In the latest episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Nick Freeman (Engineering Manager) and Voon Chin (Planning Development and Completions Manager), both from John Holland sit down with the Australian Water Association to discuss the circular economy and its application to the water sector. Circularity, often linked to sustainability, involves creating value from waste, such as transforming waste streams into useful products. Speaking to examples from John Holland projects, such as using worm farms to treat septic waste and co-digestion systems, Nick and Voon emphasise the importance of collaboration and innovation.   Challenges like cost, risk management, and the need for collaboration across industries are also discussed, with a particular focus on opportunities like food waste management, biogas reintegration, and hydrogen production as future directions for utilities and water treatment. 

In the latest episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Keith Dimech (Environment and Sustainability Manager) and Aaron Sacagio (National Environment and Sustainability Manager for Infrastructure and Major Projects), both from John Holland sit down with the Australian Water Association to discuss sustainability challenges in the construction and water industries. The water sector is facing significant challenges and advancements in sustainability, particularly in decarbonisation to meet government targets and in understanding complex carbon footprints. Aaron and Keith emphasise the need for early engagement, collaboration, and the use of innovative materials to reduce carbon emissions without relying heavily on offsets.   Imminent changes in Scope 3 reporting legislation are impacting the industry, highlighting the importance of standardising data collection and reporting. The sector is also shifting towards research, development, and technology-agnostic approaches to achieve its sustainability goals. 

In the latest episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Shaun Kempton (National Water Manager) and Melissa Mellado Ruiz (Business Development Manager) from John Holland sit down with host Jo Taranto to discuss resilience and adaptation in the context of water infrastructure.  In an era marked by unprecedented environmental challenges, the water industry faces significant hurdles that demand innovative and resilient solutions. Resilience could be described as the ability to create robustness and flexibility within systems, allowing for a versatile response to change. This concept is crucial in an industry where reliance on a single point of failure can lead to catastrophic consequences. In essence, resilience involves having multiple options to respond to various outcomes, ensuring that systems are not only durable but also adaptable.  Challenges in the water industry The water industry in Australia faces significant challenges that require urgent attention, as highlighted by Shaun. "There are massive challenges coming up," he noted, pointing to an ageing asset base that has been in service for extended periods. This, coupled with and broader sectoral shifts, places immense pressure on water infrastructure. The shift from traditional transport and rail infrastructure to energy and water sectors adds another layer of complexity. This transition demands innovative solutions and adaptability to meet new demands.  Melissa Mellado Ruiz highlighted the dual pressures impacting water infrastructure. She mentioned the acute shocks of climate change, such as droughts, floods, and bushfires, which strain existing systems. Additionally, "urbanisation and the growth of population" are slow stresses that continually exert pressure on water assets. These dynamics require a mix of solutions that are tailored to specific challenges.  Collaborative approaches and projects Collaboration emerges as a key strategy in building resilience. Melissa emphasised the importance of working closely with clients and stakeholders, saying, "It's about looking at it from a collaborative perspective." By engaging with various partners, John Holland aims to develop solutions that transcend the boundaries of individual water utilities and create synergies across the market.  Shaun shared insights into specific projects that exemplify this collaborative approach. He mentioned their work in the desalination space, noting, "We're very proud of the two desalination plants that we've built on the Gold Coast and in Sydney." These plants, soon to be expanded, address the challenges of growth and resilience. The Belmont desalination project and the proposed Northern Water Project in South Australia further illustrate John Holland's commitment to enhancing water infrastructure.  In addition to desalination, the shift toward purified recycled water is gaining momentum. Shaun expressed excitement about the Upper South Creek project for Sydney Water, describing it as "very large, technologically advanced," and a potential pioneer in Australia's water management landscape.  Opportunities, risks and advice for industry stakeholders While the water sector presents numerous opportunities, it also involves risks that must be navigated carefully. Shaun emphasised the importance of a values-based approach, stating, "It's a space that we see a lot of opportunity to leave a lasting social impact." Projects must consider the entire lifecycle, from design and construction to operation, to ensure sustainable solutions.  Melissa offered practical advice for other utilities and stakeholders: continue fostering collaboration and sharing best practices. She noted that while solutions may vary by region, learning from successful initiatives can inspire innovative approaches tailored to specific contexts.  Shaun added the importance of clarity in project goals and valuation. He advised, "Be clear about the outcomes that you're seeking and how you value projects." By understanding what customers value and aligning project metrics accordingly, stakeholders can ensure more effective decision-making.  As the sector grapples with the pressures of climate change, urbanisation, and legislative shifts, collaboration and innovation are key to building resilient and adaptable water systems. By embracing these principles, the water sector can ensure reliable and sustainable resources for the future.  Thank you to our host Jo Taranto and our guests, Shaun Kempton and Melissa Mellado Ruiz for their time. 

In the latest episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Mark Newland, Technical Director for Water at Downer sits down with host Jo Taranto to discuss Membrane Bioreactors. Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are combinations of membrane processes like microfiltration or ultrafiltration with a biological wastewater treatment process, the activated sludge process. These technologies are now widely used for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. “Activated sludge has been around since the early 1900’s”, said Mark. “The MBRs technology are somewhat of a step change in the industry in the early 2000s and we first started to have a look at the adoption of membranes in 2002-2003. There were few reference plants in in the world, it was quite early in the commercialisation stage worldwide at that time and [with] very few suppliers as well. Our first MBR was a plant at Victor Harbour in South Australia which was designed in 2003, commissioned in 2005 and at the time it was only the second MBR in Australia and by far the largest. It has a dry weather capacity of about 5 megalitres per day.” Mark notes that since 2005, Downer have been using a different type of membranes called hollow fibre membranes. Advantages of MBRs The initial selling point for MBRs focused on how they require less space than a conventional treatment plant. “If you fast forward through years of population growth in Australia, it's quite common that we're now finding treatment plants [that once had large amounts of space] are now constrained and they just don't have the space for expansion of the conventional process,” said Mark. “The advantage of the MBR being compact is important in this day and age”. MBR technology is cheaper compared to standard treatment plants due to requiring lower quantities of materials including big ticket items e.g., concrete and steel. MBRs are quicker to build, require less labour. “If I think about my time in the industry, we've seen a couple of periods where construction costs have escalated substantially, the first of those periods was in the in the first mining boom and just more recently, treatment plant costs have practically doubled but in the meantime, membrane costs have been reducing. We're paying less for membranes than we did in the early days”, said Mark. Key learnings “I think it's fair to say that over the years we've got most things right but there are certainly some good lessons in both our Downer and the water industry toolkits”, said Mark. He also points to the importance of having robust screening both upfront and continuous as a factor in why MBRs have been successful. “We've certainly had experiences with certain types of screens that are not as reliable as others”, said Mark. “Another important lesson is not to feed a membrane tank from one end and take the water out of the other because that overconcentrates the activated sludge and so some of the membranes are having to work a lot harder than others”. What's next for membrane bioreactors? Mark ends the podcast episode by relaying that there will be future development on MBRs and improved flux rates. “We'll continue to see development... we're continuing to improve the integration of the membranes with the biological process, and we continue to achieve better efficient quality with respect to nitrogen phosphorus”, said Mark. “With more operating experience, I'd expect to see adoption of MBR technology for upgrading of existing plants will become commonplace as it just makes so much sense from a sustainability cost, space, excellent quality and ease of operation perspective”. Thank you to our host Jo Taranto and our guest Mark Newland for their time. Season 8, Accelerating Action is proudly sponsored by Downer

In the latest episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Maria Gatica (Project Engineer), Dalia Adam (Commissioning Engineer) and Caitriona Ledgewood (Senior Community Engagement Manager) from Downer sit down with host Jo Taranto to discuss supporting women in the water industry. Many companies and water utilities today have strong diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at supporting and retaining women in the industry. This is a far cry from decades past when promoting women in the industry was seen as ‘niche’. Maria, Dalia and Caitriona discuss the progress made to better include more women in the sector and the lessons learned along the way. “One of the most notable changes is female participation. When I started my first role in a civil engineering company, I was the only female embedded in the project team, we had one other female and she was a receptionist, so for me, it was quite daunting to be the only female on that team”, said Caitriona. “When I look back to how far the industry's come, I guess that change hasn't been a quick change, it's actually been quite a long duration”. Caitriona points to the AWA Mentoring Program as an example of how other initiatives can also create spaces for women to feel valued, supported and to work together to achieve progress. Cross-collaboration and communication Maria is from Chile, which has added an extra challenge to being hired as a woman in the water industry. “It has certainly been a challenge, settling from one country to another, getting used to the new culture and when it comes down to being on the field, you certainly feel different”, said Maria. “I look different, I speak different, so when it comes to talking to people and getting around the accent, you're trying to get your job right. If I must ask two or three times, I'm going to make sure I ask it because my goal is to do my job right. Communication is key, we all have different accents as well which is also the beauty of this diversity”. A supportive work environment is crucial to determining the progress for how far women have come in the industry. Being able to ask the right questions and feeling comfortable enough and valued enough is pivotal. Dalia is new to the water industry and has expressed how having supportive managers and environments is beneficial. “Coming into the downer team, with all the engineers and especially the females around me are just so comfortable”, said Dalia. “[I feel that I can] ask questions a million times just to get that answer. Inspirational women in water Maria, Dalia, and Caitriona discuss the importance of visible women role models and who has inspired them to pursue a career. “For me it's not just one person, it's a village, it's my mother, my siblings, the aunties in my community, it's my cousins and ancestors. Being the first civil engineer in my family is a real roller coaster but I've always had that support from my family and my community so that's something that I highly value”, said Dalia. “I owe this to my mother. From when I was very little, she empowered me and made me aware that there's no challenge I cannot overcome. My mum was the first woman to go to university among seven siblings in a countryside family” said Maria. “At work, I encounter women that have taken me to the next level, so they see my will to learn, they see my curiosity”. Mentoring and future steps Mentoring can be a powerful tool for women to connect and work with other women in the industry. Mentoring creates visibility in the space and allow for flourishing projects between women. For Caitriona, being part of the AWA Mentoring program allows her to build confidence in fellow women professionals so that ‘being the only female’ in the company is no longer a present reality. “I was determined because I didn't have that support so for me when I progressed under a leadership role, I really wanted to be the manager to my team that I felt that I never had.” Said Caitriona. “I wanted to be a mentor, support my team and give them the tools that they needed to progress as well, and I've watched many teams members progress in their career. I definitely draw my inspiration from my team.” Season 8, Accelerating Action is proudly sponsored by Downer

In the latest episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Rob Martinovic (Technology Director, Gasification, Downer) sits down with the Australian Water Association to discuss an Australian first initiative demonstrating how sewage sludge can be transformed into biochar and energy. For those unfamiliar with biosolids, it's a by-product of wastewater treatment. Every wastewater treatment plant in Australia generates biosolids. Previously, it was just sent to farmers to compost however in recent years, there's been an increasing awareness of what's in biosolids beyond just carbon and phosphorus. Water authorities also pay to get rid of biosolids which can amount to hundreds of thousands of tons each year. So how we do solve this substantial for the industry? Gasification facility “The water industry has been reluctant to raise water rates, so the cost burden is on the utilities and so there's been a big push to look at how do we mitigate some of those costs” said Rob. “There’s been a lot of work done that Downer and some of its Partners have done over several years to look mitigating operating costs and destroy contaminants and it's led us to what was built at Logan”. Downer has partnered with Logan City Council and delivery partner Pyrocal to create an Australian first by successfully turning biosolids (sewage sludge) into renewable energy and a sustainable biochar product at the Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). “It's the first of its type on a municipal scale. There is a lot of research by others as well in this field, we're not the only ones, it's just that we are the first who have been able to demonstrate it at a scale that can be built and is now operating and is fully functional”, said Rob. Biochar The biosolids gasification process is how sewage sludge can be dewatered, dried, and then treated with high temperatures in a low-oxygen environment to produce biogas. Recovered energy in the biogas is used to power the drying and heating processes. The gasification facility is energy neutral, with 70 per cent of the energy in biosolids recovered and reused, and the remaining energy sourced from an onsite solar power system. The gasification facility will reduce the volume of biosolids by 90 per cent and produce a safe, environmentally friendly biochar, which is a soil conditioner that can be added to potting mix, providing a sustainable solution for the waste product. The gasification process also reduces CO2 output by 4,800 tonnes annually and prevents organic pollutants from entering the soil. “We're taking the biosolids which look like wet mud essentially and through a number of sort of steps, we end up with a very hard pellet called biochar.” Said Rob. Recognition and achievements The gasification facility was awarded the National Infrastructure Project Innovation Award (Metro) at the Ozwater’23 Gala Dinner in 2023, recognising the work of the Logan Water Partnership including Logan Water, Downer, WSP in Australia, Stantec, and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Biochar also featured in a short ABC documentary ‘The Number 2 solution’, with a starring role by Johanna Johnson, the Queensland Young Water Professional of the Year for 2022. You can watch the documentary here. Subsequently, Logan Water will no longer pay contractors about $1.8M a year to truck 34,000 tonnes of biosolids from Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) 300km to the Darling Downs agricultural area for disposal. Operational cost savings and carbon credits will return almost $1M a year to the City of Logan, and a new revenue stream is being created from biochar sales. A sustainable outcome This project will leave a legacy for the City of Logan and the Australian water industry by: advancing the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. encouraging water businesses to take a more sustainable approach to managing the 2.3M tonnes of dewatered biosolids produced each year in Australia (AWA, 2019). developing new legislation with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science to guide the production and use of biochar. reducing energy use for City of Logan operations and increasing use of clean energy. helping Council to meet its target of carbon neutral operations by the end of 2022. reducing operating costs for Council, enabling funds to be redirected to other services. sequestering carbon and supporting the economy by providing biochar to industry. “We feel very fortunate that we're in a position where a real benefit to the Australian environment can be achieved.” Said Rob. Season 8, Accelerating Action is proudly sponsored by Downer

In the inaugural episode of the Accelerating Action podcast, Rhys Collins, Traditional Owner Relationships Manager with Melbourne Water sits down with the Australian Water Association to discuss National Reconciliation Week, engagement with First Nations communities and his workshop at Ozwater’24. This week May 27 – June 3 marks National Reconciliation Week, an important time for all Australians to tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation. Supporters must stand up to defend and uphold the rights of First Nations people. The work continues with many water utilities looking to make a difference with their Reconciliation Action Plan, but this is just the beginning. “It’s a great role that I get to play at Melbourne Water, we’ve got a great team that encompasses work on Reconciliation Action Plans and soon to be around the procurement of Aboriginal businesses and supporting and employing Aboriginal people.” Rhys said. “Melbourne Water has encouraged a culturally safe workplace and while yes, there’s a huge emphasis on cultural awareness training, we’re also making sure our buildings are culturally safe places where [indigenous] artwork is prominent and language use is common.” Reconciliation and Partnerships are the two core parts of the team at Melbourne Water. The Traditional Owners Workshop One of the highlights of Ozwater’24 was the Traditional Owners Workshop, held on the last day to explore stories and impacts the ‘Water is Life: Traditional Owner Access to Water Roadmap’ policy has had on Traditional Owners in recent times with speakers including Birrarung Council members Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Andrew Gardiner and Erin O’Donnell from Melbourne University, water officers from Wadawurrung and Djaara including staff from Melbourne Water and DEECA. “To be honest, I think the design of the program for Ozwater needs to really go with the movement where traditional owners are really becoming more Central to planning and decision-making around water” Rhys said. “I'd like to see a whole day set aside in one stream at least for traditional owner participation”. One limitation to the workshop happened to be the timing of the workshop itself. “We're the last workshop on the last day and it's always hard to draw an audience at the end when people are getting pretty fatigued and thinking more about going home than participating so if we're going to put a focus on traditional owner considerations and commitment to a conference, it would be good to have it in in a core part of the program” Rhys said. Reception to the workshop Despite the late time frame, reception was overwhelmingly positive for the workshop with attendees remaining passionate and committed. “I think [the workshop] was helped by the great talk that was on the Tuesday from Dr. Kirsten Shelly from the Victorian Government talking about the Water is Life strategy. That led in well to having that discussion followed up with a workshop which I think is a good structure because people raise questions in their minds when they hear a talk and when they came to our workshop later in the conference, they talk about those things with the people present, it’s a great structure”, Rhys said. True engagement with first Nations people Reconciliation Action Plans and workshops are just the beginning for many businesses, organisaitons and people looking to build reconciliation. “Your relationship is the key and it can't be based on one individual, it needs to be an organisational approach so that if someone leaves your business that has the relationship [to First Nations people] you've got others there that are familiar with what you've been doing with that Community but over time, I think it's just about developing trust, doing what you say you'll do and committing to it” Rhys said. “Over time just as that relationship builds, the engagement is easier because you know each other and I think a lot of relationships are in there infancy or staff leave and then others are too nervous to follow up on it, so being consistent, being familiar, doing what you say you'll do will help. It’s also important to know you're engaging with the right people and that could be critical to some communities. Interested in learning more about reconciliation? Join our National Reconciliation Week Webinar this Friday 31 May from 12pm – 1pm AEST co-hosted by the AWA and the Water Services Association of Australia. Register now Season 8, Accelerating Action is proudly sponsored by Downer