents a unique opportunity for councillors, council staff and environmental managers to determine how they can adapt to and mitigate against the impacts of climate change in their Local Government area. The summit, which will be facilitated by Adam Spencer, will include presentations focusing on best practice, science and policy by a range of speakers with expertise in the field from academia and government organisations. The program includes: Climate Change Projections; Insurance and Risk Assessment; Risk and Vulnerability; Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal and Rural Regions; Potential Impacts of Climate Change on a Local Government Area. Early registration for the Summit is strongly advised as places are limited. If you wish to register please send an email that includes your name, email address and contact details to debbie.milford@lgsa.org.au . You will be placed on the register and council will be invoiced an attendance fee of $50.  Please note the final date for registrations is 20 November.

AWA NSW BRANCH REGIONAL CONFERENCE, TAREE, 16 – 17 NOVEMBER

It is also very timely that on the 16th and 17th of November the AWA is holding its 2006 Regional Conference in Taree on Climate Change and it welcomes international and Australian Climate Change experts. The program will discuss the direct impact that climate change will have on authorities, including the need for infrastructure; the impact of climate change on key drivers for water authorities and the potential insurance implications of increased instances of adverse weather. Our informed and passionate speakers include: Perry Wiles, Manager of the NSW Climate Services Centre in the Bureau of Meteorology and Dr Brian Button, Professor in Earth Observation Systems with the University of Canberra and Managing Director of Agrecon, an agricultural reconnaissance organization specializing in developing models for predicting water yield and assessing large scale environmental and climatic changes on water resources.  The conference is also honored to welcome Bruce Thomas, an insurance expert with over 30 years experience, formerly of Swiss Re Insurance and currently an Associate of Sustainable Business Practices Pty Ltd and the Principal of Thomas Partners, an independent sustainability and risk management consultancy and Mr Ian Kiernan, OA and Founder and Chairman of Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World – a community based organisation which aims to inspire and work with Australians to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment.  The Water Directorate encourage member council to attend this conference. The 2006 AWA NSW Branch Regional Conference is sponsored by Mid-Coast Water. For more information contact Errin Dryden , Event Manager on 02 9495 9908 or edryden@awa.asn.au

NAIAD™

Naiad™ was developed by the University of Queensland as part of the Sustainable Water Sources Program of the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment. In October the CRC conducted a series of forums around Australia to showcase the recently completed online knowledge repository. The purpose of Naiad™, which went online on August 14, is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge about innovative water schemes among water professionals and planners. Currently, its database contains information about 28 water schemes across Australia , and it continues to grow to reflect the status quo of water innovation in Australia . An easy to use search interface helps users find the information they are interested in. The database also contains photographs and drawings that can be viewed online. Registered users can bookmark information, contact experts with enquiries about specific schemes and participate in an online chat room. Naiad™ also contains a comprehensive electronic encyclopaedia about everything related to water and its management. For more information or to use Naiad™ go to www.naiad.net.au and incidentally Naiad™ is not another acronym but in Greek mythology naiads are water nymph s who preside over bodies of fresh water such as fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks.

WORLD TOILET DAY, SUNDAY, 19 NOVEMBER

WaterAid Australia advises that World Toilet Day will be ‘celebrated’ on Sunday, 19 November and hopes to raise awareness that 2.6 billion people or 4 out of every 10 people in the world don’t have access to sanitation and more seriously that 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases. Through awareness, WaterAid Australia also hopes to raise funds through donations to address the lack of sanitation in developing countries. In cooperation with local partners, WaterAid Australia has just officially completed two of its projects in Nepal which have provided over 8,500 people in total with safe sanitation facilities and hygiene education. To find out more information about these sanitation programs you can read WaterAid’s monthly eNewsletter. If you would like a copy of the eNewsletter, go to www.wateraid.org.au and fill in your email address on the ’Stay informed’ section. As a Corporate Member of WaterAid Australia , the Water Directorate strongly encourages our 95 member councils to become WaterAid Australia members to support WaterAid Australia ’s vision of a world where everyone has access to safe water and effective sanitation. The Water Directorate is pleased that some NSW local water utilities have become WaterAid Australia members. For more information, please contact CEO Chris Wootton on 03 9872 1732.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The remaining Planning Meeting, Executive Committee Meeting and AGM will be held on 8 and 9 November. Representatives from member councils are welcome to attend the AGM on 9 November. The Executive Committee ’s two year term ceases at the end of 2006 and elections will be conducted in December. To ensure that the new Executive Committee is comprised of experienced and capable members who are committed to the local government water industry in NSW, GMs of member councils will be invited in November to nominate a representative from their council. The new Executive Committee will be finalised in December and announced in the December newsletter.

For more information contact: