2010 -11 ANNUAL REPORT Enrich quality of life. 1. 3 MILLION PEOPLE RESIDE WITHIN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY Queensland Urban Utilities Annual Report 2010-11 iii ISSN: 1838-5575 © Queensland Urban Utilities 2011 ABOUT THIS REPORT INTERPRETER SERVICE STATEMENT The Queensland Urban Utilities Annual Report is Queensland Urban Utilities is committed to providing a summary of our corporate performance during the accessible services to our customers and stakeholders from 2010-11 financial year. It outlines our operational, culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. environmental, social, and financial performance against If you have difficulty in understanding the annual report, key business objectives and targets as set out in the please contact us on 13 14 50 and we will arrange an Corporate Plan, as well as the challenges ahead. The five interpreter to communicate the report to you effectively. key corporate objectives addressed in this report are: • service valued and trusted by customer and community • business efficiency and sustainability • appropriate financial performance • sustainable growth • safe, capable, and dedicated people. ENQUIRIES READERSHIP 8:30am – 4:30pm This report aims to provide information to meet the needs Level 6, Brisbane Transit Centre of individuals and groups who are affected by, or have an West Tower, 171 Roma Street interest in, our activities, including, but not limited to: Brisbane QLD 4000 • our residential and non-residential customers • our employees T: 13 26 57 (7am – 7pm weekdays) • Participating Councils F: +61 7 3403 3208 • government departments E: [email protected] • the community For more information on any of the initiatives, projects • the media. and services mentioned in this report, visit the Queensland We are committed to open and accountable governance, Urban Utilities website at www.urbanutilities.com.au. and welcome your feedback on our reporting. SUSTAINABILITY As part of Queensland Urban Utilities' commitment to sustainability, limited numbers of the annual report have been printed. Where possible, readers are encouraged to download the report online; where this is not possible, printed copies, or CD versions, are available using one of the contact options provided. Copies of the 2010-11 annual report are available on Queensland Urban Utilities’ website below at: www.urbanutilities.com.au/annualreport. ABN 86 673 835 011 GPO Box 2765 The Hon Stephen Robertson MP Brisbane QLD 4001 Minister for Energy and Water Utilities PO Box 15216 General Enquiries 13 26 57 Faults & Emergencies 13 23 64 City East QLD 4002 www.urbanutilities.com.au 19 September 2011 Dear Minister I am pleased to present the Annual Report 2010-11 for the Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer Authority trading as Queensland Urban Utilities. I certify that this Annual Report complies with: • the prescribed requirements of the Financial Accountability Act 2009 and the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009; and • the detailed requirements set out in the Annual Report Requirements for Queensland Government Agencies. A checklist outlining the annual reporting requirement can be found on Queensland Urban Utilities' website at www.urbanutilities.com.au/annualreport. Yours sincerely Jude Munro AO Board Chairperson Central SEQ Distributor-Retailer Authority trading as Queensland Urban Utilities Our Profile QUEENSLAND URBAN UTILITIES Queensland Urban Utilities is a statutory body providing Our relationship with the South East integrated distribution and retail water and wastewater Queensland Water Grid services to customers within the Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer The Queensland Government’s water sector reform Valley, Scenic Rim, and Somerset local government areas. process, which commenced in 2007, reduced the number Queensland Urban Utilities was formally established as a of organisations involved in managing and distributing distributor-retailer under the provisions of the South East water supplies within South East Queensland. Queensland Water (Distribution and Retail Restructuring) Figure 1 below shows our relationship with the other Act 2009, and as a service provider under the provisions participants of the South East Queensland Water Grid. of the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008, on Water we supply to our customers is first purchased as bulk 1 July 2010. The South East Queensland Water (Distribution water from the South East Queensland Water Grid Manager. and Retail Restructuring) Act 2009 made important changes The Grid Manager, in turn, purchases bulk water from Seqwater to other pieces of legislation relevant to the distributor- or WaterSecure (note that WaterSecure merged with Seqwater retailers, and set out the requirements for the transition on 1 July 2011), and bulk transport services from LinkWater. of assets, liabilities, employees, and instruments from local government to the distributor-retailers. We are owned by the Participating Councils of Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim, and Somerset, and governed by an independent board. Seqwater Responsible for catchment, management, storage and treatment of bulk drinking water. Supplies water from Gold Coast Desalination Plant and Western Corridor Recycled Water Projects to SEQ Water Grid Manager, power stations and Wivenhoe Dam. LinkWater Moves drinking water from treatment plants and reservoirs through bulk pipeline networks and into the distribution networks. State-owned authorities State-owned SEQ Water Grid Manager Overseas the operation of grid functions and flow of water around the grid. It purchases bulk water and water transport services, and sells water to local government-owned distribution and retail businesses operating from July 2010. Water businesses (from July 2010) Queensland Urban Utilities Unitywater Allconnex Water servicing customers in the Brisbane, servicing customers in the servicing customers in the Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay Gold Coast, Logan and Redlands and Somerset local authority areas. local authority areas. local authority areas. The water businesses are responsible for delivering potable, recycled and other water to customers, collecting and treating wastewater, and charging for water and wastewater services. Local government-owned authorities Local government-owned Residential and business customers Figure 1 - South East Queensland Water Reform Model (1 July 2011). i Annual Report 2010-11 Queensland Urban Utilities Service valued Participation Accountability Business Our purpose and trusted Activate See it efciency and by customer Collaborate Own it sustainability Accelerate Solve it Enrich quality of life. and community Our vision Customers We are recognised Creativity and nationally as a leader in Our objectives Initiate Community Create Listen the delivery of products Safe, capable Appropriate Inspire Understand and dedicated nancial Respond and services and valued people performance as a trusted partner Deliver Value Safety by our customers Everyone Sustainable Create it Everywhere and community. growth Deliver it Every day OUR ROLE Our primary role is to deliver drinking water, recycled water the water remain within drinking water limits. This typically and wastewater services to the cities and townships within occurs at points where the network length means that it is the boundaries of our Participating Councils. likely to have been some days since the original disinfection at a water treatment plant. Disinfected water is then In 2010-11 we supplied 119,889 megalitres (ML) of water distributed between reservoirs and to our customers via an to the residents and businesses within our service territory. 8,700 km network of pipes, comprising a range of materials, We also removed and treated 149,198 ML of wastewater diameters, depths, and ages. generated by 1.3 million residents and 4,700 trade waste customers. Sewerage Our sewerage network uses 333 wastewater pump stations Water Supply and more than 8,900 km of pipeline to transfer the sewage Queensland Urban Utilities receives bulk water from the and trade waste of nearly half-a-million customers to South East Queensland Water Grid and distributes it to one of our 28 wastewater treatment plants. These range our customers via a network of reservoirs, pipelines, from advanced wastewater treatment plants to small- pumps, valves, meters, and disinfection facilities. scale package plants. Elements typical to most treatment Our 113 reservoirs help the water supply network cope facilities include: pre-treatment to remove large solid items with large changes in hourly water demand by temporarily that enter the sewerage network (e.g. nappies and plastic storing water for later distribution to households while, at bags); primary and secondary treatment stages; and final the same time, helping to manage water pressure so that clarification or settling and disinfection. Sludge generated tap water flows at the speed people expect. To move water as part of the treatment process is treated further before into our reservoirs, we maintain a total of 51 water supply disposal. We also apply controls to minimise odours. pump stations, while an additional 106 water booster pump Operating the Network stations are used to push water to houses that are higher than the reservoirs. Our operators maintain and operate these physical assets providing key services such as fire hydrant testing, 24-hour At selected locations across our network, we disinfect response to incidents and undertaking over 1.7 million