South Australian Water Corporation Annual Report For the year ending 30 June 2016 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 30 September 2016 The Honourable Ian Hunter MLC Minister for Water and the River Murray Parliament House North Terrace Adelaide SA 5000 Dear Minister On behalf of the Board of SA Water, I am pleased to present the Corporation’s Annual Report for the financial year ending 30 June 2016. The report is submitted for your information and presentation to Parliament, in accordance with Section 33 of the Public Corporations Act 1993. Yours sincerely Lewis W Owens Chair SA WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 i CONTENTS CHAIR’S MESSAGE V CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S MESSAGE VI SA WATER STRATEGIC PLAN VII 2015-16 HIGHLIGHTS VIII CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 1 YEAR IN REVIEW 13 Great customer experience Safe, clean water Reliable services Healthy environment South Australian growth Value for money Smart investment Our values, our people, our success Operations data FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 59 GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS 123 APPENDICES 125 Charter Ministerial Direction SA WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 iii OUR ORGANISATION We exist to deliver safe, sustainable and affordable water services to more than 1.6 million South Australians. Our water quality expertise is recognised around the world and we are a leader in wastewater recycling. SA Water is committed to delivering reliable and valued services to its customers. We exist to provide safe, clean and affordable drinking water to more than 1.6 million South Australians. Once this water has been used, the sewage is removed and treated to ensure the best environmental and health outcomes. Wholly owned by the Government of South Australia, we are focused on providing essential services that support growth and economic development throughout our state. Our highly skilled and specialised people are driven to serve our customers. We have been serving the community for 160 years and manage more than $13 billion worth of assets. Our water quality expertise is recognised around the world and we are a leader in wastewater recycling. We employ more than 1,400 people – each one looking for innovative ways to deliver efficient and responsive water and sewerage services to our customers, now and into the future. SA Water is responsible to the Honourable Ian Hunter MLC, Minister for Water and the River Murray. We also work closely with a number of government agencies including: ~ Department of the Premier and Cabinet ~ Department of Treasury and Finance ~ Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources ~ SA Health ~ Environment Protection Authority iv SA WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 CHAIR’S MESSAGE These are the eight overarching outcomes that will drive the way we work, and ensure that we operate with financial success while always delivering on customer expectations. This year saw the completion of Chief Executive John Ringham’s long and valued service with SA Water. I would like to thank John for leading SA Water during a period of substantial change as the corporation adapted to a regulated environment and prepared for greater competition in the future. John’s experience in the UK’s regulated water industry and his focus on achieving greater efficiency means SA Water is in a good position to deliver on its RBP16 commitments. The 2015-16 year has presented some significant challenges I would also like to welcome our new Chief Executive, Roch to SA Water, not least being our ability to meet the stretching Cheroux. In addition to his impressive leadership experience customer service targets relating to water quality and asset in the water industry across many countries, Roch brings an management. We have had to revise and upgrade our response unwavering focus on the customer. to water main bursts and management of the customer The Board and I look forward to working with Roch, his senior impacts, and to recognise that customer and community leadership team and all of SA Water’s staff, to ensure we deliver expectations of us have risen to a more demanding level. on our promises to customers and the wider South Australian We are responding to this challenge, and the necessary changes community. By continually engaging with both our residential are being made, to demonstrate we remain committed to the and business customers, we will be able to strengthen our community we have faithfully served for 160 years. understanding of their needs and expectations. The year also saw the completion of our first regulatory period The health and safety of SA Water’s staff and contractors and the submission of our second regulatory proposal to the remains a priority for the Board, although we did not perform Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA). to our expectations during the past year and we have more to Regulatory Business Proposal 2016 (RBP16) set out SA Water’s do. We will continue to work closely with management, staff commitments to its customers and the South Australian and suppliers to ensure our workplace safety performance community for the next four years. Most importantly, RBP16 continues to improve and that, at the end of each day, reflected our customers’ views and expectations, as well as everyone returns home safely to their families. our business needs. We used direct customer feedback from As we begin our second regulatory period, the Board is our engagement programs to inform how we will operate squarely focused on ensuring SA Water continues to keep and invest in infrastructure and customer-focused services. our customers at front of mind, and delivers on the new ESCOSA supported our focus on the customer and our Outcomes for Success. proposed efficiencies to further reduce prices. Finally, I would like to thank all of the Directors, managers, The efficiencies we have been able to deliver over the past employees, contractors and alliance partners for their significant three years resulted in us being able to offer customers a contribution during the past year. A quality water industry is significant reduction to the combined water and sewerage bill fundamental to the future prosperity and growth of South for financial year 2016-17. By doing so, we also have met the Australia, and the ongoing commitment, dedication and Government’s expectation that SA Water continually strive for innovation of all these parties will ensure this is achieved. greater efficiency, without compromising customer service or prudent commercial principles. We are moving the business from our previous Strategic Plan structure towards the new Outcomes for Success. Lewis W Owens, Chair SA WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 v CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S MESSAGE Over the last year, we have worked hard to improve the services we offer, including ongoing enhancements to our Customer Assist Program for customers experiencing financial hardship. We have also invested in providing customers with access to SA Water at the times that suit them. Our work with the development industry has also made significant strides towards providing a smoother and more reliable process for developers. Because affordability is a growing issue for many South Australians, we are careful with our investments, focusing only on the areas we need to. For this reason, we have Customers are at the heart of everything we do. As I worked hard to minimise price pressures for customers and begin my new role as Chief Executive of SA Water, it is we are preparing to deliver a reduced combined water and heartening to see the efforts that are being made across sewerage bill for 97% of our customers for 2016-17. the corporation to deliver services that our customers Our commitment to protecting the environment has also need and expect from us. seen a number of important projects take shape. Among This past year we’ve focused on improving the assistance these are the Bolivar Energy Optimisation Project and the we offer customers and the community affected by Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant Co-digestion project. service interruptions through our Community Support and Both these projects optimise environmental practices to Operational and Maintenance teams. We have also worked enhance the efficiency of these plants, effectively turning hard to deliver reduced pricing for our customers. waste into energy. We are also trialling two heat mitigation Across the organisation, we recognise the need to projects. The largest of these is at the Adelaide Airport and continually build on our foundations. As we head into aims to reduce the overall temperature of an area that has our second regulatory period, we will continue to find historically been a huge heatsink for the western suburbs. efficiencies and deliver services in line with the changing We are also committed to help South Australia grow by expectations of our customers. We will ensure our delivering the services that our residential customers expect workforce has the right information, tools, methods and and that our business customers need to be successful. support it needs. Ensuring we continually engage with I would also like to thank my predecessor John Ringham for our customers to understand their needs and expectations his significant contribution during his tenure in this role. will be critical as we move forward. Finally, we recognise that SA Water exists for its customers. In 2016-17 we will continue to make sure we listen to them, understand them, and do our best to deliver services they expect. Roch Cheroux, Chief Executive vi SA WATER ANNUAL REPORT 2015-16 SA WATER STRATEGIC PLAN SA Water recognises that being a successful water utility means we must consider our customers and stakeholders at every step of operating our business. There are considerable challenges and opportunities that are likely to influence the water utility sector and SA Water over coming years. Our strategy helps us to make informed decisions and will lead us to become more agile and responsive to our dynamic environment.