Grahamstown Dam at Dawn
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Grahamstown Dam at dawn ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 Hunter Water Annual Report 2015-16 Introduction 3 ABOUT THIS REPORT CONTENTS The 2015-16 Annual Report provides an overview of Hunter Water’s activities and performance for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. It includes highlights from the year, financial reports, statistical information and the activities of Hunter Water’s former subsidiary company, Hunter Water Australia Proprietary Limited (HWA), of which the assets were divested in December 2014. Until HWA has been liquidated and deregistered, there remains a legislative obligation under the Annual Right Infrastructure Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984 (NSW) for the financial statements to be reported each year. Upgrades Past annual reports can be found at hunterwater.com.au/annualreport. To provide feedback on this report please email Recycled Water [email protected] or write to: Public Affairs / Hunter Water / PO Box 5171 / HRMC NSW 2310. Water Efficiency Introduction Service Performance Research and Development Note Managing Director’s Overview Waste Statement At the commencement of the 2015-16 financial year, Hunter Water’s Managing Director was Mr Kim Wood. Mr Wood Organisational Profile Major Capital Works announced his resignation on 20 August 2015 and Mr Jeremy Bath was subsequently appointed Interim Chief Executive 004 028 Officer. Dr Jim Bentley was appointed Managing Director on 27 July 2016 by the Governor of New South Wales. LETTER OF SUBMISSION Effective Governance Financial Statements Our Structure Directors’ Report The Board Independent Auditor’s Report Committees Financial Statements 006 Governance 034 Directors’ Declaration The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP Statistical Information Treasurer Minister for Industrial Relations General Statistics Member for Willoughby Satisfied Community Financial 52 Martin Place Employees SYDNEY NSW 2000 Community Partnerships Legislation Community Consultative Forum Public Interest Disclosures The Hon. Dominic Perrottet, MP Consumer Response Risk Management and Minister for Finance, Services and Property Donations and Sponsorships Insurance Arrangements Member for Hawksbury 011 089 52 Martin Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 The Hon. Niall Blair, MLC Hunter Water Australia Minister for Primary Industries Minister for Lands and Water Organisational Profile Member of the Legislative Council High Performance Workforce Directors’ Report 52 Martin Place Auditor’s Independence SYDNEY NSW 2000 Diversity and Human Resources Declaration Working Safe Independent Auditor’s Report Dear Treasurer, Minister Perrottet and Minister Blair Our Initiatives Financial Statements We are pleased to submit the Annual Report of Hunter Water Corporation (Hunter Water) for Equal Employment Opportunity Directors’ Declaration the financial year ended 30 June 2016 for presentation to the Parliament of New South Wales. 017 106 Our Annual Report 2015-16 was prepared in accordance with section 24A of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 and the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984. The financial statements for 2015-16, which form part of the full report, have been submitted to and certified by the Auditor-General of New South Wales. Yours sincerely Financially Responsible Highlights Terry Lawler Jim Bentley Pricing Structure Chairman Managing Director 022 Hunter Water Annual Report 2015-16 Introduction 5 MANAGING DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE In 2015-16 Hunter Water continued to progress its goal of becoming one of Australia’s leading water What We Do utilities. Hunter Water is a State Owned Corporation (SOC) providing drinking water, wastewater, recycled water and some Our pricing submission was largely supported by our pricing regulator, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal stormwater services to a population of almost 600,000 people in homes and businesses across the Lower Hunter. (IPART), with only relatively small reductions in approved capital and operational expenditure. This ensures our water prices for the next four years will remain among the most affordable of any Australian medium or large sized water utility while Hunter Water was the first SOC to be proclaimed within New South Wales pursuant to the State Owned Corporations Act allowing Hunter Water to commence a 10 year plan to invest more than $1 billion in work to build or upgrade water and 1989. We are proud of our humble beginnings, starting in the 1880s when water was first delivered to Newcastle from a wastewater infrastructure. At the same time, we completed a three year asset recycling program with our decision to sell temporary pumping station on the Hunter River at Oakhampton to Newcastle No 1 Reservoir on Tyrrell Street. We are the Kooragang Industrial Water Scheme. The sale is expected to complete later this year, strengthening our balance sheet. committed to building a better understanding of the water and wastewater system in our community. To support this we run monthly public tours of the Hunter’s oldest drinking water reservoir, The Res, where visitors learn about our water history. Earlier in the year Hunter Water also entered into contracts which have since seen the disposal of 100% of the land We have also built the region’s first water Centre for Education at the site of the Kooragang Industrial Water Scheme, which purchased for Tillegra Dam, a $470 million project which was abandoned by the then Keneally Government in 2010. The links to the primary and high school curriculum. Today we operate under the Hunter Water Act 1991 (NSW). decision to sell the land was a logical one given both major political parties as well as the Greens are opposed to the construction of the Dam. During the year Hunter Water also commenced work to augment its water supply by increasing We have 456 employees who are committed to delivering safe, affordable and reliable services to our community. Our the amount of daily water it can access from the Central Coast. Once the upgrade is completed in 2018, up to 11 billion employees work closely with contractors, stakeholders and the community to manage an asset base of more than $2.5 litres of water will, subject to Wyong Water approval, be available to be purchased from the Central Coast and pumped to billion worth of water, wastewater and recycled water infrastructure, ensuring a sustainable water future for the Lower a reservoir in Toronto for the purpose of supplying the southern part of Lake Macquarie. Hunter. Hunter Water is one of the region’s oldest organisations, and we are proud of our connection to the community. In 2015-16, we took steps to further enhance this connection via the establishment of a Charity Partnership Program with local charities Our Area of Operations Cancer Council NSW, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Lifeline Hunter Central Coast. These charities were Our services, projects and activities cover 6,671 square kilometres in the areas of Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, selected by our employees and saw each charity promoted more than half a million times via our emails, bills and customer Newcastle, Port Stephens, Dungog and small parts of Singleton. We deliver an average of 188ML (one megalitre equals newsletters. We also worked closely with each charity to support their fundraising events, raising tens of thousands of dollars. one million litres) of water per day. Our major water sources are: Grahamstown Dam (182,305ML), Chichester Dam (18,356ML), Tomago Sandbeds (60,000ML) and Anna Bay Sandbeds (16,024ML). We supply bulk water to small parts of In 2015-16 Hunter Water formalised its 30-year association with the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens via the provision of the Great Lakes area and are capable of selling up to 35ML per day to the Central Coast. an annual grant of up to $50,000. These funds will ensure this much loved volunteer run facility will continue to operate as both a valuable educational centre and as a tourist destination. The Gardens also plays a valuable role as a custodian of We maintain an extensive system to transport wastewater, which includes 4,995km of sewer mains and 402 pumping the western end of the Tomago Sandbeds, an underground water source that can provide up to 20% of the region’s drinking stations. We also have 19 wastewater treatment works, treating more than 70,000ML of wastewater annually. water during a period of drought. We own and operate a small amount of stormwater assets in Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and Cessnock. The threat to water quality from human activity within the Tomago Sandbeds was unfortunately highlighted throughout the year via the revelation of the contamination of the aquifer from chemicals used within RAAF Base Williamtown over several decades for the purpose of firefighting. The foams comprised of chemicals collectively known as PFAS, entered nce Fi Our Vision rma nan Our Purpose local ground water many years ago and have now moved from the Base to the bores of many local property owners. This fo e Re ci er rc sp al P fo on ly widespread contamination has not only forced Hunter Water to suspend its use of three bores in the Tomago Sandbeds, but rk s h o ib ig le W has also required the NSW Government to declare a formal Investigation Area. H I Hunter Water has provided considerable support to property owners inside the Investigation Area, making available key n f y r t i a staff for advisory committees which have both informed Government decision making as well as helped bring about a better R n s d t u i r g e understanding of the contamination, its movement within groundwater and its effect on the local environment. Under the u f h m c s t i t m t u direction of the NSW Government, Hunter Water has commenced a project to provide access to reticulated water to those o a r e C S properties within the Investigation Area. It is my expectation that this work will be completed by June 2017.