Greg Oliver Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management Aneurin Hughes Cardno

1. Water Safety Conference 2010 Greg Oliver Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management Aneurin Hughes Cardno A New Era of Assessment and Engagement: Achieving Safe Drinking Water in Queensland

2. A New Era of Assessment and Engagement: Achieving Safe Drinking Water in Queensland • Background - Queensland • Regulatory Framework for Drinking Water Quality • Factors Contributing to Drinking Water Quality • Assessment Process • Findings • Strategies to Address the Challenges Water Safety Conference November 2-4 2010, Kuching, Malaysia

3. Background - Queensland Pop – 4.4 million Growth – 2.6% pa (varies across State – (minus 4% to +5% pa) Large land area 67% of population in south east Queensland < 2% of population in western regions

5. 77 drinking water service providers SE Qld – 6 Outside SE Qld – 71 (mainly local governments) 353 schemes • Challenges • Large number of entities responsible for drinking water quality and supply • Widely dispersed across large geographical area • Varied capacity • Administration of water supply and quality management at different levels of government

7. Water is a hot topic… E. coli found in Longreach water supply Toowoomba region's water supply at critical level

8. Drinking Water Regulatory Framework • Water Supply Safety and Reliability Act (2008) • Stage 1 Jan 2009 • Providers must report incidents • Supply quarterly monitoring results to department • Continues until providers have an approved Drinking Water Quality Management Plan (DWQMP) • Stage 2 • Providers must have an approved DWQMP (elements 2-6) – 1July for large, later for others

9. Factors Contributing to Drinking Water Quality

10. Drinking Water Scheme Assessment Program • Some providers (generally small to medium) were experiencing difficulties in meeting new legislative requirements • Assessment program implemented across a sample of providers to better understand challenges and issues facing a sample of small and medium drinking water service providers in managing the quality of drinking water • Assessment scope • 36 of 61 small/ medium providers • 119 of 353 schemes

11. Drinking Water Scheme Assessment Program • Planning • Survey sheets • Provider level • Scheme level • Comprehensive assessment manual developed • All assessors undertook a 2 day training program • Assessment included • Meeting with providers • Short visit to a sample of schemes and facilities • Focussed on • Provider management practices • Infrastructure condition • Scheme performance, operation and associated water quality risks • Constraints that limit performance • Analysis of assessment results and other data • Compile into report • Feedback to providers

12. Findings • Skills capabilities and resources • Providers endeavour to provide reasonable standard of service • Short-term focus • Limited opportunities for strategic management - data analysis, analyse performance and plan • < 50% have adequately trained staff, difficult to attract/ retain staff • Making efforts to train staff • Interest in support services, particularly monitoring support prior to undertaking water quality risk assessments

13. Constraints to Service Delivery (2009 Survey) Ageing infrastructure Insufficientrevenue Workforce skills

14. Water Sources and Treatment • Quality - challenges need robust downstream barriers • Treatment generally adequate • some inappropriate for source

15. Systems and Processes • Operational practices and supporting systems • Generally informal • Over-reliance on tacit knowledge • Documented operational practices – unavailable or not used

16. Infrastructure 4 Minor issues Good practices Low risk 1 Unsafe Neglected V high risk 2 Deterioration Poor practices High risk 3 Moderate Acceptable Med risk 5 Well maintained Ex practices V low risk

17. Facility Evaluation – Reservoirs (1 - poor/high risk to 5 – good/low risk)

19. Drinking Water Quality • Provider perception – high to very high standard 88 % indicated few complaints • Customer priorities – quantity, reliability, quality – unwilling to pay • Monitoring programs improve with size • Analysis of data submitted – general compliance with ADWG – compliance with parameters not monitored? • Increased likelihood of E.Coli with smaller providers • Incident reporting improves with size • Very early stages of developing water quality management processes

20. Management of Drinking Water Quality • Surveyed providers - average compliance with elements 2 -6 of ADWG DWQ Framework addressed in DWQMP 1. Very limited knowledge, understanding of documentation 2. Need for process understood, limited documentation 3. Process development has commenced 4. Process development and documentation substantially completed 5. Process and documentation fully developed and verified

21. Drinking Water Quality – microbiological

22. Financial

23. Partnership Approach Local Governments and Water Service Providers

24. Strategies to Address the Challenges • Implementation of more streamlined and effective regulation • Continuing and expanding the assessment program • Implementation of appropriate pricing principles • Enhancing workforce skills • Evaluating the operational scale of providers Partnership approach with • Local Government Association of Queensland • Qldwater • Local government service providers

25. Strategies to Address the Challenges Implementation of more streamlined and effective regulation • Rationalise the regulatory burden on service providers and DERM • Clear performance objectives and reporting • Roles • Accountability remains with service providers • State: audits and reports (transparency) • Three options • Regulated business plan • Regulated performance standards • Combination of above

26. Strategies to Address the Challenges Continuing and expanding the assessment program • High level risk assessment of all schemes outside SE Qld • Identify and prioritise risks • Water source reliability • Drinking water quality • Water & wastewater infrastructure performance, capacity & reliability • Will work in partnership with providers to address high risk schemes through a development of Priority Action Plans

27. Strategies to Address the Challenges Implementation of appropriate pricing principles • Lack of sufficient revenue – significant constraint • Reviewing options to improve infrastructure investment by implementing National Water Initiative pricing principles • Pricing model developed for use by small/medium providers • Pricing principles adopted in building 10 year budgets and charges

28. Strategies to Address the Challenges Enhancing workforce skills • National Water Skills Strategy • qldwater (with LGAQ) are coordinating and leading the development of a state-wide water industry Skills Formation Strategy – supported byDERM • DERM collaborating to provide technical support for training institutions to reflect the needs of water service providers e.g. • water quality and monitoring • asset maintenance • long-term water supply planning • Investigating the development of minimum mandatory certification requirements for operators

29. Strategies to Address the Challenges Evaluating the operational scale of providers • Only 2 States in Australia where urban water provided through local governments • Opportunities for gaining economies of scale • LGs encouraged to seek alternative water service management arrangements • Some options • Voluntary binding alliances • LG owned water corporations • Commercialised water businesses within local governments • Staff & skill sharing • Regional groupings of local governments contracting to third parties

30. Conclusion • Standard of drinking water services variable • Dependent on a wide range of factors – finances, capacity, documentation, people, infrastructure • Department has entered into a formal partnership with local government peak representative and technical organisations • Significant improvement opportunities identified • Will be implemented through close collaborative approach