Drinking water
Seminars & workshops
Page content: Introduction | Drinking
Water Quality & Catchment Management | Measurement,
uncertainty & water quality research | Explaining
the updated Australian Drinking Water Guidelines | Drinking
Water & Risk Management
Introduction
Presentations from the Drinking Water Regulatory Unit seminar program,
and other useful links.
Drinking Water Quality & Catchment Management
Presenters:
- Jan Bowman, Assistant Director Environmental Health, DHS
- Geoff Hocking, CEO West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority
- Rob Considine, Senior Strategic Planner Melbourne Water
- Bob Ford, Manager Catchment Policy Central Highlands Water
Jan Bowman commenced her new position as Assistant Director, Environmental
Health, Public Health Group at the start of 2006. She has overseen the development
of a number of key pieces of legislation, including the Safe Drinking Water
Act, and has made substantial contributions to the fields of health risk
management in areas such as Legionella and re-cycled water, environmental
sustainability, air quality, soil contamination and radiation safety. She
has also overseen the program to increase fluoridation of drinking water
supplies in Victoria.
Jan provided an over view of the activities of the Environmental Health
Unit.
 Jan
Bowman's presentation (568kb, pdf)
Geoff Hocking has been CEO of the West Gippsland
Catchment Management Authority since 2002.
Geoff has worked for a water authority as well as for local government prior
to assuming his current position. Amongst his many responsibilities, he has
had an on-going role in community engagement processes. Geoff has a keen
interest in ensuring that appropriate community engagement processes are
in place and that the WGCMA is using this community feedback to guide and
improve its performance.
Geoff provided some insight into how the CMA considers the protection of
drinking water catchments during the development of their regional catchment
strategies, and also how they engage with key stakeholders during this process.
Geoff
Hocking's presentation (1,100kb, pdf)
Rob Considine is the Senior Strategic Planner at Melbourne Water, responsibility
for developing strategic plans for drinking water quality. His main challenge
is to co-ordinate stakeholder involvement to ensure Melbourne’s drinking
water continues to be highly regarded in the face of challenges that include
climate change and water shortages.
Rob Considine provided an overview of the catchment management program underway
at Melbourne Water.
Rob
Considine's presentation (990kb, pdf)
Bob Ford is currently the Manager Catchment Policy for Central Highlands
Water.
Bob worked with GHD for 10 years before moving to Ballarat as Chief Engineer
to the former Ballarat Water Board. This position provided an opportunity
to influence the local municipal planning schemes to have regard to water & sewerage
services & protect the authority’s assets including catchment areas.
Bob has been involved in over 100 hearings before the Victorian Civil and
Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Planning Panels arguing the case for
catchment protection. Major successes involve influencing local and State
policies to limit human habitation in catchment areas and a number of landmark
legal precedents that have prevented the development of “hobby farms” and
large tourist / residential activities in Ballarat’s drinking water
catchments.
Based on his vast experience, Bob provided information on the opportunities
that exist within current planning processes for water authorities to ensure
their catchments are, and remain, protected.
Bob
Ford's presentation (647kb, pdf)
Measurement, Uncertainty & Water Quality Research
Presented by:
Mr Graham Roberts, NATA
Professor Tony Priestley, CRC for Water Quality and Treatment
Thursday November 17, 2005
Mr Graham Roberts is an analytical chemist, with lengthy experience in
the measurement of pesticide residue measurement and analytical quality
assurance. He currently works as a consultant and for NATA as a technical
advisor and assessor in the Chemical Testing field. His previous work
has included State Chemistry Laboratories and the Australian Government
Analytical Laboratories. Graham also works at a State and National level
on committees such as Codex and IUPAC.
The aim of water businesses and laboratories is that the results of the
analyses of drinking water samples is an accurate reflection of the
quality of the water sample at the time that the sample was collected.
Meeting the legislated drinking water quality standards is dependant
on the actual water quality and the many factors that contribute to the
accuracy of the result. These factors include including the method of
sample collection, the delivery of samples in a timely manner, the test
methodology used, laboratory technique, QA and QC processes, methodology,
delivery of results in a timely manner and related factors such as limit
of detection and measurement uncertainty. Measurement uncertainty, and
the way in which it can be estimated is the topic of this presentation.
Graham
Roberts Presentation, November 2005 (262kb, pdf)
Professor Tony Priestley is the Deputy CEO at the CRC for Water Quality
and Treatment and the Program Group Leader for Policy, Regulation and
Stakeholder involvement. He is a chemical engineer, with over 30 years
experience in water-related research at CSIRO. His principal interests
and achievements have been in the development and commercialisation
of water and wastewater treatment processes.
Targeted research and development is a core component that supports
the water industry in their role of delivering safe drinking water.
The NH&MRC includes
research and development in their "Framework for Management of Drinking
Water Quality" in recognition of the importance of good research,
that is disseminated to the industry. The research outcomes of the
CRC for Water Quality and Treatment are detailed in this presentation.
Tony
Priestley Presentation, November 2005 (135kb, pdf)
Guidelines & Accreditation: Explaining the updated Australian Drinking Water
Guidelines, and the National Association of Testing Authorities
Presented by:
Mr Rob Oke, NATA
Dr David Cunliffe, Department of Health, South Australia
Thursday June 30, 2005
Mr Rob Oke has been NATA Victorian Branch Manager for fifteen years,
and has been involved with accreditation of laboratories in most areas
of testing.
The Department of Human Services has a legislative obligation under
the Regulations to approve analysts who will test water quality monitoring
samples. The Department will utilise several NATA processes to ensure
that approved analysts are qualified and competent analysts who can
provide assurance that the results carried out for the water industry
are an accurate representation of the water quality at the time of
sample collection.
Dr David Cunliffe is the Principal Water Quality Adviser in the South
Australian Department of Health. David played an integral role in the
development of the revised Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG),
and was a member of several of the NH&MRC working groups that contributed
to the revised Guidelines.
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines provides
technical guidance and a risk management framework to ensure that public
health risk as a result of poor quality drinking water is minimised. During
the development of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003, the Guidelines were
a fundamental document that shaped the regulatory framework of the Legislation.
They also provided the technical information that defined the standards
that will be in the Regulations.
David
Cunliffe presentation (193kb, pdf)
Rob
Oke presentation (59kb, pdf)
Drinking Water & Risk Management
Presented by:
Dr Steve Hrudey
Friday November 19, 2004
Dr Hrudey is an expert in the area of environmental health, risk management,
public health and drinking water quality, and co-author of the recently
released book "Safe Drinking Water: Lessons from Recent Outbreaks in Affluent
Nations". Dr Hrudey is Professor of Environmental Health and Associate
Director in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He has also worked extensively in Australia
with the CRC for Water Quality and Treatment and with a number of water
authorities. His research interests both in Canada and Australia include
disinfection by-products and drinking water quality, knowledge and communication
of health risk and the identification of risk and risk management in
water supplies.
The seminar covered
- Risk and risk management systems for water businesses
- Issues for Victoria,
especially in relation to the new Safe Drinking Water Legislation
- The consequences
of not managing risk - with examples drawn from "Safe
Drinking Water: Lessons from Recent Outbreaks in Affluent
Nations"
Safe drinking water and risk management presentation - Part 1 (1170kb, pdf)
Safe drinking water and risk management presentation - Part 2 (1500kb, pdf)
top of page
|
