The Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment is an unincorporated joint venture between: ACTEW Corporation Australian Water Quality Centre Australian Water Services Pty Ltd Brisbane City Council 2006 - 2007 Centre for Appropriate Technology Inc Annual Report City West Water Limited CSIRO Curtin University of Technology Department of Human Services Victoria Griffith University Melbourne Water Corporation Monash University Orica Australia Pty Ltd Power and Water Corporation Queensland Health Pathology & Scientific Services RMIT University South Australian Water Corporation South East Water Ltd Sydney Catchment Authority Sydney Water Corporation The University of Adelaide CRC for Water Quality and Treatment The University of New South Wales Private Mail Bag 3 The University of Queensland Salisbury United Water International Pty Ltd SOUTH AUSTRALIA 5108 University of South Australia Tel: (08) 8259 0351 University of Technology, Sydney Water Corporation Fax: (08) 8259 0228 Water Services Association of Australia E-mail: [email protected] Yarra Valley Water Ltd Web: www.waterquality.crc.org.au 2006 - 2007 Annual Report To assist the Australian water industry produce high quality drinking water at an affordable price. Mission To assist the Australian water industry produce high quality drinking water at an affordable price. Vision By 2010, the Australian water industry will have achieved a high level of community confidence in the safety and We Received Other quality of the country’s water supply systems. Research 10% Cash from Grant undertaken by the Centre will have laid a solid foundation 20% for evidence based investment decisions for water infrastructure, as well as providing innovative solutions for achieving enhanced aesthetic water quality that meets community needs. Objectives In-Kind from Cash from • Undertaking a high quality, targeted research program Participants Participants 16% that seeks to provide the knowledge and innovative 54% solutions required to meet national and water industry objectives for drinking water quality in the major urban 2006 - 2007 centres and in regional Australia, including small rural and Indigenous communities. • Building on the success of the existing cooperative We Expended Communication & activity between the Parties to incorporate evidence- Commercialisation Administration based guidelines into the Australian drinking water 5% 10% regulatory system. • Involving a high proportion of the water industry end- users in the development, conduct and utilisation of 2005 - 2006 the research and other activities of the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment. Education Research • Enhancing the strategic international alliances to ensure 20% 65% that CRC for Water Quality and Treatment activities are well founded on the best experience and knowledge already available, and to provide, where appropriate, the benefit of Australian experience and opinion in the formulation of international water quality management strategies and guidelines. We Received $M • Providing high quality, well trained and informed Cash From Grant 2.50 professionals as future leaders in the industry through an extensive postgraduate student program. Cash From Participants 2.03 • Effectively communicating the outcomes of the CRC In-Kind From Participants 6.83 for Water Quality and Treatment research activity to Other Income 1.27 the industry and the community. Total 12.62 To assist the Australian We Expended $M water industry produce Research 7.57 Education 2.29 Administration 1.19 high quality drinking water Communication & Commercialisation 0.53 Total 11.59 at an affordable price. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 NATIONAL RESEARCH PRIORITIES 4 GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 6 RESEARCH PROGRAMS 12 PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS 12 PROGRAM GROUP ONE HEALTH AND AESTHETICS 17 PROGRAM GROUP TWO CATCHMENT TO CUSTOMER 30 RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS 69 CONTENTS PUBLICATIONS 71 RESEARCH GRANTS 77 COMMERCIALISATION AND UTILISATION 79 STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS 80 POLICY AND REGULATION 81 REGIONAL AND RURAL WATER SUPPLIES 83 COMMERCIALISATION AND UTILISATION 89 COMMUNICATION 91 EDUCATION AND TRAINING 94 PERFORMANCE MEASURES 103 FINANCIAL INFORMATION 115 GLOSSARY OF TERMS 135 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Celebrating the 50th meeting of the CRC Board in Darwin, June 2007 This Annual Report details the activities and achievements of the Centre and the Roadshow included presentations on management Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment in its in reservoirs, treatment methods to remove the cyanobacteria and twelfth year. Continuing nationwide drought and the challenges this the associated toxins and taste and odour compounds, analytical poses for water supply, quality and management are the major issues methods for their detection, toxicology and the development of facing the Australian water industry. This CRC materially assists water guidelines. Fact sheets and guidance manuals, based on the research managers in meeting these challenges. outcomes, were provided to participants. Factsheets from all of the In preparation for the final year of operation of the Cooperative CRC’s roadshows are freely available on the website. Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment there has been Other initiatives include guidance manuals targeted at water supply considerable activity and thought focused on the lessons and operators. Manuals are being developed for the management of outcomes from this Centre and how to maximise the legacy arising cyanobacteria and distribution systems. from its extensive body of research. Also, each research report will have a two page summary which This CRC’s term ends in June, 2008 and our focus next year will be highlights the potential utilisation of the outcomes. The over on honouring our agreements with the Commonwealth and our arching theme for technology transfer is to assist the industry apply members. Our wind-up plans, as required by the Commonwealth, are the Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality, a key approved. All the major research initiatives are in place, as are plans document developed by the Centre and now incorporated within the to engage actively in reporting on the outcomes. Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. The CRC for Water Quality and Treatment will end in 2008, but the need for ongoing collaboration between Australia’s water supply International Linkages scientists and managers is just as vital. CEO Dennis Steffensen attended a meeting of the Global Water A new centre, funded by industry, will take over from and build upon Research Coalition (GWRC) in France in May 2007. The Centre is the work of the CRC and we are working toward a seamless transition currently playing a lead role in a GWRC project on endocrine disrupting from one Centre to the next. We are proud that our water industry compounds which is approaching a successful conclusion. The partners and research institutions have so valued the outcomes from Centre is also leading a project to develop guidance manuals for the the CRC that they have undertaken to fund a successor to provide for management of cyanobacteria and investigations into a cyanobacterial the future research needs of the water industry. toxin associated with neurological impacts on humans. The Centre continues to nurture a constructive relationship with the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF). Accolades We have negotiated the joint funding of a project on novel methods In April 2007 the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and for algal management. Centre researchers were successful in an open Engineering announced that Chairman of the Centre’s Governing call for proposals on the genetics of toxicity and bloom formation Board, Emeritus Professor Nancy Millis, had been honoured with a in cyanobacteria. An unsolicited proposal on genetic aspects of Clunies Ross Lifetime Achievement Award. This adds to the long list Cryptosporidium infectivity was also successful in obtaining funding. of prestigious awards received by Professor Millis. Continued success in securing AwwaRF projects indicates the high international standing of the Centre’s research. Technology Transfer As research outputs grow, the Centre continues to seek effective Education and Training ways of transferring knowledge and technology to the Australian Our Education and Training Program continues to be a major asset water industry. The Centre is stepping up its efforts on ensuring that with a significant proportion of Centre graduates consistently finding research outcomes are made known to and taken up by our industry employment within the water industry. We regard this outcome as a partners. We have continued with a program of national technology clear indication of the effectiveness of providing relevant and industry- transfer workshops, known as ‘Roadshows’, during the reporting based research projects. period. These events are held in most capital cities in Australia to A further three students were enrolled in 2006. The Centre is also present the Centre’s research outcomes. pleased to announce a further seven PhD graduates in the current The Cyanobacterial Management Roadshow, which covered the reporting period with several others awaiting their PhD thesis Centre’s research and implications for water quality was a resounding outcomes. This takes the total number of graduates to fifty two since success. Cyanobacteria have been a major research theme for the the Centre began in 1995. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context and Major Developments During the Year New Water