australian local government infrastructure yearbook 2009

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THE AUSTRALIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

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minister’s introduction

1The Australian Local GovernmentInfrastructure Yearbook 2009

Minister’s Introduction

It is with great pleasure that I provide this introduction to the 2009 Australian

Local Government Infrastructure Yearbook.

Without question, the past 12 months has been a big one for the sector.

The Prime Minister has now hosted two gatherings of the Australian

Council of Local Government (ACLG)—the inaugural meeting in November

2008 and a further one in June of this year.

The establishment of the ACLG marked the start of a new partnership

between the national government and the nation’s 565 councils and shires.

Already that partnership has been put to the test: unprecedented bushfires

in Victoria and once-in-a-generation floods in north Queensland and on the

NSW mid north coast. But the biggest challenge confronting all spheres of

government—including the local government sector—has been the global

economic recession.

In response, the Rudd Labor Government has allocated more than $1

billion for the purpose of building new and refurbishing existing community

infrastructure—and in so doing, stimulating local construction activity and

supporting local jobs.

This unprecedented Federal investment is being made through the new

Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.

We are delivering this funding through local government because councils

and shires understand better than most the needs of their local communities,

as well as having the capacity to deliver local infrastructure and services

quickly.

Communities around the country are already humming with tradespeople

working on more than 3,600 construction projects that received funding under

the program.

In addition to extra money for community infrastructure, we are providing

the nation’s councils with:

3 A record $1.9 billion in annual Financial Assistance Grants; and

3 $1.75 billion over five years to assist them maintain and upgrade their

local roads.

Together, we are also putting in place a new Centre of Excellence for Local

Government to showcase innovation and spread good ideas across the sector.

Our new partnership with local government is a long-term commitment. I

am confident that our combined efforts to establish closer links will stand us in

good stead when it comes to addressing the challenges that lay ahead of our

nation.

Anthony Albanese

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport,

Regional Development & Local Government

Hon. Anthony Albanese MP

contents

2 The Australian Local GovernmentInfrastructure Yearbook 2009

THE AUSTRALIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE YEARBOOK™ 2009

Minister’s Intro......................................................................................1

ASSET MANAGEMENTManaging cyber-security risks to your critical assets ..............................3Lessons leaned and future trends in international asset management ....5Corrosion Costs Councils Big Money ..................................................14Development of an Asset Plan for Geographically Dispersed Assets ....16Wattyl Industrial Coatings....................................................................19

NATION BUILDINGLocal councils receive funding to beautify SA ......................................20Wattyl Antigraffiti Solutions ................................................................21Rudd Government top-up for Community Infrastructure Funding........22Planning for success in the delivery of assets ......................................24

BEST PRACTICEWilloughby City Council Sustainability Charter ....................................26Innovation and Industry Best Practice..................................................28Building communities and partnerships ..............................................32

INNOVATIONThe DrainBlade – cutting through roadside rubbish ............................35

SUPERANNUATIONHow much is enough? ........................................................................36

RISK MANAGEMENTImproving the permitting approvals process: Risk mitigation ..............38The Risk Management Transformation of Queanbeyan City Council ....40There’s no predicting when disaster will strike, but you can be ready by

planning for it. ..............................................................................44The inherent risk of the PPP model must be debated and reworked....46Local Government Risk and Risk Financing: Experiences of Government

and Education Risk Pooling ..........................................................47Business Continuity Management (BCM) – Best Practice –

Case Study ....................................................................................50

LEGALContract Works Policies in Major Projects – Policy Exclusions with

Respect to Defects in Design, Materials and Workmanship ..........54

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH + SAFETYFitness for duty....................................................................................59

EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION + TRAINING (INCORPORATINGINDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT)Tangible Outcomes for Indigenous Employment..................................64How the AEC is empowering indigenous workers ..............................65Australian Employment Covenant (AEC)..............................................68

WATERTapping the urban catchment with Roof Water Harvesting..................72Wastewater the key to future security ................................................73Sustainable wastewater treatment to become the norm ......................77PPI’s New PE100 Hi-Vis Sewer ..........................................................79

Stormwater recycling comes of age ....................................................80Community Acceptance of Recycled Water ........................................83Are current groundwater remediation technologies sustainable? ........87Aerobic granulation for wastewater treatment ....................................91From waste-d water to pure water – reprint........................................92Tieman – Built to last ..........................................................................93

ROADSSouth Metro Connect to set new benchmarks ....................................94MASH makes Safety Barrier Design Interesting ..................................96New Development in Tunnel Lighting Control ....................................98Sustainable Practices in Road Construction..........................................99Century Batteries – Your first choice battery solution!........................101Ingal Spring Steel Buffas....................................................................102Public safety reliant on fire survival of wiring systems ........................106Greening the Centre of Darwin..........................................................108

WASTE MANAGEMENTRegional waste data collection and performance reporting................111

LANDFILL REMEDIATIONPhytocapping: A Good Landfill Remediation Technique ....................114

RENEWABLE ENERGYThe winds of change – New South Wales wind farm gets

the go-ahead ..............................................................................120The future is renewable energy – have you secured a

strong partnership? ....................................................................122

ENVIRONMENT + SUSTAINABILITYCreate a Cleaner Future with Century Batteries ................................124Smart funding supports smart local energy solutions ........................125Find leaks before they find you..........................................................128Planning for Sustainable Infrastructure ..............................................130Case Study: Responsible Environmental Management at the

Port of Townsville ......................................................................132Green trainees for Queensland councils ............................................134

PIPESLightness and colour the key to pipe success ....................................135

TECHNOLOGY3D visualisation – adding value to infrastructure delivery ..................137Software for the inspection and condition assessment of

water mains ................................................................................139

LIGHTINGMusco Sports Lighting ......................................................................142Innovation in landscape lighting to benefit councils ..........................143

URBAN PLANNING30-year plan for a greater Adelaide ..................................................144

BOOKSTen book reviews ..............................................................................146

Editor-in-Chief: Ric Navarro

Published by:

Executive Media Pty Ltd

430 William Street, Melbourne Vic 3000

Tel: (03) 9274 4200 Fax: (03) 9329 5295

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.executivemedia.com.auISBN 978 1 921345 12 8

The Australian Local Government Infrastructure Yearbook™ is a registered trademark of Executive Media Pty Ltd. Allrights reserved.

First edition 2004, Second edition 2005, Third edition 2006, Fourth edition 2007, Fifth edition 2008, Sixth edition 2009

While every care has been taken to trace and acknowledge copyright, the publishers tender their apologies for any accidentalinfringement where copyright has proved untraceable. The editor, publisher, printer and their staff and agents are not responsiblefor the accuracy or correctness of the text of contributions contained in this publication or for the consequences of any usemade of the products, and the information referred to in this publication. The editor, publisher, printer and their staff andagents expressly disclaim all liability of whatsoever nature for any consequences arising from any errors or omissions containedin this publication whether caused to a purchaser of this publication or otherwise. The views expressed in the articles and othermaterial published herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor and publisher or their staff or agents. The responsibilityfor the accuracy of information is that of the individual contributors and neither the publisher or editor can accept responsibilityfor the accuracy of information which is supplied by others. It is impossible for the publisher and editors to ensure that theadvertisements and other material herein comply with the Trade Practices Act 1974 (CTH). Readers should make their owninquiries in making any decisions, and where necessary, seek professional advice.

© 2009 Executive Media Pty Ltd. Reproduction in whole or part, without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Main Cover image courtesy Seymour Whyte Constructions

asset management


Managing cyber-security risks toyour critical assetsBy Dr Chris Beggs & Benn AlpChris Beggs has a PhD in Cyber-terrorism and SCADA security. He is an industrial control systems security practice specialistat Sinclair Knight Merz.

Benn Alp is a senior ICT security risk consultant at Sinclair Knight Merz specialising in business risk and technology.

The threat of cyber-terrorism,where politically motivatedterrorists target critical information

control systems to deliberately causeharm, is high on the security agenda formany governments and organisations incharge of public infrastructure around theworld.

For example, cyber terrorism was afocal point at the Australia-US ministerialmeeting in Washington in April 2009.Recent media reports of serious securitybreaches illustrate the reason for thegrowing concern around this issue.

These breaches include hackersbreaking into the Pentagon’s $US300billion Joint Strike Fighter Project – aweapons programme involving thedevelopment of a new fighter aircraft. TheUS electricity grid network was alsorecently compromised, allegedly byChinese and Russian spies.1

While the American electricity gridwasn’t damaged in this incident, theconcern remains that it could be a futuretarget, particularly in a period of politicalunrest.

Generally, the motivation for this typeof subversion is political. The intent is toharm and spread fear to affect domestic,national or international events.

Australian Foreign Minister, StephenSmith, indicated recently that cyber attackwill remain high on Australian securitypriority lists.

“When I’m asked about cybersecurity, I don’t identify one particularincident, one country, or one threat. Thisis an issue which Australia has made clearwe address generally, and there are verystrong references to the need to applyappropriate resources to protect againstcyber terrorism in our recent nationalsecurity document. This is an issue which

all modern nation-states confront.” Utilities are especially vulnerable given

the trend of connecting control systemsthat run critical infrastructure to theinternet. To illustrate how simple it can beto compromise a control system, considera 2008 incident in the city of Lodz inPoland.

The city’s tram system was sabotagedby a 14-year-old boy who hacked intotheir network and used it like a giant trainset. This was achieved by adapting atelevision remote control to change trackpoints. Chaos ensued and four vehicleswere derailed. In one derailment 12people were injured.

This is just one of 135 industryreported cyber incidents against industrialcontrol systems around the world over thepast 4.5 years.

The evolution of the internet hasbrought great business benefits andimproved process efficiencies.Unfortunately it also exposes companiesto added security risks. Approximately 20years ago these industrial systems wereclosed and isolated. But in today’s worldthey are increasingly connected to otherbusinesses as well as the internet.

It’s a sobering thought, but it wouldbe fair to suggest that the majority ofplants and control systems that run ourcritical infrastructure are vulnerable tocyber attack. Many of these organisationshave not applied the same level ofsecurity thinking to protecting theirsystems as they do for their ICT. In somecases their websites are far moreprotected than the systems that run theinfrastructure that nations depend on.

As another example, consider the caseof the man found guilty of hacking into

• Threat and risk assessment• Vulnerability assessment• Security control selection• Incident response

• Penetration testing• Vulnerability assessment• Compliance auditing• Security reviews

• Security architecture design• Network and system security

• Policy development• Security standards• Policy alignment• Policy gap analysis

asset management


the Maroochy Shire, Queenslandcomputerised waste management systemin 2000, causing millions of litres of rawsewage to spill out into local parks andrivers. It took three months for authoritiesto pinpoint the source of the problem.Apart from the enormous cost to clean upsuch a mess (in this case more than$A175,000) the environmental, economicand social impacts of a compromise likethis are potentially enormous, striking atthe core of all levels of sustainability.

So how should businesses, utilitiesand government organisations respond ina world where tensions in the geo-political environment and the proliferationof terrorism have intensified cybersecurity risks?

Part of the arsenal to defend againstmalicious hackers is to employ specialisedindustrial control system (ICS) securityservices to mitigate risk. This kind ofservice is essential whether building anew plant or planning systems upgrades.

No silver bullet will solve ICS securityissues; a trade off is needed between thesystem’s performance, reliability andavailability, and cost. However, at thecore of any security strategy is riskmanagement.

ICS security specialists take a holistic,multi-disciplined approach by applyingstandards-based risk managementtechniques in order to identify and treatcyber risks. Solutions are based onindividual threat assessments. Through aprocess of risk identification andcategorisation, appropriate mitigatingcontrols are selected and implemented fortreatment.

Once an assessment is completerecommendations are made as to therange of controls that can beimplemented, including:

3 Technology3 Network architecture3 Control system configuration3 Policies and procedures

3 Staff vettingDeploying risk management to cyber

security should be an intrinsic element ofany architectural and design process, justas it is applied to safety and operationalprojects.

Over the past two years there havebeen approximately 27 reported cases ofcyber attack against ICS. However it is awidely held view that thousands ofincidents go unreported. As this articlehas illustrated, the potential damage fromcyber terrorism means this threatdemands much greater attention by manyorganisations.

1 Siobhan Gorman, “Electricity Grid in U.S.Penetrated By Spies”, Wall Street Journal, 8April 2009

(Article reproduced courtesy of Sinclair Knight Merz)

REMEMBER THE WORM

In 2003 the fastest internet computer wormin history, the “slammer” worm, wasreleased by hackers. As it began its journeythroughout the internet, it doubled in sizeevery 8.5 seconds and infected more than 90per cent of vulnerable hosts within 10minutes.

The worm was released at a nuclearpower plant in Ohio, USA and tookcommand of the SCADA (SupervisoryControl and Data Acquisition) systemcausing operators to lose control for aroundsix hours.

At least 75,000 hosts were infectedacross the world. It caused network outages,cancelled airline flights, interfered withelections and caused ATM failures.

Although this was quite devastating, the situation would have been worse if the slammer contained a malicious payload that completely disabled a server ornetwork.

In this instance it caused harm simply byoverloading networks and taking databaseservers out of operation.

asset management


Lessons learned and futuretrends in internationalasset managementAuthors: Roger Byrne – Mentor/Adviser Asset Management – Director RB&A(Adapted from a paper written with Steve Allbee – USE PA Funding Gap Project Director)

2 LESSONS LEARNED

Since the early 1980s Australia, the UK started to address the

issues of advanced infrastructure asset management. For the

next 20 years many advances were made, however many

mistakes and many untruths and exaggerations were also made.

By the 1990s NZ started to address the issue and due to their

two tiered federal system and the economic demands for

improved service delivery they took a more regulated and

structured approach to assessing adequate asset management

maturity/assessment. The creation of the IIMM (in conjunction

with Australia) was a major step forward. While in the UK asset

management was starting to be considered by those outside the

water industry.

In the late 1990s Roger undertook a significant study of

many organisations that had undertaken AM improvement

programs and identified the things that had worked and had notbeen as successful. This study identified the lessons learned andestablished the key success factors for Best Practice AssetManagement.

So what did we learn? What are the principles that shouldbe followed to ensure SIAM is achieved? Here is an overview.

The position being taken by owners (governments & privatepublic monopoly providers) and regulators/auditors of publicinfrastructure (and even the shareholders/funds managers oflarge private companies) is beginning to reflect the followingcritical issues/premise:

3 Infrastructure service delivery is critical to our regional &national standard of living, cost of living & economicperformance.

3 Recognition of the fact that there is a best appropriatepractice (BAP) for managing every asset within a system.

1 PREAMBLE / ABSTRACT

This paper & presentation will draw fromRoger’s experiences over the last 30years in trying to drive cost effective AMimprovements through a variety ofUtilities and Cities throughout the world.The paper will tie the outcomes to thekey success factors that have beenidentified using a total enterprise assetmanagement quality framework(TEAMQF) approach to drivingsuccessful, cost effective and sustainableAM improvements tailored to individualorganisations.

As I understand it this session of theconference is focused on Strategic AssetManagement of Water Infrastructure.Overall the gathering is intended to be aglobal potpourri of current thinking inthe Asset Management community. Yes,we have reached a point where AssetManagement practitioners represent aglobal community engaged in the

exchange of information and knowledge.In this paper, we have the opportunity toexplore perspectives from the UK,Ireland, Europe, Asia & Africa, NorthAmerica, Australia and NZ.

In this session we have threepresentations and then a paneldiscussion, all of which we hope willanswer some of your queries aboutSustainable Infrastructure AssetManagement (SIAM).

For several decades, leading edgeservice providers have been on a journeyto drive improvements in infrastructureAsset Management. The practices arehighly developed in Australia and NewZealand and accompanying theprivatisation of UK water. In the last tenyears, a multitude of other countries,including many European Countries,Canada and the United States havejoined in the strategic pursuit of best andappropriate infrastructure management

practices. The lessons learned throughnetworking are having a noticeableglobal impact on water infrastructuremanagement improvements.

This is relatively new. Historically,many countries proceeded along theirown pathway. Often we thought of ourorganisations/operating environmentsand assets as being “unique”. In this “goit alone” context, a good number failedto establish a forwardlookinginfrastructure strategy. Others really ledthe world and then got complacent andhave fallen behind. As we have gainedinsight into our common interest, thelessons learned and the significantexperiences become a central referencepoint for capturing the full range ofopportunity associated with meetingcommon sustainable water infrastructurechallenges in parallel with the economicrecession and the threat represented byclimate change.

asset management


3 BAP strategy will be the best use of the available budget,or ultimately (one would hope) the full economicallyjustified budgets as applied to the assets.

3 Owners/Shareholders and regulators need to be able tounderstand whether or not publicly owned assets arebeing well managed. They need (must have) a maturityassessment system similar to theAMPLE/SIMPLE/TEAMQF Gap –EX or the UK basedPublicly Available Specification No. 55 more commonlyknown as PAS 55

3 Every asset type will have a best appropriate practice(BAP) to suit the stage of the asset in its life cycle andthe output/performance standard required. It is vitalthat such an approach exists.

I believe that all organisations will be benchmarked againstthis BAP model and provide justification of why this groupdeviates from that BAP standard. Asset systems require acertain level of management maturity that is related to thecomponents that make up the system:

3 The stage in its life cycle, its condition and performance3 The relationship of the component to the

criticality/reliability of the systems3 The level of sophistication/maturity of the analysis

warranted and undertaken, and3 Deriving the identified and adopted LCAM strategy for

these components should involve a mixture ofsophistication (levels of AM maturity) to derive anadequate level of confidence in theoutcomes/decision/strategies determined.

3 The resulting asset component strategies are built intothe organisation’s asset management plans (AMPs)which should be the basis of agreed budgets andstrategies

3 Owners and regulators need to be able to assess thislevel of maturity, and the outputs of this BAP approachreflected in these AMPs, which will be developed

These predictive (future periods) AM plans will cover allassets involved in the service delivery for at least 25 years togive full asset portfolio life cycle coverage, and from thesedevelop:

3 Appropriate expenditure and funding models to ensureand fully understand system sustainability andintergenerational equity (future liabilities).

3 Gain agreement between all stakeholders of theapproved budgets (cost of service) and performance(level of service) (CoS & LoS).

3 Independently Audit that this BAP approach is actuallybeing completed by the management/contractor or PPPpartner to an appropriate level of confidence/maturity.

3 Report this to all stakeholders on a regular basis. (Notgreater than every four years)

The key elements of this BAP approach are:3 30 year asset management plans

3 30 year expenditure models to show sustainability3 10 year funding models3 Assessment of stakeholder expectations / agreement to

this LoS and CoS3 Setting of a funding model and then adjustment of the

AMP to reflect this budget and the prediction of the LoSimplications this will incur.

3 AT THE STRATEGIC LEVEL

Roads, mass transit, water, wastewater and drainage, etc. incombination have huge economic and growth enablingconsequences. Nevertheless, the longterm economic impacts onthe community and the encumbered revenues required formaintenance, repair, renewal and replacement of theinfrastructure are seldom well understood. Typically, theinvestments are not imbedded in schemes that would minimisethe long term public costs of achieving shared public health,environmental and economic outcomes.

Using the United States as an example, since 1970, publicspending in the U.S. on wastewater systems has tripled andspending on water systems has doubled (valued in constantdollars). Public spending on water and wastewater systemscontinues to increase and it represents a growing share in thetotal spending relative to other municipal infrastructure. Thepredictable growth in the claim on resources is a manifestationof the extension and significant upgrade of service levels. Thebasic pattern of extension and upgrade of services appears asthough it will continue for the foreseeable future and for thefirst time we are on a national scale in the initial stages ofsignificant reinvestment in aging systems that are demandingattention. My guess would be that our patterns are relativelycommon.

As we look toward the future, an underlying profile of thetypical service provider is emerging. They are confronted withincreasing aggregate demand for water and wastewater,diminishing available water resources, a levelling off ofproduction efficiencies, increasing output restrictions, and aginginfrastructure. In many countries, add to the equation an agingcustomer base, more sophisticated plants, an outflow ofknowledge with a retiring labour force and mounting resistanceto rate increases.

Confronting this conundrum demands proficiency inassessing tradeoffs as disputes arise among environmental,economic and community/social priorities. Despite the progressof the last several decades, the concerns that demand attentionseem to be unending. How do nations proceed to efficientlyand effectively sustain these vital systems? Few, if any, of us arein a position where access to resources is unlimited. Morecommonplace, our opportunities are found in the decisionprocesses associated with making choices about how tooptimally deploy the resources that we are able to acquire. Thework of getting better starts with sorting through how well weare managing what we have and how well we can convince our

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Black Spot Program

Australian GovernmentDepartment of Infrastructure, Transport,Regional Development and Local Government

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development andLocal Government may be able to assist with the treatment of ‘Black Spots’in your area.

$59.5 million is available in 201011 for the treatment of Black Spots.

To date the Black Spot Program has provided almost $748 million for morethan 5,400 road safety projects throughout Australia.

Projects have included:• Roundabouts• Traffic signals• Roadside shoulder sealing• Turning lanes• Guard railing

Approximately half the total funding will be allocated to regional areasbecause of the large number of accidents on country roads.

Funding is mainly available for the treatment of Black Spots sites, or roadlengths, with a history of at least three casualty crashes over a five yearperiod. Project proposals must be able to demonstrate a benefit to costra�o of at least 2:1.

For sites which do not meet the crash history criterion, up to 30 per cent ofprogram funds may be used for works which have been recommended onthe basis of a road safety audit.

For more information visit: www.nationbuildingprogram.gov.au

asset management


key stakeholders to do this in a sustainable way for both presentand future generations.

In modern society, water and sanitation are basic andnecessary services. Our decisions to put these services in placewere originally driven by public health and environmentalconcerns and quality of life considerations. Over time, citizenshave come to view these services as essential and availableregardless of where they lived.

As we look to the future, the thrust in the general directionof policy will likely gravitate toward an ethic of sustainability.The major elements of a national policy (or for that matter stateand local policy) are relatively straightforward as they aredirectly related/linked. The “how to” is demanding work. Itrequires advanced knowledge, highly developed skills andsignificant experience. At the strategic level the essential aspectsof a sustainable framework/policy or Best Appropriate Practice(BAP) will most likely reflect the following.

3 First, service levels need to be set commensurate withbenefits and the needs of our regulators &users/communities.

3 Second, anyone who owns and operates water andwastewater assets should have the capacity to makecertain that the service objectives are reliablyaccomplished while minimising the long termsustainable costs of achieving the public health,environmental, social and economic outcomes.

3 Third, the underpinnings to the institutional strategymust encourage sound organisational structures, goodgovernance, value economic investment principles, andjudiciously adhere to appropriate business practices inthe management and delivery of infrastructure richservices.The services can be successfully delivered in either apublic or private structure or more likely in variouscombinations or partnerships. What will count is theefficiency and effectiveness of how the work is done.

3 Fourth, achieving a mature sustainable financial structurewill demand a valid understanding of the full economiccost of services and require respect for intergenerationalequity considerations in covering the costs. These arelong life assets. As much as possible the price forservices should reflect the commercial pricing that wouldbe required to sustain the enterprise as a business.Nevertheless, universal access to essential services,necessitates that there will always be subsidy schemes.As a best practice, these schemes should not lower theprice of service for those who can afford the full costs ofservices. Broad based subsidy schemes tend to distortthe public’s understanding of the full costs of servicesand over the long term the schemes will, at least in part,evaporate. Although subsidy schemes are frequentlyenvisioned as transition instruments, once they are

established, moving away from the broad basedschemes has proven to be tricky business. The outcomeis that the service provider is cast into the abyss ofexpectations; people expect services of the highestquality at prices that cannot sustain the services.

The costs must be fully transparent to all stakeholdersincluding the taxpayers and ratepayers. More than ever, thecustomers need to understand what a water utility does! Theyneed to have enough information to conclude that the serviceand environmental investments have value commensurate withcosts; and they need to accept as true that the way the work isdone (the practices) is competent, if not exceptional. In anutshell, getting the resources depends upon establishingcustomer confidence in the capacity of the service providers todeliver a good value. You need to be good, and the fact that youare good needs to be transparent.

4 ASSET MANAGEMENT, A STEPPING STONE

TO ESTABLISHING SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS

Formulating a more progressive vision of the opportunities toimprove water and wastewater services requires demystifyingwhat these businesses are all about. Service providers setservices standard that are concerned with protecting andpromoting the public health and ecological sustainability of thenatural environment and obtain the financial resources tosustain the service levels. They manage their human andorganisational resources and track performance against thegoals.

They utilise the tools and techniques of risk assessment andAsset Management to decide upon priority work and selectleast life cycle cost ways to accomplish task and objectives. Thebetter they become at integrating information and managementsystems across these functions, the greater the opportunitiesthey will have to identify the best and most cost consciouspathways forward. Getting better demands that the informationused to make decisions has a higher confidence value and isintegrated across the traditional silos of the organisation.

Accepting that service providers are expected to have thecapacity to foster efficiencies, streamline work processes andmodernise management controls has lead me to conclude thatbroadly adopting appropriate Asset Management practices is agood place to start. First, we know quite a lot about theparticulars of the discipline, and second Asset Managementpractices are primarily within the domain of industrypractitioners. The “how to” knowledge is our responsibility.Learning about and exploring emerging management strategiesis mostly confined to the leading edge. Yet, the transition isimbedded, well underway and the strategies are certain to beextended to other service providers. The thrust toward adoptingmore advanced Asset Management practices in the water sectorhas exploded in the past couple of years. Right now, if you arenot moving in this direction you are not in the mainstream ofwhere the water sector is headed.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

asset management


So, just what is Asset Management? Asset Management is amanagement paradigm and a body of management practicesthat applies to the entire portfolio of infrastructure assets whichseeks to minimise the total cost of acquiring, operating,maintaining and renewing the organization’s assets whilecontinuously delivering the service levels required at anacceptable level of risk.

The key steps in the Asset management process include;asset identification, asset registry, condition and criticalityassessment, definition of targeted service levels and prioritiseddecision making with regard to the risk and consequence ofasset failure. Asset management is a way of thinking thatrespects that capital; operations, maintenance, repair, renewal,and replacement are all investment decisions. The practices,tools and techniques are growing in effectiveness andusefulness. There are logical step-by-step processes availablethat allow an organisation to meet minimum standards anddetermine where they need to apply higher levels ofsophistication and analysis to reach necessary quality andconfidence level ratings required for these investments and therisks they represent.

The work of Asset Management encompasses the work ofthe utility and its service delivery. Being really good demandsbringing this new thinking and problem solving to the decision-making on an hour-by-hour, task-by-task basis. AssetManagement is basically about doing the right things at theright time in the life of an asset. If you replace an asset tooearly, you’re wasting money and if you replace an asset too late,you’re wasting money and causing other TBL impacts. The art isto have the ability to analyse the full range of maintenance,repair, renewal and replacement and augmentation/additionoptions in the same matrix and compare available strategiesagainst the alternatives.

True excellence in asset management will come aboutthrough learning how to apply asset management process, toolsand techniques. Bringing about excellence in the execution ofparticular processes, procedures, techniques and tasks areabove all a function of hardwork, training, coaching, peer-to-peer exchange, mentoring and benchmarking.

It is our view that the best strategy for getting started inAsset Management is simply to get started. Think about thefollowing in framework as a game plan that will work for yourparticular situation.

1. If you cannot answer basic questions about your physicalassets, your community is taking a huge risk with theaccompanying potential for adverse financialconsequences.

2. It is essential to know what you have, understand itscondition and recognise what aspects of your system aremost critical to meeting service objectives and manageaccordingly your system’s investment priorities.

3. By definition, physical assets will fail. How a systemmanages the consequences of these failures is very

critical to managing and planning for the full life cyclecosts of the system.

4. An Asset Management Plan can be relatively simple andappropriate to the size and relative complexity of thesystem. It boils down to have some way to shareinformation with your customers, regulators (and otherstakeholders) as to your understanding of your systemsrequirements, your recognition of the relative riskassociated with aspects of your systems, your alternativeways of addressing challenges and what it costs to takethe action.

5. Finally, on a strategic level, every system should have anunderstanding of what’s required to become financiallyself-sustaining.

If rates are going to double (and for many of us this is thecase) you must be able to tell your customers why. Yourexplanation needs to demonstrate that you have put enoughthinking into the proposition that they can have confidence thatwhat you are saying is sound and reliable. If you are waiting forthe pot of gold to magically appear, you may have a long wait.

5 IS THE PRACTICE OF ASSET MANAGEMENT

BETTER ADVANCED THROUGH A

REGULATORY STRUCTURE?

There is some significant evidence to suggest that countries thathave put in place a more instructive regulatory template arefurther ahead in advancing the practices. Their organisations areperforming better and they have higher satisfaction from theirratepayers. It’s hard to say, whether improved practices enabledthe regulatory framework or whether the regulatory frameworkwas engendered by the improved practices. Although there areproblems associated with regulatory approaches, it is alsoimportant to recognise that there are genuine reasons to haveindustry wide standards, practices, definitions, etc. Significantand valid problems can accompany not having an authoritativerecognition of what represents an appropriate quality basedAsset Management undertaking. Without a respected definitionof the process and practices it leaves open the potential for it tomean anything that is so claimed. Asset management processesand practices will not benefit from having a hundred well-intended variations articulated through a multitude of differentinstitutional mechanisms. It’s a roadmap for misunderstandings.

There are alternatives (See Section 7). Consistency andcommon understandings can be reached through an industrysteering process or over time through education and traininginitiatives. The challenge for most countries is how to go aboutfacilitating the broader adoption of these proven techniques andapproaches. This involves identifying avenues for steering,managing and accelerating this transfer of information fromthose on the cutting edge to the broader provider community.

Around the world only a few utility organisations, governmentagencies, professional organisations, or individuals have acomplete grasp of the tools, information, skills, and resources

asset management


necessary to advance a credible and rational plan of action forestablishing an asset-centric focus in the water sector. The natureof the challenge demands willingness among all parties to pursueknowledge through collaboration and transfer/spread this in aneffective way to lift the entire industry performance globally. Ifservice providers make their strategic focus the development andapplication of best appropriate practices in Asset Management,then sharing this information within the water community wouldgo a long way toward laying the groundwork for progress onmultiple fronts. We have a good idea of what we would like as anoutcome, but are still perplexed as to the best avenues andinvestment strategies to bring about a transition.

6 WILL SHORT TERM DECISION

REQUIREMENTS ALWAYS TRUMP LONG TERM

OPTIMAL CHOICES?

Maybe not! There are a number of very basic reasons whythe short term performance of service providers becomes moreof a driver than pursuing a strategy that achieves sustainableservice and meets environmental, social and economic (TBL)objectives over the long term:

3 First, there is a lack of high quality information toenlighten about the environmental and economicconsequences of service level decisions. This is becausethe environmental, social and economic information isneither easily quantified nor transparent.

3 Second, frequently critical service level decisions aredefined in decision process far removed from thecitizens who are paying for the services. This erodes thecitizen’s sense of ownership in these decisions. In factour political masters who overrule the logical BAPprocesses that have established an optimal strategy andbudget for these activities make many decisions.However this trait has been drastically reduced incountries that have adopted the BAP approach outlinedin section 2 above. Political decisions are restrictedsignificantly in this transparent framework.

3 Third, the estimates and obligations regarding lifecyclecosts and future commitments are looked upon as beingbeyond the current charge of those in positions ofresponsibility. The short term perspective tends toweight the value of equivalent resource decisions verydifferently depending upon the whether the utilizationfalls into operating, maintenance or capital categories.We tend to make the least current financial impactchoices; not the least life cycle costs choices. We mustextend our engineering and financial managementhorizons the periods shown in section 2

3 Fourth, our communities are becoming more aware ofthe need for long term strategic planning. Issues such asclimate change, public health and education are radicallychanging public opinion in this area in many parts of theworld.

One of changes needed to get our house in order is forengineering, accounting and politics to become better aligned.In the United States, until recently no systematic reporting ofthe “state of the assets” or “the quality of their stewardship” forthe physical assets owned by general government had everbeen required. Reporting the book value and depreciation andfuture liabilities of infrastructure asset portfolios is very poorand needs to be achieved, by regulation, or friendly persuasionby promoting ‘excellence in management’.

Around the world countries are in the process of changingtheir approach to accounting and AM performance/disclosure. Isuspect improved accounting and disclosure will result inincreasing the attention paid to infrastructure at the publicpolicy, strategic, and tactical levels making the continuous“deferment” of asset maintenance and reinvestment moreproblematic. The accounting and disclosure methods set thestage for more insightful political dialogue as to the costs, riskand consequences of inadequate attention to community sharedwealth (infrastructure).

7 DO SUSTAINABLY FOCUSED

ORGANISATIONS HAVE COMMON

CHARACTERISTICS?

The vision of how to achieve sustainable services can be greatlyinformed by a strategic examination of service providers whoare currently focused on this goal. Think about what they dowell. They:

3 Set objectives for economic, social and environmentalmeasures. In some parts of the globe this is called triplebottom line (TBL) reporting. The use of sustainabilityreporting is growing. Sustainability reports can drive anorganisation to think more broadly about its role in thecommunity.

3 Are right sized to professionally manage tasks. Theorganisation and structure need to be built upon acritical skills assessment of what capabilities are essentialto deliver quality services. This needs to be linked to thecompetencies required to undertake sophisticated lifecycle asset management and SIAM.

3 Assure that stewardship of the total water cycle isintegral to the management paradigm. The organisationsconcern themselves with optimal strategies from thepoint of water source acquisition, through treatment anddistribution and collection and cleanup. They valueeffective coordination across the total water cycle.

3 Focus on excellence in the mechanics of efficiency,customer service and quality decision-making. Theseorganisations have a business focus, they employcommercial tactics in their work and they are very skilledat customer service. They know what it costs to dobusiness and are expert at valuing and pricing theirservice. They are skilled at solving problems throughdemand management techniques. They are experts at

asset management


the full range of Asset Management skills including a

highly developed sense of using risk assessment tools

and techniques. They apply the BAP processes and

practices (described earlier) to the asset types

concerned.

3 Operate in a robust regulatory framework where the

regulatory authorities’ value and reward service

providers that have adopted best appropriate practices.

The government still ensures that environmental

objectives are met and that public health and

environmental externalities are taken into account in

policy decisions. A mature partnership with leading edge

service providers is highly valued.

3 View external independent auditors/regulators as a

critical mechanism in building public confidence in their

practices and they are willing and accustomed to having

their use of data, information and their management

maturity regularly evaluated.

8 THREE IDEAS TO BUILD THE KNOWLEDGE

BASE: THE EVOLUTION OF EXCELLENCE

CENTRES; AN INTERNATIONAL STANDARD;

AND STEPPED UP GLOBAL COLLABORATION

AND EXCHANGE.

The delivery of water and wastewater services is accomplished

though a complex infrastructure composed of collection and

delivery systems, treatment and distribution facilities, public and

private sector resources and the use of sophisticated science,

engineering and technological applications. The infrastructure

also includes a complex web of local, state and federal

regulatory requirements, and the involvement of human

resources on a wide and varied scale. It requires that the latest

techniques, the best science, the most appropriate engineering

and the most effective human and financial resource

management be universally available to systems of all sizes in all

communities. Managing these systems is a complex and

demanding undertaking.

Over the last half-century the vast majority of developed

countries have greatly increased their investments in water,

wastewater and drainage/flood mitigation infrastructure. These

investments have been essential to protect the natural

environment, support growth in populations and economies

and bring about general improvements in the quality of life. If

countries are able to manage their vast and valuable public

infrastructure better than they do currently, the gains will be a

vital part of protecting critical water resources and positively

influencing the standard of living for hundreds of millions of

people across the globe. It would seem that three major

avenues could help us progress more quickly along our

common pathway.

1. ASSIGNING A FOCAL POINT FOR LEADERSHIP IN

ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE

(EXCELLENT CENTRES OR SIMILAR STRATEGIES).

A significant number of countries are in transformation in howwe manage water infrastructure. Some for longer periods thanothers. This has come about because the vision, strategy,programs and partnerships that led to past achievements arenot yielding a sustainable future. A shift of this magnituderequires a clear focal point for national leadership and globalcollaboration. In many countries, there is no entity, per se, thatis clearly responsible for nurturing the advancement ofpractices. A strong case can be made that all countries need afocal point. An institution something akin to a Centre ofExcellence with national leadership responsibility wouldundoubtedly facilitate and speed this transition. It could alsoprovide another pathway for the global community to engageon a more routine basis. NAMS committees and similar bodiesare growing across the world, but they still seem to want toreinvent the wheel rather than adapt an existing wheel to meettheir national variations. The truth is that the only things that aretruly different in SIAM across the world are the:

a. Local regulatory environmentb. Financial viability of the organisations and their

ratepayers/stakeholdersc. Unique one off assets that they may own, and unique

materials used in building specific assets.Every other factor will have common BAPs for a large

proportion of agencies across the world. Even their operatingenvironments (freezing cold, to hot and dry) and groundconditions will be found in many instances across the globe.

2. AN INTERNATIONAL STANDARD FOR

SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT.

As discussed above, the key issues and drivers relating toinfrastructure portfolio management are the same all over theworld. The best appropriate practice management ofinfrastructure portfolios and the whole of life cycle processesare common for all infrastructure assets (not just water assets).It has been proven that the rate of improvement in this area issignificantly advanced by a joint approach involving minimumregulated standards and an industry driven best appropriatepractice quality frameworks. There is an opportunity to bringabout this important transition in a more disciplined andefficient manner. Various interests are exploring approaches toestablishing a universal global model for infrastructure assetmanagement.

The idea envisages the creation of an ISO based standardwhose principal intent is to continuously improve the quality ofsustainable infrastructure asset management. The lack of acommon standard inhibits benchmarking activities and makesthe process of knowledge transfer, which relies on similarvocabulary and shared vision, a much more complex pursuit.Undoubtedly, universally settling on a mutually understood

asset management


framework will enhance the collaborative learning process. Theidea is that this is a robust undertaking. A common frameworkwill always be a work in progress subject to enhancement andimprovement as we proceed along our journey of accumulatingknowledge.

At the moment the most advanced public model is the UK’sPAS 55. To date this has been an exclusive UK product. The IAMshould consider expanding its development to a more globallyinclusive model. Work in Australia and NZ is more advanced andshould be incorporated in future PAS 55 advances.

3. STEPPED UP GLOBAL COLLABORATION ON

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE AND TRAINING.

Infrastructure rich industries (both public and private)worldwide have recognised the need for better skills andknowledge in life cycle infrastructure asset management.Sessions like this are stimulating and informative, but we needto think in grander terms and explore mechanisms that willbring about more routine engagements. On a local and globalscale one of the most beneficial avenues to foster broadimprovements in sustainable practices is to upgrade the meansby which governmental authorities and practitioners engageeach other, share knowledge and leverage experiences in thepursuit of successful and innovative strategies.

Substantial portions of the applied knowledge in the moreadvanced practices are found in other countries. Incorporatingexperience and knowledge based on the experiences of othercountries involves questions of transferability, but a model of“inventing our own thing” has costs and misses clearopportunities. We should be thinking about a broader constructthat encourages, facilitates and enables innovation andcultivates global exchanges in the policies, strategies, processes,practices, tools and techniques, as well as exchanges inpersonnel. The US has developed a web based tool kit underWERF and AwwarF called SIMPLE which incorporates many ofthese features and has an integrated training program designedfor the relative competencies required for level 1 Basic AssetManagement.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge the vital part played by

our past colleagues, professional association members and our

longterm clients and their dedicated staff in the development

and proofing of the concepts and principles that make up the

processes and approaches outlined in this paper. It has been

through this spirit of cooperation and partnership/sharing that

Roger & Steve have been able to develop our Sustainable

Infrastructure Asset & Facilities Management approaches &

systems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Roger Byrne has recently retired as the International Manager of

GHD’s Global Asset Management Group which he was part of

for over 30 years. He is based in Melbourne but works all over

the world acting as a mentor and advisor to clients and the

national organisations involved in promoting AM. He has

written many texts on asset management including many of the

manuals including the IIMM. Roger has helped develop

innovative approaches including the AMPLE/SIMPLE web

based tool suite, the TEAMQF quality framework and the Gap

Ex maturity assessment processes, business value chains,

confidence level rating processes, the step-by-step

approach/methods and competency training programs. All

these tools help identify what is best appropriate practice for

individual organisations and what represents the best

improvement priorities for individual organisations.

Steve Allbee is the Project Director, Gap Analysis with the

United States Environmental Protection Agency. Steve has been

with the Environmental Protection Agency for almost 30 years.

He is the principal activist for AM improvement throughout the

U.S. wastewater industry. He has written many vital papers and

texts promoting improvements in infrastructure asset

management.

Interested in preserving your local wartime heritage?

The Saluting Their Service commemorationsprogram offers modest grants to assist localcommunities to honour the service and sacrificeof Australia’s veterans.The program is designed to help preserve ourheritage from wars and conflicts and encouragecommunity participation in commemorativeevents.A wide range of community projects may besupported including:• establishing or refurbishing community

war memorials;• restoring vandalised memorials;• restoring and publicly displaying wartime

memorabilia; and• activities that recognise significant events

and themes in Australia’s wartime history.Local councils, schools and community groups suchas historical societies and ex-service organisationscan apply for grants through the Department ofVeterans’ Affairs.

available from theDEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS on:133 254 – metropolitan callers1800 555 254 – non-metropolitan callersWebsite: www.dva.gov.au/commems_oawg/commemorations/grants

Application formsand funding guidelines

asset management


In the building boom years of the 1950’s and 60’swhen steel and reinforced concrete became thenew materials of choice for construction, little

thought was given to the effects of corrosion on thelong term integrity of structures. The 1980’s sawawareness rising as massive American freeways &other structures began to show signs of deteriorationwith increasing maintenance costs.

Unfortunately, there is still a lack of understandingtoday of “prevention is better than cure” when itcomes to corrosion protection. Many still do notrealise that, ideally, cathodic protection systemsshould be designed and planned to be installed duringthe construction phase rather than as a remedialsolution.

Corrosion Control Engineering (CCE) currentlyprovides consultancy, design, specialised materialsupply, inspection and maintenance services for local,state and federal government infrastructurethroughout Australia and overseas, as well as in theprivate sectors. Our personnel are widely qualifiedand represent all facets of corrosion engineering,ranging from the core business of cathodic protectionto materials selection, earthing (including LFI and EPReffects), coating reviews and corrosion failure analysis.

In recent years there has been an explosion ofgovernment-generated infrastructure and tourismrelated projects across Australia at all levels to copewith population growth, population mobility and theongoing upgrading of existing facilities to support thechanges in population and weather patterns.

Local Government infrastructure that is mostsusceptible to corrosion includes water treatmentfacilities, thickener and clarifier rake arms, massconcrete and concrete pipe reinforcing steel, transportferries, water reservoirs, weirs and dams, includingassociated pipelines and storage tanks. CCE hasrecently been responsible for the delivery of corrosionprotection systems to Queensland’s new SouthernRegional Water Pipeline Network and the Gold Coastand Sydney Desalination Projects.

Local Government assets which are often notimmediately thought of as being at risk from corrosioninclude recreational facilities such as swimming pools,sporting field structures, fountains, boardwalks,playgrounds and public art installations. CorrosionControl Engineering can provide advice as to the bestpreventative measures for new structures as well asremedial actions for structures already showing signsof deterioration.

Corrosion Control Engineering is the largestAustralian-owned company specialising in corrosionprevention, and is actively represented in all statesacross Australia. Our engineers are available to discussany corrosion related issues, and to provide advice asto the most appropriate solutions for your corrosionconcerns.

For further information contact:

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Tel: (07) 3393 3200


Corrosion Costs Councils Big MoneyCorrosion of our infrastructure has become a predominant issue to Governmentand corporate entities in relatively recent years.

Mackay City’s Pioneer Promenade

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asset management


Development of an Asset Plan forGeographically Dispersed AssetsBy Stephen Farrelly, Strategic Asset Planner, Statewater, andAndrew Fraser, Planning Manager, Hydroscience Consulting.ABSTRACT

This paper outlines the process wherebyNSW’s State Water Corporationdeveloped a management system forapproximately 100 “unregulated” riverstructures. The structures are managedusing funds provided by NSW Treasury tomeet community service obligations.Stakeholder needs were identifiedthrough surveys and these needsbalanced against implementation of theState Weir’s Policy. Heritage and safetyconstraints were also considered. Theoutcome of this project was a long termasset management plan.

INTRODUCTION

State Water Corporation is the bulk watersupplier to rural and regional New SouthWales. State Water’s principle business isto capture, store and release water to in-excess of 5000 license holders in NewSouth Wales’ regulated river systems. Inorder to achieve this objective StateWater owns and operates 20 large damsand hundreds of in-river and relatedstructures.

In 2007 with the vesting of assets inthe corporation State Water became theowner of approximately one hundredweirs located outside the regulated riversystems. State Water has no customersnor any statutory means of collectingrevenue on these structures, State Watertherefore manages these assets on behalfof the State of New South Wales as aCommunity Service Obligation (CSO) andis funded directly by NSW Treasury to doso.

Preliminary information available onthese structures indicated that the servicecapacity of the assets varied widely—some structures were known to beintegral to the provision of town watersupply; others served as stock watering

holes for one or two adjacent landholders, some were known to be nolonger serviceable at all. In many casesthe use of the funds of the people ofNSW for the sole benefit of one or twolandholders did not appear to be anappropriate allocation of resources.

The New South Wales governmentState Weirs Policy states that weirs nolonger providing service should beremoved. However the services andcircumstances of few of the weirs weresufficiently well known to move directlyto this step.

The majority of these unregulatedriver structures were constructed by StateWater’s predecessor organisations suchas the Water Conservation and IrrigationCommission or the Water ResourceCommission and as such someconstruction recorders were available toState Water. Additionally someknowledge of the structures was held byState Water employees who were longtime department officers. Sources did notall agree on important details that alsoresulted in some doubt as to thelegitimacy of State Water’s claim toownership.

Many of the structures are located inremote areas, or at least in areas remotefrom State Water’s existing 42 officesacross NSW. This and the fact that thesestructures had no part in State Water’sestablished business meant that many ofthese structures had not been sighted,inspected or maintained since theformation of State Water. In many casesthe formation of State Water had leftthese assets in a state of limbo, with noone actively taking responsibility for themwith perhaps the exception of thelandholders with a vested interest in thestructures. This only complicated the

ownership issues surrounding thesestructures.

For some structures it would seemmore appropriate that the landholderreceiving benefit take full ownership ofthe structure. This itself is not necessarilystraightforward. Why would they want tocarry this responsibility when the statehas for so long? If they were willing totake on ownership would the NSWDepartment of Water & Energy (DWE)and NSW Department of PrimaryIndustries (DPI) grant the necessaryworks approvals? Who owns the land andwhat arrangements can be made to affectits transfer?

Transfer rather than removal ofstructures was not a desireable outcomefrom an environmental point of view as itmade no improvement to the fish habitataffected by the presence of the weir. Butremoval of a weir itself has otherenvironmental impacts as well aspotential heritage implications whichneeded to be resolved.

With these and many otherunknowns State Water engaged theservices of HydroScience Consultingteamed with an engineering heritageexpert (Bill Jordan, Bill Jordan andAssociates) and an environmental expert(Denise Day, Hyder) to develop a wayforward in the form of a preliminary TotalAsset Management Plan for UnregulatedRiver Structures.

QUESTIONS

From this discussion it can be seen that anumber of questions needed to beanswered: How much money shouldTreasury provide? What are thesestructures for? Does anyone need them toremain? What are the Community serviceobligations relating to each structure?What regulatory arrangements do they

asset management


have? Precisely where are these assetslocated? Are they actually still inexistence? Who owns the land they lieon? Does State Water really own theseassets or are they owned by someoneelse? How can this structure be accessed?Which of these structures is of heritagesignificance and what does that mean fortheir management? Do these assets posea safety risk? What does the DPI fisheriessection think of this structures impact onfish habitat and migration?

With so many questions, such a largenumber of geographically dispersedassets of such a variety it was importantto develop a process to answer thequestions in a logical order.

METHODOLOGY DEVELOPED

With most asset plans the focus is onlooking after the assets or capitalinvestment upgrades. However sinceState Water was only looking after theseassets on the assumption that theyprovided community service a differentfocus was required. The fundamentalquestion seemed to be “do we need theasset?”

In order to answer these questionsavailable documents were provided byState Water however these tended to beold as no work or inspections had beendone on many of the structures for someyears. The accuracy of information wasquestioned when some GIS coordinatesindicated that some assets were not evenlocated in New South Wales. Additionaldata was gathered by interviewing localState Water staff who had formerly beenwith the WRC and its subsequentdepartment DLWC and DEUS. Duringthis process some assets were found notto belong to State Water at all. If theasset was identified as being owned bysomeone else then State Water wrote tothem confirming this.

To identify if the asset was neededfurther research was required oncommunity needs. These needs fell intotwo groups:

3 community needs such asrecreation, water supply forvillages or towns or

3 stakeholders such as farmersusing the water for stock anddomestic or irrigation purposes.

Letters were sent to interestedcommunity contacts, councils andlandholders and follow up phone callswere made to clarify the user andstakeholder needs. One of the outcomesof this process was that it rapidly becameapparent that a number of the assetswere in fact owned by other entities.

Another major factor in decisions onmanagement of these assets was theState Weirs Policy. This policy aims toreverse where possible some of theimpact on native fish that has occurredsince European Settlement. The NSWDepartment of Primary Industry hadreviewed the structures and the fishwaysthey sometimes contained. Based on thisthe environmental benefit of removingthe asset could be identified. This

allowed assets to be given anenvironmental priority, particularly withregard to impact on native fish.

From this work a focused approachshown in the Figure 1 was developed andapplied to each structure.

Through this process it became clearthat the key issue in managing theseassets on behalf of the people of NSWwas how to balance the competingrequirements and benefits. There was thedesire of current beneficiaries such ascouncils, landholders and recreationalusers to retain assets. Conversely driverssuch as the environment and publicsafety suggest removal. The resolution ofthese needs involved the development ofa prioritisation process ratingenvironmental benefit and benefit tousers for each asset seen in Figure 2.

From this analysis State Water could,in most cases, answer the question of

Is this assett ownedby State Water

Should the assetbe removed?

Can the asset beremoved?

Costs

Plans, REF

User Needs(CSO)

& StakeholdersNeeds

Condition/AssetIncludingStructural

ManagementPlan

Environmental(Fisheries

Management Act)

HeritageConstraintsEconomics

Unknown

Yes

Yes No

No

Yes

Decommissioning/Removal

requirements

Environmental

Cost, Liabilities

Disposal by Sale

EnvironmentalPrioritisation

More InformationRequired–Gaps

RecommendedStudies

3.2.1

3.2.2

3.2.3

Figure 1

asset management


30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Envi

ronm

enta

l Pri

orit

isat

ion

Scor

e (E

P)

Use Classification (UC)

LikelyRemoval

Example Structure#1

Example Structure#2

Example Structure#3

43210

Example Structure#4

LikelyRetain

Figure 2

whether the assets should be removed. However in some casesmore information was required and further studies would beneeded.

If it was clear the asset was not going to be removed amanagement plan was developed to address DPI requirementsand based on asset condition identified capital and maintenancerequirements.

For assets that should be removed the key question was“Can it be removed?” Many of these assets had heritage valueand this required assessment of their significance andinterpretation of what might be required to preserve necessaryheritage elements. Also many of the structures were located indifficult to get to locations and economics would indicate thatthe assets considered as lower priority for removal would beslated for later action. These lower priority assets would requirebasic maintenance and safety management (e.g. signage) in themeantime.

Having identified assets that could be removed the processof disposal and/or decommissioning required consideration ofwhether a Review of Environmental Factors was required andwhat the capital costs were.

From the process described above a 30 year assetmanagement plan was developed into a TAMP in the treasuryformat.

OUTCOMES

For State Water the outcomes of this process were animprovement in ‘knowledge of assets’; including anunderstanding of the relative priority of assets; an identified wayforward with a program of works and defined furtherinvestigations; an estimation of the cost of future management.All of this was delivered within the required time and within theallowed budget to the satisfaction of those involved.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of DrDenise Day, Mr Bill Jordan, Mr Gidi Azar, Mr Eric Jones and MsJocelyn Karsten in the development of this work.

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PROTECTIVE COATINGSWattyl’s protective coatings include high performance epoxies(including primers and build coats), zinc rich primers, epoxytank linings and polyurethane topcoats. These coatings arecombined to produce highly durable coating systems for use inharsh environments and on various structures includingrefineries, bridges, floating docks, petrochemical tanks, watertreatment plants and mine structures and processingequipment. Wattyl’s protective coatings are also regularly usedon commercial and public infrastructure projects includingarchitectural structural steel, sporting stadiums, sound barriersand tunnels.

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Minister for Urban Development and Planning, PaulHolloway, says the grants to metropolitan andregional councils in the latest round of approval

include support for continued work on the River Torrens LinearPark and Tramway Park.

“The Rann Labor Government has now invested more than$54 million in the past seven years from the Planning andDevelopment Fund to encourage local governments andcommunity groups to develop public space in their local area forrecreation,” Mr Holloway says.

“These latest Open Space and Places for People grantssourced from the Planning and Development Fund will assistthese councils to invest in local projects worth a total of morethan $7.26 million.

“The $7.26 million invested in these community projects willcreate jobs for landscapers, designers and trades peoplethroughout South Australia and complement the billions ofdollars being invested by the Rann Government in importantinfrastructure such as public transport, roads and schools.

“These Open Space and Places for People grants arecreating a lasting legacy of upgraded community facilities suchas bikeways, picnic areas, bridges and play equipment for SouthAustralian families.”

Mr Holloway says the latest round of grants supportlandscaping work on linear parks and foreshore precincts thatprovide South Australians with better access to their coastline,creeks and rivers.

The newest grants from the Open Space and Places forPeople initiatives are:

$1,000,000 – City of Mount Barker – to assist the $4.95million purchase of about 37 hectares of open space on theoutskirts of the town centre, adjacent to the Mount Barker GolfCourse and Laratinga Wetlands

$400,000 – City of Unley – to provide lighting on theGoodwood Road to King William Road section of Tramway Parkand for works to separate cyclists and vehicles as part of the$460,000 cost of this section of the project.

$333,650 – City of Whyalla – to undertake the $1.07million Stage 2 of the Whyalla Foreshore redevelopmentinvolving paving, landscaping, lighting, seating, disabled accessto the beach, a new stage for outdoor public performances andthe construction of a rotunda in the Ada Ryan Gardens.

$262,500 – City of Charles Sturt – toward the RiverTorrens Linear Park to fund the $525,000 cost of designing and

constructing a new shared-use bridge under Findon Road, toreplace the currently unsafe and deteriorated bridge.

$180,000 – City of Tea Tree Gully – toward the $480,000Stage 1 of the five-stage redevelopment of the GoldenfieldsReserve located in the Golden Grove Development Area.

$171,000 – Tatiara District Council – to continueupgrading the main street of Keith through the $342,000 Stage2 streetscape works that will replace footpaths, alter kerbingand install pram ramps as well as provide improvedlandscaping.

$165,000 – District Council of Yankalilla – to assist the$330,000 purchase of a 2.5 hectares of land that will constituteStage 1 of a plan to secure land for the Bungala River LinearPark.

$128,300 – District Council of Mount Barker – tocomplete the $264,300 stages 2.1-2.3 of the Laratinga Trailfrom the new Mount Barker Homemaker Centre to CornerstoneCollege.

$100,000 – City of Mitcham – toward the $665,000 costof developing a community trail network that links the MitchamHills and the Plains.

$60,000 – Wattle Range Council – for the $173,571 finalstage of the redevelopment of the Penola Central MemorialPark to create a modern community outdoor adventure site forchildren.

$52,000 – Barossa Council – toward the latest $104,000stage of the Walk About Angaston project to complementprevious work done at the historic Angaston Cemetery, thetown’s Village Green and landscaping along Angaston Creek.

$50,300 – Barossa Council – to initiate the $100,600Stage 2 of the upgrade to the Main Street of Mount Pleasant.The project will involve the extension of the footpath in front ofthe Steam and Whistle Café with bollards, street furniture, seatsand bins to encourage social activities

$20,000 – City of Playford – to develop a $40,000 UrbanDesign Framework and Master Plan for One Tree Hill.

$15,000 – Flinders Ranges Council – to develop a$40,000 Urban Design Framework for the main businessprecinct of Quorn to create an identity for the town andenhance the town as a gateway to the Flinders and Outback.

$15,000 – District Council of Mount Remarkable – tofully fund a $15,000 detailed design to revitalise the PortGermein Foreshore and facilitate future capital works projects.

Local councils receive fundingto beautify South AustraliaThe South Australian Government has allocated almost $3 million in grants to localcouncils to improve and beautify open space throughout South Australia.

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Wattyl’s Industrial Division hasdeveloped two antigraffiti coatingsto assist local councils and

property owners to combat the effects ofgraffiti, allowing graffiti to be easily removed.These coatings are Wash Away Graffiti and PolyU400 Antigraffiti Clear.

WASH AWAY GRAFFITI

Wash Away Graffiti is a clear, gloss, exteriordurable, non-sacrificial antigraffiti coating. Thismeans that the coating can withstand repeatedgraffiti attacks without requiring reapplication.Wash Away Graffiti is designed for exterior useand can be applied directly to suitably preparedconcrete, brick and concrete block. In addition,when used with Wash Away Graffiti Primer, itcan be applied over Wattyl Solagard® on avariety of surfaces. This allows a desired colourscheme to be established prior to adding theantigraffiti protection.

Wattyl’s Wash Away Graffiti has been usedsuccessfully on stadiums, toilet blocks, pedestrian walk ways,convention centres, murals and even locomotives.

Wash Away Graffiti differs from other antigraffiti coatings,only high pressure water (1000-1500 psi) is required to removegraffiti. Under the action of high pressure water, the flexible,hydrophobic coating deforms which destabilised the graffitiallowing it to be easily washed off.

POLY U400 ANTIGRAFFITI CLEAR

Poly U400 Antigraffiti Clear is a clear, gloss, durable, non-sacrificial antigraffiti coating designed for interior and exterioruse. It provides superior graffiti protection to most surfacesallowing graffiti to be easily removed by solvent wipe.

Poly U400 Antigraffiti Clear is typically used for theprotection of interior and exterior walls in high densitypopulation areas where damage by graffiti is prevalent, for

example, pedestrian walkways, foot bridges,bus shelters, railway stations and staircases.

Poly U400 Antigraffiti Clear is suitable forapplication over a Poly U400 system tofurther increase UV protection and depth ofcolour with the added benefit of antigraffitiproperties. It may also be applied over mostmasonry surfaces and thin film acryliccoatings such as Wattyl Solagard® (for exterioruse) and Wattyl I.d Interior Design® (forinterior use).

For more information on Wattyl’s antigraffiti

coating solutions contact Wattyl Customer

Service on 132 101 or visit www.wattyl.com.au

Wattyl Antigraffiti SolutionsRectifying damage to property inflicted by graffiti vandals is a significant costto local councils each year. Damage is unsightly, particularly when aerosols andmarker pens are used to ‘tag’ property, a prevalent form of vandalism.

Graffiti removal with high pressure water from Wash Away Graffiti.

Locomotive BL26 protected with Poly U400 Antigraffiti clear.

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Rudd Government top-up forCommunity InfrastructureFundingWith the recent announcement of a bonus $220 million to be allotted to theCommunity Infrastructure Program (CIP), the Federal Government’s fundingcommitment to the nation-building development and enhancement of local

Over 3,300 large- and small-scale projects have

commenced as a result of the Community

Infrastructure Program’s rapid injection of community

funds. Projects range from park rejuvenation to increased

recreational facilities, sporting ground upgrades, and

improvements to town lighting and security.

The CIP, along with Financial Assistance Grants and the

Road to Recovery program, is part of a Federal Government

stimulus package scheme that works to implement

improvement of Infrastructure and Services. Via this scheme, a

total of $2.6 billion has now been allocated to local

infrastructure projects.

Following the announcement of the initiative, Federal

Treasurer Wayne Swan’s office acknowledged the difficulty that

local governments face, saying that ‘the Government has

identified that local councils face an enormous underspend in

local community infrastructure, and local government will not

be able to address this shortage without assistance from the

Australian Government.’

When the government’s first community infrastructure

stimulus package was distributed, an $800 million cash injection

was portioned amongst local government authorities (LGAs).

The government allocated the first $250 million according to a

process that first assigned a minimum contribution to each local

council, followed by extra funds in some cases, determined by

each community’s needs. The remaining $550 million was

allocated via the Strategic Projects section of the CIP, which

allowed LGAs to submit applications to receive funding for

relevant and necessary infrastructure projects that required a

minimum $2 million contribution.

The latest $220 million boost will be dealt out in the same

way—$100 million via a formula system, with the remaining

$120 million open to local government application. This round

of funding will commence towards the end of 2009.

Alongside the Community Infrastructure Program, the

government intends to establish a $25 million Local

Government Reform Fund, aimed at assisting local governments

with the planning and implementation of their communities’

infrastructure needs. Local governments will be encouraged to

collaborate on prioritising the most efficient and beneficial

services for the needs of their local areas.

Treasurer Swan’s office outlined the necessity for a

government-funded community infrastructure initiative, noting

that ‘the availability of community infrastructure has a direct

impact on the capacity of communities, urban and regional, to

attract and retain population and services, and promote

economic activity.’

The Community Infrastructure Program aims to improve

employment, economy and infrastructure in each of the 566

councils in Australia (565 plus the Australian Capital Territory),

through the provision of funds for local infrastructure. This

financing will in turn create jobs to facilitate the works

necessary to build or improve infrastructure in these

communities. Communities will benefit from this long-term

improvement, allowing each local community’s economy to be

supported by its transformation into a more desirable district for

visitors and residents.

Environmental infrastructure is also a consideration where

the community funds are concerned. In addition to emphasising

the need to combat the global recession, the government also

encourages the development of infrastructure that will address

pressing climate change issues which are important and

relevant considerations for the present, as well as the

foreseeable future.

The Queensland government has committed to an

Environmental Infrastructure Program, with a $20.6 million

statewide allocation for environmental infrastructure

development. Projects include landfill remediation, stormwater

management and solar heating.

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CASE STUDIES

WALLERAWANG BRANCH LIBRARY, NEW SOUTH WALES

The Wallerawang Branch Library hasreceived a much needed and longoverdue renovation as a result of theCIP. Prior to the upgrade, the librarywas a much loved facility in thecommunity, which had unfortunatelybegun to show its age. Using the$64,000 granted by the governmentunder the CIP, the old Blaxland CouncilBuilding has received new floorcoverings, internal and externalpainting, new shelving and airconditioning, window tinting and newlibrarians’ work stations. An adjoining

section of the building—once adoctor’s surgery and credit union—was developed for after school, holidayand other activities for the youngpeople of the community.

Lithgow Mayor Neville Castle haspraised the government’s efforts toresurrect communities and localeconomies. “Without this funding theimprovements would have been manyyears away. The council and thecommunity are very appreciative of theAustralian Government for thisfunding.”

QUAIRADING PLAYGROUND, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The once tawdry gravel pit in front ofthe Quairading Community Buildinghas been transformed into a lush greenplay area with new playgroundfacilities. The town’s children now havea safe and attractive area in which toplay, including playground equipment

with a rubber safety surface, a shadestructure, and limestone retaining wall.

Adding to the benefits for thecommunity is the installation of a newbarbeque on the verandah of thebuilding, contributing to the versatilityof the refurbished area.

RENMARK GRANDSTAND COMPLEX, RENMARK

The community of Renmark has usedits CIP cash injection to construct anew grandstand and change roomscomplex for the local sporting ground,Renmark Oval, replacing the old,structurally unsound edifice.

The community has been greatlyenhanced by this new project, asRenmark Paringa Mayor NeilMartinson points out. “The project hasprovided a significant boost to the localeconomy, which at the present time issuffering the debilitating effect ofdrought and water restrictions whichhave resulted in a downturn inconstruction activity.”

Completed in April 2009, the new

facility houses four change rooms, anumpire’s room, two medical rooms,storage areas and public conveniences.There is also room for 200 spectatorsin the elevated and undercovergrandstand area.

Football clubs will use the newfacility during winter, with cricket andbaseball mostly being played in thesummer.

Mayor Martinson is positive aboutthe future of the community, andattributes this in part to the newdevelopment. “The new facility willassist council in its promotion of ahealthy lifestyle through participationin sport.”

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In August 2008, Townsville City Council achieved contractclosure on one of the largest regionally based waterinfrastructure projects in Queensland’s history. Once

complete the Townsville Water Supply Upgrade Project willcomprise assets valued at $140 million and will produceapproximately 310ML per day of sustainable treated water tothe communities of Townsville and Thuringowa.

Many critics have suggested that Local Government is notequipped to deliver major infrastructure projects efficiently.However, Coffey Commercial Advisory (previously The PeronGroup), one of Australia’s leading infrastructure advisory firms,passionately refutes such claims.

Mal Peters, who was the Transaction Manager on theTownsville Water Supply Upgrade Project observes, “TheProject illustrates that Local Governments can deliver majorinfrastructure projects on par with any other public sectororganisation. By partnering with our team of TransactionAdvisors, together Townsville City Council and CoffeyCommercial Advisory were able to deliver a successful result forthe community.”

Transaction Advisors were appointed on the project to assistCouncil in addressing a range of commercial issues rangingfinancial, legal, technical, probity and procurement strategiesrelating to the whole-of-life service delivery of the asset.

Transaction Advisors have an understanding of the keycommercial drivers of the project and can support Council fromfeasibility and planning to completion. Transaction Management

is thus not simply about building complex assets, but aboutdelivering the best value for money outcomes that meet theneeds of all parties involved on a project.

Typically councils have employed traditional procurementmodels, such as design and construction for delivering largeinfrastructure projects. These models inherently target lowestcapital cost as their key objective, often at the expense of higheroperating costs and ongoing stakeholder satisfaction.

Planning and flexibility on the Townsville Water SupplyUpgrade Project resulted in a fixed price contact that bundledthe design, construction and operation. This model effectivelytargeted Council’s diverse objectives, including:

3 Price certainty3 Performance certainty 3 Quality of infrastructure3 Risk identification and transfer3 Stakeholder satisfactionCoffey Commercial Advisory has consistently argued that

‘off-the-shelf’ procurement methods do not necessarily meetthe objectives and risk appetite of local councils. Each project isunique and requires a tailored approach in order to deliversuccessful results that span the life of the asset.

For further details on any of the concepts discussed in this article

please contact Mal Peters of Coffey Commercial Advisory.

Tel: 07 3228 0700 Mob: 0419 790 815 Web: coffey.com

Planning for success in the delivery of assetsMal Peters, Senior Principal – Coffey Commercial Advisory

Coffey Commercial Advisory is the newest addition to Coffey International Limited, formed by the amalgamation of The Peron Group and Stratcorp Consulting. The Peron Group is a leading infrastructure and service delivery advisory consultancy. In recent years The Peron Group has been at the forefront of designing and formulating asset procurement methodologies, including PPPs, that have resulted in reduced cost, quicker delivery, no upfront capital exposure, minimised risk profile and overall delivery efficiency for major infrastructure projects, increasing the likelihood of project success and maximising value outcomes.

Stratcorp Consulting is one of Australia’s leading leisure and sports consultancy firms. Utilising extensive industry and social research, Stratcorp ensures that all planning decisions and recommendations are evidence based, thus reducing risk. Their standing has been achieved through a strong commitment to adapting and tailoring successful planning methods used within other industries, to the sport and leisure environment.

Coffey is proud to be delivering Infrastructure for Australia.

Across Australia we’ve worked closely with government and the private sector to deliver major infrastructure projects for fifty years. We have recently been awarded the management of many school projects around Australia as part of the Built Education Revolution. Our businesses are helping to keep Australia moving, by providing specialist knowledge for the development of roads, tunnels and bridges, rail, ports, airports, buildings, mines and sporting and leisure facilities.

coffey.com

Other businesses in the Coffey group include:

Visit us at coffey.com to find out how we can share your challenge and passionately deliver smarter solutions.

impression). Right: Southern Cross Station, Victoria.

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1. LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT

The legal basis for Council’s involvement in sustainability comesfrom the provisions of several NSW State Acts, especially theLocal Government Act:

s.7(e) “to require Councils Councillors and CouncilEmployees to have regard to the principles of ecologicallysustainable development in carrying out their responsibilities”;and s.8(1) to properly manage, develop, protect, restore,enhance and conserve the environment of the area for which itis responsible, in a manner that is consistent with and promotesthe principles of ecologically sustainable development

Under the Willoughby City Strategy, Council has adopteda series of overarching principles to guide its decision making.

In relation to sustainability, Council has committed to: A sustainable Willoughby – Limiting our ecological footprint

through the efficient use of resources, protecting the naturalenvironment and encouraging biodiversity so that WilloughbyCity is improved for current and future generations. Asustainable community engages openly and freely, it respectsand celebrates diversity and our heritage and collaborativelyaddresses long-term social and economic well being.

In March 2008, Willoughby City Council also endorsed theEarth Charter (2000) and pledged to join a global partnershipfor a just, sustainable and peaceful world, and to work for therealisation of the values and principles of the Charter.

(Note that words in this Charter shown in italics appear in a glossary at the end.)

Willoughby City CouncilSustainability Charter

By Dr Haydn Washington, Willoughby Council

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2. INTRODUCTION

This is a Sustainability Charter that has been adopted byWilloughby City Council. It sets out our vision, principles anddirections. It is not a Sustainability Action Plan that sets outdetailed actions, which will follow later. Sustainability is not thesame as Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) as definedin NSW legislation, though it is related to it and includes it. It isa broader concept than this, and focuses on sustainability for allaspects of the human and natural environment, not justdevelopment. Sustainability is a word that can encompass manymeanings. One description is that it is an attempt to provide thebest outcomes for the human and natural worlds into thefuture. At the heart of the concept of sustainability is a vision ofachieving human and ecosystem well-being together.Sustainability is made up of three strands – social, economic,and ecological (sometimes called environmental). All three ofthese are necessary. Think of sustainability as being a three-legged stool, with each strand being a leg. For the stool tofunction, all three legs must be in place. It has been suggestedthat governance might be a fourth strand, however we see thisas a process that needs to operate through all three strands.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Social sustainability is often confused with social justice or socialresponsibility, but while it is related to these, it has a differentfocus. Within our overall sustainability framework, WilloughbyCity Council sees social sustainability as aiming for a society thatcan live in a long-term balance with the world and itsecosystems—in other words, a world at peace, both amongstpeople and between people and nature. Western society haspreviously viewed the world just as a pool of resources for itsunconstrained use. This has turned out to be unsustainable. Akey source of the problem has been our human-centred worldview, rather than an eco-centric world view which focuses onthe ecosystems that sustain us. Reaching sustainability willrequire a change in how we view the world. A sustainablesociety will require fairness (equity) and justice—locally andglobally, within this generation and between our generation andfuture generations.

Research has also shown that people are withdrawingsomewhat from being part of the community, so thatconnections within and across the community are becomingincreasingly fragile. We recognise that without a just, fair andcohesive community it will be difficult to reach ecologicalsustainability and solve the environmental crisis. Social cohesionabout sustainability is thus an important part of the solution. Astrong ‘sense of place’ is also important to social sustainability.Raised awareness regarding the ‘stories of Willoughby’(including its long Aboriginal history) may contribute tosustainability.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

Economic sustainability is about creating an economy that issustainable over the long-term, not just a short-term growth

economy. This means not damaging the ecosystem services thatunderpin our society. Environmental economics has nowbecome the cutting edge of economics, and in many ways isintegrating ecology and economics through environmentalaccounting. This takes into account the essential importance ofthe ecosystem services that maintain the planet’s health. TheStern Review in the UK and the Interim Garnaut Report inAustralia are examples of environmental economics applied toclimate change, and show that the economic costs of not actingare far greater than the costs of taking action now. Economicsustainability is not continuing ‘business as usual’, it demandschange to unsustainable practices and involves acting on neweconomic opportunities to reach sustainability. It requires takinginto account all of the ecological aspects of economic decisions.

ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY

Within our overall sustainability framework, we considerecological sustainability to be about taking action to solve theEarth’s environmental crisis by monitoring, restoring andsupporting the biodiversity and ecosystems (includingecosystem services) that support us. In practical terms it means:

3 Increasing our understanding of environmental scienceand using it to guide our actions

3 Conserving and restoring our native vegetation ratherthan clearing it

3 Maintaining and improving our soils 3 Maintaining and improving air and stream quality 3 Not over-using our water resources 3 Not using non-renewable resources if we can switch to

renewable ones, and only using renewable resources ina sustainable manner

3 Rethinking how we produce waste, reducing the amountof waste, reusing as much remaining waste as possible,and recycling the rest.

In terms of urgent challenges, it means greatly reducing ourcarbon footprint by controlling our greenhouse gas emissions.This means not exceeding the Earth’s carrying capacity, whichcan result in ecosystem breakdown and massive speciesextinctions.

People historically have tended to devote the majority oftheir time to their society and their economy. To return to the‘three-legged stool’ analogy, it is the third leg—ecologicalsustainability—that has received less attention, and maycollapse. Willoughby City Council is also aware that noteveryone will agree with our definitions of sustainability, whichis why we have defined what we mean. Certain interestsworldwide seek to shift the focus of ‘sustainability’ primarily toan economic or social focus, so that they can continue businessas usual—which may not be ecologically sustainable. Socialand economic factors must remain a key part of the decision-making process, but in order to respond to the urgency of theenvironmental crisis, extra weight needs to be given to restoringthe balance—by focusing on the long overlooked side:

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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Abergeldie won three of the five award categories. TheRoad and Traffic Authority’s Hazelbrook Skywalk Bridgetook out category 1 (Projects under $1M), the

Erskineville Railway Overbridge built for Railcorp won category2 ($1M-$5M) and the ventilation shafts for BHP’s DendrobiumMine won category 4 ($20M-$75M).

The Hazelbrook Skywalk Bridge was one component of theGreat Western Highway widening. During the environmentalassessment an indigenous artefact of historical significance wasdiscovered which led to the skywalk being incorporated into theproject. The bridge was a complex structure with extremelytight tolerances in difficult terrain.

The Erskineville Railway Overbridge involved replacing theoriginal two-span road bridge built in 1890 with a single span.The bridge spans the primary rail corridor of six lines betweenCentral and Strathfield which were live during construction. Thepurpose was to improve the safety of rail commuters byremoving a large brick pier positioned between the suburbanand main lines. The bridge was showing advanced structuraldeterioration and needed replacing. The new bridge providessafe pedestrian access.

The BHP Billiton Dendrobium coal mine located in theenvironmentally sensitive Illawarra escarpment west ofWollongong required two ventilation shafts to enable theunderground mine’s expansion. Shafts were required to becompletely hydrostatic with a 50-year life span. The shafts werebored at 4.81m and 5.91m diameter to a depth of 260 meters.Abergeldie’s blind boring techniques enable shafts to be drilledand lined by remote methods – no personnel enter the shaft atany stage and there is no interface with existing undergroundoperations. The two shafts were completed prior DendrobiumCoal’s underground drives reaching the shaft bottom.

Managing Director Mick Boyle would like to thank clients forthe high quality outcome of these projects. He believes theseawards would not be possible without developing beneficialworking relationships.

Abergeldie is 100% Australian owned and operated and isconcerned about supporting regional industry and economies byengaging local subcontractors and suppliers wherever possible.“Abergeldie holds fast to its mission statement: to provide thecomplex infrastructure needed to build a better community,”commented Mr Boyle.

“We are an approachable company, flexible and dynamic incarrying out construction projects,” Mr Boyle said. “We are ableto systematically manage health and safety, environmentalissues, quality and timely completion with satisfactory financialoutcomes.”

Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure was established in 1994by Mick Boyle with the vision of becoming Australia’s premiermulti-disciplined middle-tier construction company. Thecompany has offices in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane andCanberra with expansion in progress.

www.abergeldie.com

Innovation and Industry Best PracticeAbergeldie ComplexInfrastructure’s bestpractice initiatives wereon display at the 2009NSW Civil ContractorsFederations HitachiEarth Awards. Theawards highlightexcellence in projectmanagement,environmentalmanagement andconstruction technique.

Winners of the 2009 NSW Civil Contractors Federation Awardsfor Construction Excellence

Category 1 – Hazelbrook Skywalk Bridge

Category 2 – Erskineville Railway Overbridge

Category 4 – Dendrobium Mine Ventilation Shafts 2 and 3

M A R I N ED A M S R A I LB R I D G E S P R O C E S S M I N I N G E L E C T R I C A L

WINNER 2009 NSW CCF Earth Awards (Category 1) Hazelbrook Skywalk Bridge

WINNER 2009 NSW CCF Earth Awards (Category 2) Erskineville Railway Overbridge

WINNER 2009 NSW CCF Earth Awards (Category 4) BHP Dendrobium Mine Ventilation Shafts 2 & 3

Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure™ won three awards from five categories at the 2009 New South Wales Civil Contractors Federation’s Earth Awards; highlighting our excellence in project and environmental management and construction technique.

ABERGELDIE COMPLEX INFRASTRUCTURE

www.abergeldie.com

Excellence in infrastructure

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ecological sustainability. When we speak of ‘sustainability’ it isthus ecological sustainability that is our primary (but not ouronly) focus. We acknowledge the importance and relevance ofthe other two strands (and many of Council’s other policiesaddress these), but see them as being integral to supporting thegoal of attaining ecological sustainability. For this reason manyscholars accept that ecological, not social factors, are the mostmeasurable and universal indicators of sustainability. We seeour task as not only protecting the ecosystems in Willoughby,but reducing our overall ecological footprint so as to reduce ourimpact. Achieving sustainability will require ‘ecological decisionmaking’. This will involve the integration of ecologicalsustainability into all government and business decision-makingprocesses, so as to reduce our impact on Australia and theworld in general. This focus on ecological sustainability isreflected in its greater emphasis in the Directions (See Section4).

It is sometimes said that the three strands of sustainabilityare the same as ‘triple-bottom-line’ (TBL) reporting, which hasindicators for ecological, social and economic issues. However,while TBL is a worthwhile attempt to add ecological issues tothe economic and social issues (usually given dominance indecision-making) it generally fails to capture the meanings

discussed above. It also often fails to consider important issuessuch as the precautionary principle and inter-generational equitydiscussed below. For this reason we make a clear distinctionbetween the directions needed to gain the three strands ofsustainability and triple-bottom-line reporting.

3. OUR SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES

Principles inform what we believe to be right - so that we knowwhere we are coming from, and hence where we aim to go.Building on the Willoughby City Strategy overarching principledetailed in section 1, the following principles underlie ourstance on sustainability: General

1. We respect the Earth and its life, both for its intrinsicvalue and for present and future generations.

2. We assert that justice is needed both for the human andnon-human world, and that both need to go together.

3. We accept that we may contribute to environmentalproblems, and accordingly we will seek solutions

4. We realise that the pressures on nature will increase incoming years unless human attitudes and actionschange.

Ecological footprint

5. We acknowledge that all life on Earth (includinghumanity) depends on nature and the ‘ecosystemservices’ it provides.

6. We seek to protect and restore the Earth’s ecologicalintegrity, biological diversity and natural processes.

7. We understand that the Earth’s growing population is animportant barrier to reaching sustainability.

8. We believe that ecosystem services should cease to beperceived as free and limitless. Their full value, and thecosts incurred by damaging them, should be taken intoaccount.

9. We promote the study of ecological sustainability andthe sharing of the knowledge gained.

10. We uphold the principles of intra- and inter-generational equity, or fairness in how resources aredistributed within this generation and between this andfuture generations

11. We adopt the precautionary principle, so that thoseproposing development will need to show that theiractions are without significant harm to the environment,rather than the community needing to demonstrateabsolute proof of cause.

Climate Change

12. We act on the premise that there is still time to avoidthe worst impacts of climate change and that we shouldtake strong action now.

13. We accept that the costs of stabilising the climate aresignificant but manageable, and that delay (or failing toact) would be dangerous and much more costly.


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Economic and social

14. We support an economy and society that protects theEarth’s ecosystems and community well-being, wherethe quality of social and economic development shouldtake precedence over the quantity.

15. We affirm gender equality and social equity as integralto sustainability, and that special attention should begiven to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.

16. We recognise that sustainability will happen faster iflocal communities become champions of sustainability,share the benefits, and are involved in the decisionsaffecting sustainability.

17. We strive to work together with all sections ofgovernment, business, and the community to reachsustainability.

(Adapted primarily from the Earth Charter; UN MillenniumAssessment; Stern Review; ‘Our Common Future’ 1987)

4. CHARTER DIRECTIONS

Our Charter formalises the commitment of Willoughby CityCouncil to the following directions, many of which we havebeen working on for many years. We invite communityorganisations to consider endorsing some or all of thesedirections for their own organisations. 1) A SUSTAINABLE WILLOUGHBY CITY COUNCIL

1. We will build sustainability into all facets of ourorganisation and everything we do.

2. Sustainability will be included in our job descriptions,work manuals, induction sessions, reporting systems,and training programs.

3. All current and future policy will be assessed in light ofthe commitments in this Charter. In particular, we willreview and update the Willoughby City Strategy andManagement Plan in the light of this Charter.

4. We will continue our strong commitment to be vigilantand proactive in the observance of environmental andsustainability legislation

5. We will develop Sustainability Key PerformanceIndicators for the Council.

6. We will include sustainability measures in our budgetaryprocess so as to be given a priority in the allocation ofresources

2) SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY 1. We will support processes to change society’s ‘world

view’ in regard to sustainability and especially in regardto the overwhelming urgency to slow climate change.Part of this will be the recognition of a need for fairnessand justice within all communities. Social disadvantagemakes sustainability harder to reach, due to lowercommunity awareness and acceptance of the need foraction.

2. We will seek to engage with the Willoughby communityabout our sustainability program, our strategies, and

suggest ways to achieve local ecological sustainability,especially in regard to action on climate change.

3. We will engage, provide assistance to, and empower ourcommunity to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, and acton sustainability issues.

4. We will expand work with the Department of Educationand Training and local schools in regard to sustainabilityeducation and engagement.

5. We will continue to develop and implement theWilloughby City Council Social Plans as a process whichcontributes to the Social Sustainability of the WilloughbyLGA.

3) ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY 1. We will promote the use of environmental economics

that include proper assessment of ecosystem services 2. We will support sustainable and ethical investment and

educate our community about these issues. In particularwe will promote sustainable investment to mitigateclimate change.

3. We will encourage relevant superannuation funds(including staff funds) to promote sustainability throughtheir investment.

4) ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY 4.1) MITIGATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE

1. Willoughby City Council is committed to reducing itsown greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2010, andwill monitor these accordingly. We will strive beyond2010 to reach carbon neutrality as early as possible. Wewill also strive to ensure that the community ofWilloughby reduces its carbon footprint by at least 30%by 2015.

2. We will plan for the impacts of climate change anddevelop adaptation strategies for our community.

3. We will encourage and support key greenhouse gasreduction schemes to our community (e.g. theinstallation of solar and heat pump hot water systems,and the uptake of GreenPower).

4. We will advocate that Federal and State Governmentscreate policies and programs that meet or exceed thegoal of a 30% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020.

5. We will continue to implement energy conservationmeasures at all sites as a priority, as part of themaintenance and improvement works to Councilfacilities, and in the purchase of equipment. We willevaluate the opportunities to increase the efficiency ofplant and equipment owned by Council. We will expectand require our contractors to use energy-efficientequipment.

6. We will seek to use energy from renewable sources. Wewill install renewable energy sources (wherever feasible)in the LGA, and will investigate partnerships to this end.We will seek ways to assist and encourage residents and


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For more than a century,Downer EDI has been building local

communities and developing andmaintaining our clients’ criticalinfrastructure assets.

Downer EDI provides acomprehensive range of transport,social and water-basedinfrastructure services includingthe design, build and maintenanceof roads, rail, airports, ports,education and healthcare facilities.

The energy and resourcessectors are also key areas ofoperation for Downer EDI with afocus on renewable energy (for example wind, solar andefficient buildings), power,transmission, oil and gas, mining,metals and minerals.

With more than 24,000employees, Downer EDI has successfully completed thousandsof local government projects for clients across the world.

KARRATHA AIRPORT UPGRADE

(SHIRE OF ROEBOURNE)

In 2008, Downer EDI began upgrades at Karatha Airport. Thework included construction of new taxiways, extensions toexisting aprons, upgrading an existing taxiway, commissioning atemporary runway and widening the main runway toaccommodate Boeing 767 aircraft. The airport is one of thebusiest in the state and the project was successfully completedwith minimal disruption to airport operations.

ROAD RESURFACING

(BOROONDARA CITY COUNCIL)

The City of Boroondara in Melbourne is home to 160,000people and is committed to preserving the local environment.Downer EDI has been undertaking road resurfacing in the regionsince 2003 and introduced a new environmentally sustainableasphalt product for resurfacing and rehabilitating roadpavement. The EcoPhalt Warm Asphalt Mix is used instead ofconventional hot mix asphalt. This results in lower C02emissions, higher levels of Recycled Asphalt Product andimproved product versatility. Downer EDI can now deliver analternative sustainable road resurfacing service with noreduction in the quality of road performance.

SAFER ROADS ALLIANCE

(MORNINGTON PENINSULA SHIRE COUNCIL)

Mornington Shire Council and Downer EDI have established a15-year partnership which provides integrated road and relatedconstruction services to build safer roads for the region. The partnership provides significant savings for rate payers and has evolved to become a body which offers ongoingsupport for local businesses and sub-contractors, by providingskill development, safety training, resource sharing andtraineeship opportunities.

SCARBOROUGH BEACH REDEVELOPMENT

(CITY OF STIRLING)

Downer EDI was engaged to create an ‘unforgettabledestination’ for the Scarborough Beach site. The redevelopmentof this site needed to reflect the seaside location and localhistory of the area. Downer EDI designed and constructed anoutdoor amphitheatre with lighting for concerts and nightevents, and also undertook roadwork and landscaping,developed cycle paths and introduced limestone walls. CCTVand underground services were also installed as part of theproject. The site attracts more than 20,000 visitors each week.

For more information on any of Downer EDI’s comprehensive range

of services call +61 2 9240 9000 or visit www.downeredi.com

Building communities and partnershipsDowner EDI provides comprehensive engineering and infrastructuremanagement services to the public and private energy, infrastructure andresources sectors, across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.

Scarborough Beach Redevelopment (City of Stirling)

best practice


businesses to install solar panels and other renewableenergy systems.

7. We will practice and promote sustainable buildingpractices and advocate higher standards for the NSWGovernment’s ‘BASIX’ program. We will research andimplement incentives to the community to go beyondBASIX requirements.

8. We will advocate the immediate conversion of our streetlighting to become energy-efficient.

9. We will increase the average fuel efficiency of theCouncil fleet and offset its carbon footprint.

4.2) RESOURCE USE 1. We accept that there is an urgent need to reduce water

use from Sydney’s main storage dams. We will thuspromote water conservation stormwater harvestingsystems, and the sustainable use of greywater. We willalso encourage and support the installation of rain watertanks in Council facilities, residential houses, andcommercial and industrial precincts. We will investigatethe feasibility of ‘sewer mining’.

2. We will investigate and implement the use of new ideasto conserve water.

3. We will continuously review and promote the efficientapplication of the 4 Rs in waste – rethink, reduce, reuseand recycle.

4. We will support and promote the use of public transportto and within the LGA, along with active transport andcar sharing.

5. We will encourage and support all sectors of society toact to reduce energy, water and material use, andpollution.

6. We will consider the life cycle impacts of the materialsthat we use.

7. We will support business sustainability, and create aSustainable Business Network in the LGA to encouragebusiness to become sustainable, and encouragecorporations to ‘meet or exceed’ any broad corporatesustainability objectives. We will encourage localbusiness to implement sustainability action plans (e.g.the NSW Government’s Sustainability Advantageprogram).

4.3) BIODIVERSITY, HABITATS AND ECOLOGICALINTEGRITY

1. We will protect native vegetation, and native faunahabitats, both to retain native biodiversity and also toretain a significant carbon sink.

2. We will seek to maintain and restore the ecologicalintegrity of the LGA. To this end we will monitorenvironmental condition and conservation of ecosystemprocesses.

3. We will advocate that State and Federal Governmentsshould commit resources to stopping unsustainableurban and non-urban land clearing, improve agricultural

sustainability, and promote industries that restore nativebiodiversity and ecological integrity.

4. We will support the protection of ecosystems outsideour boundaries which are being affected by ourconsumer society.

For information about Council’s projects in sustainability, you can

visit our website www.willougby.nsw.gov.au/Sustainability or email

us at: [email protected]

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Earth Charter (2000). This is a declaration of fundamental principles forbuilding a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century. Itis available from http://www.earthcharter.org.

Garnaut Interim Report (2008) Garnaut Climate Change Review: Interim Reportto the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments of Australia. February2008. It is available from http://www.garnautreview.org.au

Stern, N, (2006) Stern Review: Report on the Economics of Climate Change.Cambridge University Press, UK. Summary. Available from:http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_cli mate_change

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well being:Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC.

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our CommonFuture. Oxford, University Press

GLOSSARY

Carbon footprint – A carbon footprint is a “measure of the impact humanactivities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gasesproduced, measured in units of carbon dioxide”.

Carbon neutrality – refers to neutral (meaning zero) total carbon release,brought about by balancing the amount of carbon released with the amountsequestered or offset.

Carbon sink – a carbon dioxide (CO2) sink is a carbon dioxide reservoir that isincreasing in size, and is the opposite of a carbon dioxide ‘source’. The mainnatural sinks are (1) the oceans and (2) plants and other organisms that usephotosynthesis to remove CO2 from the atmosphere through growth.

Carrying capacity – The supportable population of an organism, given the food,habitat, water and other necessities available within an ecosystem.

Ecological footprint – human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems and naturalresources. It compares human consumption of natural resources with planetEarth’s ecological capacity to regenerate them. Using this assessment, it ispossible to estimate how many planet Earths it would take to support humanityif everybody lived a given lifestyle.

Ecosystem services – the natural assets such as soil, plants, animals, air andwater that are essential for us to obtain clean drinking water and sustenance, tomaintain a liveable climate and atmosphere, maintain fertile soil, pollinate ourcrops and plants, provide shade and shelter and provide options for the futurethrough the maintenance of biodiversity.

Environmental crisis – the coming together of many environmental problems(often increasing exponentially) such as climate change, habitat destruction,land degradation, ecosystem simplification, loss of biodiversity and pollution.Together they mean that our current population and lifestyle is heading societytowards ecological collapse.

Governance – often poorly defined, it consists either of management orleadership processes. In its simplest form it can be seen as administration, butthe World Bank defines it as ‘the exercise of political authority and the use ofinstitutional resources to manage society’s problems and affairs’.

Greenhouse gas emissions – gases present in the atmosphere which contributeto global warming through the greenhouse effect. The term greenhouse gas isapplied to, in order of relative abundance: water vapour, carbon dioxide,methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and CFCs.

Intra-generational equity – concerned with equity between people of the samegeneration. It includes considerations of distribution of resources and justicebetween nations. It also includes considerations of what is fair for peoplewithin any one nation.

Inter-generational equity – principle meaning that decisions taken today shouldensure that at least an equivalent set of opportunities for human welfare isavailable to succeeding generations.

Intrinsic value of nature – that nature has an inherent value and right to exist,independent of its use by, or value to, humans.

Precautionary principle – a moral and political principle, which states that if anaction or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm then the burden ofproof, falls on the proponent. The absence of full scientific certainty is not areason to postpone measures where there is a risk of serious or irreversibleharm to public health or the environment.

World view – refers to an overall world perception and to the framework ofideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interactswith it. It is sometimes equated with a ‘paradigm’.


innovation


The DrainBlade – cuttingthrough roadside rubbishOne of the main causes for breakdown of road surfaces is poor drainage. If roadsidegutters become clogged with leaves and other debris, water builds up and floods themiddle of the road, causing problems with the road surface.

The current method for clearing

drains is to drive along the gutters

with a grader, which clears the

drain and makes piles out of the debris,

and then use a front end loader/backhoe

to remove the piles. This is a time-

consuming and costly effort, as it requires

the route to be driven twice, with two

separate machines.

Enter David and Wally Challen, a

father and son team from Mansfield,

Victoria. David is a road maintenance

contractor for Vic Roads, and was heavily

involved in the road clearing process in

the Mansfield region after the devastating

fires swept through.

While clearing the roads, David would

find himself exclaiming at the time it took

to effectively clear roadside gutters with

the backhoe and grader combination.

Finally, out of sheer frustration, David

clamped a log into the bucket of his front-

end loader, and as he drove, the log

graded the roadside gutter, heaping up

the rubbish.

The idea for the DrainBlade was born,

and David and his father Wally assembled

a prototype in their shed. The DrainBlade

is an attachment for a front end loader or

backhoe, which features a blade on an

articulated arm. The blade extends to the

side of the vehicle, and can be

manoeuvred to scrape the leaves and

roadside rubbish into piles. Once the

process of clearing the drains is complete,

the blade arm retracts behind the front

end loader scoop, and the operator can

go back and collect the piles.

David has had a DrainBlade prototype

fitted to his machine for about 12 months.

On average, David says he can clear about

10km of road per day, and sometimes

more.

The DrainBlade will be a valuable

asset to local councils, allowing road

workers to complete the whole task of

clearing roadside drains and gutters using

just one machine. This means that the

clearing work will be cheaper, quicker,

and cause less disruption on the road.

Carol Challen, David’s wife, says that

there has been plenty of interest from

local governments regarding the

DrainBlade, due to its time- and cost-

saving innovation. “It is of great interest

to shires as they don’t need two machines

to maintain roads. The DrainBlade does

the job of a grader and a backhoe, hence

freeing up machinery and manpower.”

The Challens have received attention

from various shires, from Victoria up to

Queensland. Machine drivers that are

contracted have also expressed interest in

the DrainBlade, indicating that they think

it would be of great benefit to them and

their shires to purchase the machinery.

The next step is to get the DrainBlade

into production. An international patent

application is pending, and

commercialisation is imminent. The

Challens have recently teamed up with

Burders in Wangaratta, who are currently

manufacturing the first DrainBlade to

come off their assembly line. This means

that the product should be ready to fit to

machinery very soon.

As David says, “It’s all looking pretty

positive.”

superannuation


Everyone has different needs of course, but a good indication of the sort of annual income you may need isthe Westpac ASFA1 Retirement Standard provided below. We’ve also included the Age Pension and thepoverty line for your comparison.

2 ASFA Westpac figures for September quarter 2008. Figures assume home ownership and are for women. 3 Effective 20 March 2009. 4

Poverty line figures for September quarter 2008. Source: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

ARE YOU ON TRACK?

So, are you on track to meet your retirement goals? If you’re not sure, our Super health check calculator, whichyou can find online at qsuper.qld.gov.au, is a good place to start. Using your current balance, years to retirement,and contribution rate, you can calculate the retirement income you may be able to generate.

If you find that you’re going to fall short, we’ve outlined a number of options which can help you boost yoursuper.

1. MAKE VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

Making either regular periodic payments or occasional lump sum contributions to your QSuper account maymake a difference over the long term. It’s important to note that any money contributed to super cannot beaccessed until you retire or after you have reached preservation age - see our website for more details.

2. MAXIMISE YOUR STANDARD CONTRIBUTIONS

Most Queensland Government employees can make standard contributions of up to 5% of their salary and if youmaximise your standard contributions, you will in turn receive a higher employer contribution up to a specificlimit.

3. CONSIDER SALARY SACRIFICE

You may be able to boost your super without affecting your take home pay. How? By salary sacrificing yourstandard contributions from your pre-tax income you may reduce the amount you pay in tax; then simplycontribute these tax savings back into your super.

4. TRANSITION TO RETIREMENT

Transition to retirement is a tax-effective strategy for those 55+ and even more so once you reach 60. Mostpeople can effectively minimise their tax and increase the amount going into super. Setting up a transition toretirement strategy is complex and you may want to consider seeking financial advice before making a decision.

Only you can decide what approach is best for you. QSuper has a range of forms, fact sheets, and otherinformation available to help you boost your super. Visit qsuper.qld.gov.au or call us on 1300 360 750 for moreinformation.

1 The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.

This article is issued by the Fund Administrator, QSuper Limited (ABN 50 125 248 286, AFSL 334546), on behalf of the QSuper Board of

Trustees (ABN 32 125 059 006). The QSuper Board of Trustees is the issuer of interests in the QSuper Fund (ABN 60 905 115 063). Where

the term ‘QSuper’ is used in this document, it represents both the QSuper Board of Trustees and the QSuper Fund. The information has been

prepared for general purposes only, without taking into account your financial objectives, situation, or needs, so it may not be appropriate for

your circumstances. You should read the product disclosure statement (PDS) and consider your circumstances before you make an

investment decision. You can download a PDS from the QSuper website, qsuper.qld.gov.au, or call us on 1300 360 750 and we’ll send you

one.

Couple Single

Comfortable2 $50,561 p.a. $37,829 p.a.

Modest2 $27,454 p.a. $19,617 p.a.

Age Pension3 $24,747 p.a. $14,815 p.a.

Poverty line4 $23,605 p.a. $16,664 p.a.

How much is enough?When it comes to retirement, this question is the big one. While mostAustralians are saving for retirement, relatively few have a good ideaof exactly how much money is needed.

qsuper.qld.gov.au 1300 360 750

3958 Aust Local Govt infrastructure yearbook advert_curves.indd 1 24/07/2009 2:11:45 PM

risk management


Improving the permitting approvalsprocess: Risk mitigation

Bricks and mortar are just the beginning for those delivering major projects, withcommunities now demanding engagement that is both accountable and integrates

As we strive to achieve a balance between economic,social and environmental factors in infrastructuredelivery, it is essential we formulate methods that

deliver collaboration between the community and proponent.Some say the world is on the cusp of change, equal to that

of the transition from the agricultural to the industrial age. Thatis, we are stepping away from the industrial ethos of over-production and over-consumption to a more sustainable way ofacting that acknowledges natural resources as limited andcommunity standards as relevant.

This change is delivering a tendency to incorporatecommunity values into planning and construction solutions,where in the past such decision-making has usually beenreserved for government agencies or engineers.

Other examples include amendments to environmentalmanagement legislation and the blurring of land use roles suchas the more regular adoption of mixed use development likeTransit Orientated Developments (TODs) in recent years.

As community values play a larger role in decision-making,innovative ways are being developed to garner these values toenhance the outcome and to sustain the relationship betweenstakeholder and proponent.

HINZE DAM STAGE 3 PROJECT:

A CASE IN POINT

One such example is the Hinze Dam Stage 3 Project’sEnvironmental Impact Study (EIS), where an innovativeeducational scaffolding and ‘enquiry-by-design’ program wasdevised. Delivered under an Alliance Contact, the Project onQueensland’s Gold Coast, involves raising the Hinze Damembankment wall to increase the dam’s water storage capacityand delay the release of floodwaters onto the floodplains. Thiswill reduce downstream flood levels and decrease the numberof properties vulnerable to flooding.

The ‘enquiry-by-design’ program was designed to fosterstakeholder understanding of the technical complexities and touse this understanding to directly influence those aspects of a

development usually assigned in total to an engineer.Graphically presented below, this enquiry-by-design model

was the tool used to facilitate communication between thecommunity and the project by building the capacity ofcommunity members so that they could provide an informedand meaningful contribution, as well as providing a mechanismfor input.

This approach was used to address a number of challenges.These included having to develop the design of the spillway,embankment, road network and post-construction recreationalfacilities with an unparalleled level of community involvement toensure a seamless approval timeframe.

SCAFFOLDING OF A DIFFERENT KIND

To address the challenges of the project, an innovativecommunity engagement program was adopted. As part of thisprogram, three key elements were designed to build thecapacity of the community, enable them to make informeddecisions and support quick delivery given the project’s tighttimeframes.

INSTRUCTIONAL SCAFFOLDING

To foster community understanding of the complexities (i.e.design, engineering, environmental and community concerns), a‘scaffolding’ program was undertaken. The process involvedproviding participants with a foundation or framework ofknowledge in areas with which they were unfamiliar.

Specifically, the process included:

3 Conducting information sessions on key areas, includinggeotechnical studies; possible post-constructionrecreational facility sites and design constraints; and thepurpose of construction roads and the challenges ofroad design.

3 Providing opportunities for views and ideas to beexchanged.

3 Tours of the Hinze Dam site to build their understandingof the site in question (i.e. geological features andengineering constraints).

By Greg Lee and Damien JonesGreg Lee is a Senior Communication Advisor and a specialist in strategic issues identification and stakeholder engagementtechniques.

Damien Jones is a Senior Associate with SKM and a specialist in the fields of communication, community engagement andissues management.

risk management


3 Building physical models to explain design issues.

DESIGN OPTIMISATION WORKSHOPS

These workshops were held during the EIS phase of the projectto help select the optimal designs for the spillway andembankment. While highly technical in nature, the communitywas invited to participate because different design optionswould have significant impacts on cost, the environment andpublic amenity. These workshops allowed social, environmental,economic and engineering concerns to be addressed.

CONTINUOUS COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

A Community Action Committee (CAC) was engagedthroughout the EIS phase of the project and included theirinvolvement in:

3 Fortnightly workshops and meetings

3 Detailed briefing kits and presentations

3 Regular site visits to obtain community input onparticular design aspects or challenges as they arose.

ARRIVING AT A SUSTAINABLE OUTCOME

By involving the community in the decision-making process,

more sustainable and informed outcomes were formulated

during the EIS.

Spillway and embankment design. The option chosen for

the spillway and embankment design resulted in a solution that

provided valuable benefits to the community and the

environment. The final option used less material, lowered costs

and reduced the impact on the environment because less rock

was quarried and transported. The design also included the

development of new recreational facilities.

Road Design. Involving the community in the process of

designing the road system for construction and post-

construction proved immensely valuable because this aspect of

the project could have had severe impacts on the local

residents. Working with participants, a road network was

designed that met the needs of the project and the post-

construction needs of the community.

Recreational facilities. The community had a strong

emotional attachment to the dam as it provided for significant

recreational activities that included walking/hiking, mountain

biking, rowing and fishing. In one specific example the

developers worked with the fishing community and were able

to design and build new boat ramps suitable for use by fishers.

These designs were based almost entirely on community input

and resulted in an outcome that had 100% acceptance.

The final post-construction recreational design process

intimately involved the community and has resulted in a design

that has taken into account most of the community needs and

concerns. The lead dam engineer reported that the process

resulted in a superior design.

A NEW APPROACH

The use of the ‘enquiry by design’ method is but one example

of a change in modern day thinking regarding infrastructure

delivery and planning by clients the world-over. The use of such

methods tailors to the true definition of sustainability where a

balance between community, environment and the economy is

paramount, and is potentially a reflection of a changing

environment in which consultancies such as SKM must work. In

part, SKM has begun recognising this change through its work

in the sustainability space.

As part of the theory regarding the world’s transition from

the industrialist ethos, some theorists believe historical

approaches will be questioned and discarded for new and more

integrated models of design and delivery. This is no more

relevant than for consultancies such as SKM, as methods such

as the ‘enquiry by design’ approach challenge traditional project

delivery methods for a new, sustainable and potentially more

effective way of doing business.

Form CommunityAdvisory Committee

DevelopConcept Designs

Scaffold Stakeholders

Scaffold Stakeholders

OptimisationWorkshops

Community AdvisoryCommittee Progress

Meetings/Forums

Modify Design

Short List Options

Reiterative Consultation Process

Figure 1.1: A model demonstrating the ‘enquiry by design’ method.

risk management


THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT

In August 2006, an external consultant was commissioned by

Queanbeyan City Council to conduct an assessment of the risk

management capabilities of the Council. The report concluded

that, apart from some risk management in the area of OH&S,

Queanbeyan City Council had very little in the way of a

coordinated approach to risk management and, as such, was

severely exposed to financial losses, reductions in the provision

of services, negative impacts on reputation and/or legal

consequences.

The overall assessment of the Council’s risk management

capabilities was not flattering, as can be seen in Graph 1.

With the bleak picture that presented itself to Queanbeyan

City Council, there was the real possibility that the task at hand

would seem too daunting and, of course, where to start?

QUEANBEYAN CITY COUNCIL TRANSFORMS

Arguably the most important factor in Queanbeyan City

Council’s transformation was the level of senior management

support provided to the program. This support was

demonstrated in a number of ways:

a) The development and release of a Risk Management

Policy;

b) Formation of a Risk Management Committee;c) Communication with staff in relation to the program

and senior management expectations with respect tostaff involvement;

d) The allocation of funding to engage a consultant toassist the process;

e) A commitment that all staff in Council would receiverisk management training.

It was also recognised by senior management that this levelof senior management) support was crucial if Risk Managementwas to be sustained in the long term. It was widely understoodwithin Council that to ensure the success of the riskmanagement framework, it was critical that there was activeand ongoing support of risk management by the organisation’sdirectors and senior executives and that the support remainvisible through the implementation and beyond.

The first part of the implementation process was theformation of a Risk Management Committee consisting of theGeneral Manager, all Directors and key managers, the first taskfor the committee being the development of a RiskManagement Plan for Council. This plan provided all Directorsand Managers within Council with a clear understanding of theroles and responsibilities, the process to be applied to the

The Risk ManagementTransformation ofQueanbeyan City Council

GRAPH 1

risk management


identification, analysis and treatment of risk, as well as thereporting and resourcing requirements. Significant work wasdone to ensure the context was appropriate and the CriticalSuccess Factors (those elements against which theconsequences of the identified risks would be measured) weresuitable. The Risk Management Plan was presented to Counciland accepted (another significant show of support to theprogram).

The next part of the process involved the preparation anddelivery of training to staff right across Council. The temptationis to deliver a ‘one size fits all’ course, however, the involvementin the risk management program will differ across theorganisation and, as a result, it is unlikely a generic coursewould be appropriate for any member of staff. To that end, fourtraining packages were delivered – one to the Executive, one toManagers (the major course), one to Supervisors and one tostaff (separated into indoor and outdoor staff). By talking thisapproach, all staff within Queanbeyan City Council wereprovided an understanding of not only the risk managementprogram but, more importantly, their role in it.

After the training was completed, the next step was toidentify those events (risks) that could have an impact on theachievement of Council’s objectives. This exercise was madesimpler than it might ordinarily have been due to Council’sconcerted efforts towards the soon to be legislated integratedplanning concepts and Council’s excellent draft CommunityStrategic Plan. HB 436:2004 Risk Management Guidelines -

Companion to AS/NZS 4360:2004 states:“Risk is the chance of something happening that will have

an impact on objectives. Therefore, to ensure that all

significant risks are captured, it is necessary to know the

objectives of the organisation function or activity that is

being examined. Objectives lie at the heart of the context

definition.”

The Queanbeyan City Council Community Strategic Planclearly outlined the key objectives for all of its programs andservices which allowed the facilitator to simply ask the question“what could go wrong”. As a result, in a very short space oftime, a comprehensive list of risks was developed. These riskswere analysed and, where appropriate, treatment strategieswere identified.

The next step in the process was to record the risks in acentralised database that would allow not only for the captureof the risks, but also provide a level of analysis and reportingthat would allow senior management to make decisions inrelation to all aspects of the risk management program.

Queanbeyan City Council commissioned the development ofa risk management tool that provided all of those features, butwith one important attribute not available in any of thecommercially available tools – the ability to capture the currentlevel of the risk. This feature is extremely important as it allowsmanagement to track the progress being made in reducing thelikelihood and or the consequences of the risk through theimplementation of the identified treatment strategies.

The next step was to develop key performance indicators forthe program to gain an understanding of whether the riskmanagement program is contributing to better outcomes forCouncil. To that end, the following metrics (which were alreadybeing captured by Council) are being used as an indication as towhether the risk management program is having the desiredresult: See Table 1.

If Queanbeyan City Council continues to improve its riskmaturity over time then it follows that the performance againstthese metrics will also improve. Whilst it is by no means alinear relationship improved risk maturity will result in improvedperformance for Council.

The final part of the implementation of the Queanbeyan CityCouncil risk management program is less an activity and more abehavioural shift – that is – driving cultural change.Communication and training form part of the change in culture– but they are just part of the change. To that end, QueanbeyanCity Council has approached the change of culture based onthree tenets: involvement, action and feedback.

The involvement of staff has been encouraged through thedevelopment of Hazard Identification Booklets which have beenprovided to all staff as a means of identifying potential risksand/or hazards that they may encounter during the course oftheir day to day duties.

In order for the culture to change, however, these bookletsare of little use unless there is action (i.e. the issues identifiedare addressed) and feedback is provided to the personreporting. In this way, it is felt that there will be demonstrable

FinancialOrganisational

PerformanceCustomer Impact

Reputation and

ImageOH&S Human Resources

• Material variationsfor budget

• Number ofadverse externalaudit findings

• Number ofidentified cases offraud

• Material variationsfrom plannedperformance

• Failure to achieveobjectives andtargets

• Number ofcomplaints fromcustomers

• Time taken toprovide service

• Number ofadverse mediastories

• Number of reviewsby regulators

• Number of legalactions takenagainst Council

• Number ofreported incidents

• Number ofcompensableinjuries

• Lost days due toillness/injury

• Results of staffsurveys

• Turnover rates

• Industrial action

• Time to fillvacancies

TABLE 1

risk management


verification that the program is in place to make a differenceand that it is for the benefit of all staff and residents ofQueanbeyan. Culture does not change overnight, however, byensuring that these tenets are adhered to, culture change has afar greater chance of occurring.

THE RESULT

In order to gauge the effectiveness of the implementation of therisk management program, a further assessment of the riskmanagement capabilities of Council was commissioned. Theresults of this assessment showed a very different result, ashighlighted in Graph 2.

There has been significant improvement across all aspects ofthe risk management program which, will no doubt see animproved performance across all parts of Council, however,unlike some programs that an organisation such as QueanbeyanCity Council may implement, the risk management program isnever complete – there is always room for improvement.

CONCLUSION

Queanbeyan City Council is an excellent example of anorganisation willing to implement a senior management drivenculture change with respect to the management of risk. Far toooften, the need for change is identified at the lower levels of anorganisation and is unable to gain the necessary level of tractionto affect sustainable change.

Queanbeyan City Council approached the implementation oftheir risk management program using a systematic, well plannedapproach that will ensure improved performance in theprovision of services provided by Council, the safety and wellbeing of Council staff and the achievement of their statutorycompliance obligations. It was certainly not an easy task, nor is

it one that is complete – but the risk management programimplemented by Queanbeyan City Council will providesignificant benefits in productivity efficiencies and in turnprovide better value for money to its ratepayers.

Rod Farrar is the Principal of Paladin Risk Management Services. He

is a Certified Practicing Risk Manager and has worked closely with

organisations at all levels of Government and the private sector to

develop appropriate risk management frameworks. He was also

responsible for the highly acclaimed development of the

Fundamentals of Risk Management Workshop for the Risk

Management Institution of Australasia. He is also currently writing a

book which relates to the development and documentation of risk

management frameworks.

SOURCE:

1 HB 436:2004 Risk Management Guidelines – Companion to AS/NZS

4360:2004, p30

GRAPH 2

CONQUER RISKWITH PALADIN

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risk management


A disaster is defined as a suddenaccident or a natural catastrophe thatcauses immense damage or loss of life.

We all understand the absolute necessity of businesscontinuity planning. A reliable response after anydisaster can ensure a good business name is

maintained; their position in the community is preserved, andcan support survival through a responsive recovery directed bytheir continuity plan.

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risk management


The inherent risk of the PPP modelmust be debated and reworkedBy Graeme Hodge

Indeed, the PPP phenomenon is now a brand for third-waygovernments. Like Coca-Cola, PPPs in Victoria are life. Butunderneath these word games, crucial issues are at stake

and real decisions now need to be made. It’s time to take stockand move on.

The British Government has recently announced that itwould be giving loans to private banks that could not get creditto finance existing PPP projects. They claimed that without this,citizens would “incur significant additional delays or risk projectsfailing”. And the Victorian State Government has apparentlyfollowed suit. But wait a minute. Why would your Governmentgive loans to private banks, to fund private companies to buildpublic infrastructure? And, in any event, why would sane peopletrust banks and financiers when the whole reason private banksare not offering each other credit is that they still do notsufficiently trust each other? How could the logic of providingessential public infrastructure have become so corrupted?

Perhaps governments have supported this partnershippolicy so strongly that they are embarrassed to changedirection? Or perhaps it’s just a way of boosting confidence orsubsidising the financial system in difficult times? In any event,the concept of “public-private partnerships” has alwaysincluded a huge variety of ways in which governments relate toboth businesses and to civil society groups. In infrastructureprovision, we know that deals between governments andbusiness go back centuries. And we also know that privatebuilding contractors bring in lots of skills.

These, to me, are not in dispute. But there are dozens ofways in which private construction companies can be sensiblyemployed to build public infrastructure.

Victoria’s PPP policies are built on two foundations: first,our belief that bundling many smaller contracts across multiplefirms into one single large consortium deal is good professionalpractice. Agreed. But we have arbitrarily married this idea up toa second notion that PPPs require private finance in order towork. This is nonsense. It is simply a reflection of the belief thatself-interest and private financial engineering should be thebasis for economic welfare. Surely a major lesson from theglobal credit crisis has been the reality that self-interest does notguarantee efficient market behaviours. It leads too often to huge

and immediate cash windfalls for smart financial executives,making the risks complex to the point of beingincomprehensible, and to a game of pass the financial parcel! Sowhy would we continue to play this pass the parcel game nowafter the music has stopped?

Governments need to think not about what their past roleshave been, but about what it should be in future.

The latest international journals, such as Britain’s EconomicAffairs, make it clear that much so-called PPP evidence is not atall reliable. It looks more like industry advertising on one sideand ideology on the other. And they also make it clear that PPPproject experiences include a variety of successes and failures,and that there are now concerns in Britain as to value for moneyand long-term costs to taxpayers. Particular parts of theevidence will continue to be emphasised over other parts tosupport one side of the argument or the other.

What direction should we take with our PPPs in Victoria? Ithink it’s time that the various future options for “partnership”are put more clearly on the table for real debate. Rather thaninitiatives being forced to fit the existing narrow private financemodel, we need to expand our horizons. Either the public orprivate sector could, in concept, be responsible for controlling,funding, managing, constructing or owning infrastructure—withall options contestable. If we do, though, insist thatgovernments guarantee credit, give tax exemptions, or take onmore risks within the current narrow partnership model, thenlet’s be honest and call it industry assistance.

It’s also time to try some new policy experiments in publicfinance and capacity building. Sensible, strong and transparentpolicy and institutional options are needed here. We are clearlycrying out for government leadership and public initiative onthis front. New partnerships could be chosen from manydifferent publicity funded models that properly use incentives toget results through accountable public and private entities.From state enterprise such as the Snowy Mountains Authorityto today’s independent regulators, massive infrastructure hasbeen provided and maintained. Australians have proved to besensible and pragmatic. Why can’t we do this again?

Professor Graeme Hodge is in the law faculty at Monash University.

The PPP (public-private partnership) policy experiment has been wonderfullyambiguous and colourful. It has promised just about everything to everybody, frombetter value for money and on-time delivery, to innovation and reduced pressure onpublic sector budgets.

risk management


Local Government Risk and Risk FinancingExperiences of Government and Education Risk PoolingBy Harry Rosenthal, General Manager Unimutual Risk Management Services

There are few subjects more topical in today’s media than the subject of risk. Fromprofessional journals to the general public media, the concept of risk is playing agreater role in how on a professional and personal level, we are increasingly awareof how risk affects our environment.

The concept of risk is relatively simple, however, a

remarkably profound way to understand the external

environment. For engineers and project managers, the

concept of risk is familiar, as risk imperils project delivery time,

budget and quality. The concept tells us that the future is not

predetermined or preordained. The future is unwritten and by

taking calculated actions today, we can deliver desirable future

goals and objectives through better managing our risks.

For example, conditions found in municipal jurisdictions can

be changed through the actions of the local government. We

can solve congestion, increase road safety or promote

community development through meeting objectives. What will

prevent us from creating successful outcomes are project or

initiative failures which result from risks in the project

manifesting. If we become better skilled at identifying and

managing such risks, objectives will be realised and the future

we desire will be achieved.

For example if a local government entity wishes to promote

growth and development in an under-developed district of its

shire, it may initiate programs such as the installation of roads,

bridges, and utilities, in order to facilitate the growth and

development of the Council plans. We recognise that the

Council objective of growth and development could be

impaired by the failure of any of these projects to be delivered

either on time, on budget, or to the quality required. It is the

role of people like project engineers to manage the numerous

risks which can result in failures of these projects, and their sub-

projects resulting in the failure of the development initiative by

the Council.

Governments are in a very unique position regarding their

relationship to risk. It has been said that local government

occupies three different risk related functions. For example local

government often exercises a regulatory role, which is to say

that through government activities such as the creation and

enforcement of ordinances and Acts, it establishes a legal

framework in which all business activities take place within their

jurisdiction. Such a regulatory role gives rise to risks as it

attempts to improve society through regulation and levelling the

playing field for businesses and for residents. We are all familiar

with situations when such regulatory roles are poorly

administered, in areas such as parking enforcement or planning

and zoning.

Secondly, it is clear the government plays a significant

stewardship role in their communities. Local governments often

share this responsibility with state and Commonwealth

agencies. Recent examples include the Victorian bushfires and

the NSW flooding. Such roles are risky as well, as we note Royal

Commissions, and class action lawsuits are byproducts of a view

amongst stakeholders that the government may have failed to

meet their responsibilities as stewards of their jurisdictions.

Finally In addition to these regulatory and stewardship roles,

local, state and Commonwealth governments are also operating

a large business, with all the risks associated with any large

operator. They have their own internal risks regarding assets

and liability as well as risks their operations present to outside

parties such as residents of the community.

As we examine the risk profile of local government

organisations today we note that situation is changing. On the

horizon we see many new and emerging risks which affect the

success of local governments meeting their objectives. For

example, we see the increase in large capital projects as a result

of financial stimulus being undertaken by government entities

who may have limited experience in the administration of major

projects. We also note new models for the delivery of public

infrastructure such as public and private partnerships which

appear to be a growing trend in the sector. As a result of this

changing environment we know that this risk management is

more important than ever, playing a significant role in the

governance and management of local government projects and

day-to-day operations. We are in a risky business.

Another side of the risk coin, equally as challenging, has

been the financing of the impact of risk, in particular, when

losses manifest. Insurance has been the most common financial

instrument used for this purpose. One need only to examine the

headlines of newspapers today to see the financial difficulties

faced by banks and commercial insurers as they grapple with

risk management


significant shifts and changes in the amount of available capital

they have to underwrite risks. Such conditions impact the

insurance cycle, making commercial insurance often

unpredictable and occasionally unaffordable. Governments have

witnessed commercial insurers moving away from classes of

business critical to their roles at time when they were

undergoing financial pressures from falling revenues, increasing

operating costs, inflation, taxation/rate caps and increases in

frequency and severity of liability claims, judgments and awards.

The current situation is not unfamiliar to local government

administrators who are active in the 1980s. It was the time

when a new financial term was coined, “stagflation” a period of

both inflation and no growth. For a local government, it was an

extremely challenging period, with caps on rates and taxes, no

growth in community revenues, and rapid inflation in the cost of

materials and labour, local government administrators had to do

more with less. As a result, much infrastructure maintenance

was curtailed due to lack of available revenue resulting in an

increase of incidents related to infrastructure and litigation

against governments. As a result of these factors, in the later

half of the 1980s government managers suddenly found

affordable commercial insurance unavailable or prohibitively

expensive, taxing already stretched budgets. Many began to

explore alternative methods of risk financing, allowing them to

hold risk financing funds longer and leveraging their ability to

raise revenue through taxes, fees or charges, recognising the

time value of money. This situation, for insurance was difficult

to obtain from commercial sources, greatly impacted the ability

of local government entities to meet the needs of their

community. In the United States, for example, urban renewal

programs ground to a halt because of the inability of the local

government partners to underwrite the risk in the event of

accidents or incidents related to significant projects. Many local

governments seriously considered no longer conducting

preventative maintenance on infrastructure as the establishment

of maintenance schedules would have identified defects in local

government infrastructure, allowing lawyers to generate

lawsuits as a result of proving the entity was aware of the

known defect. In addition many local government agencies

refused to offer traditional services to the community as it was

not able to obtain insurance or any other type of risk financing

and examples include playgrounds and sporting fields,

amusement parks and other centres, and community services

such as clinics and facility rentals, due to the fear that lawsuit

could result in a financial crisis which the local government

entity could not sustain.

This trend worked its way around the globe, many US

government entities moved to comprehensive self-insuring

models, whereby their only limited engagement in the

commercial market was to obtain CAT cover. In Australia, at

that time, we also saw the evolution of government risk pooling,

as illustrated by the growth of local government pools such as

Premsure, Westpool and Metropool serving New South Wales

local governments. In these pools, government entities agreed

to join together to share risk, develop a unified strategy for

purchasing commercial insurance and creating a conduit for

shared risk management giving members confidence to increase

retention levels, to minimise exposure to the insurance cycle.

Universities too were unable to procure adequate affordable

insurance to continue research and teaching. Like the local

governments above, they sought each other out for alternative

models to ensure that losses did not seriously jeopardise the

operations of the institution by forming mutuals. Twenty years

ago many local governments and universities across the globe

came to the same conclusion; their fates were too important to

be left fully in the hands of cyclical markets and companies

motivated by profit. They sought solutions which delivered risk

financing certainty, flexibility for their unique roles and gave

them control over their risk financing funds. They sought

solutions which removed the profit motivation of use of public

funds and allowed them to build on each other’s strengths in a

spirit of mutual engagement, for a common good. The result

was a sudden growth and greater appreciation of the role of

self-insurance pools, mutuals and buyers groups as viable tools

contributing to sustainable risk financing the government

sectors.

Today, such thinking is far from radical, but 25 years ago, it

required vision and faith in an alternative future of lessening

dependence on traditional risk transfer or sharing through

commercial insurance. Twenty years later we note that this

pioneering view was successful as few public entities ever fully

returned to the extensive use of commercial insurance as

exercised up to the mid-80s.

Why revisit this past? Firstly, at this stage in the global

economic crisis most general insurers have remained relatively

unscathed (AIG and a few reinsurers being the exception) when

compared to banks, investment institutions and equity houses.

There may be future shocks on the horizon, and already we see

the wheel of the insurance cycle shifting to the hardening

markets. How far rates will increase, we do not know, but

pressure has never been greater for entities to reduce expenses

to survive. There may be lessons of how organisations coped in

the past applicable in today’s changing circumstances.

Secondly, it may be prudent to note that the increase in self

insurance, insurance buying groups, mutuals and captives are

still with us and celebrating milestones. Many mutuals/pools

are currently celebrating their 20th anniversaries and their

continued growth since the global economic situation which

gave them birth. In the university sector we note The Canadian

Universities Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CURIE) was

established by a group of Canadian universities in 1987 and is

still growing. In the UK, UMAL was formed as a mutual

risk management


organisation in 1992 an now has 55United Kingdom Higher EducationFacilities. In Australia we see the 20thyear for local government pools such asWestpool and Metropool in the greaterSydney area. In the university sector,Unimutual, formed in 1989 are now thelargest provider of risk protection in theAustralian higher education sector, andcelebrating their 20th anniversary.

Why for 20 years have governmentand universities chosen to ride the cycleswith instruments of their design, insteadof following the traditional path? Whatare possible reasons for this growth andsustainability in the higher education andgovernment, in spite of years of softmarkets? The following are four theorieswhich may help to explain why thesesources of alternative risk financing havebeen so successful over time.

Theory 1: Micro economics. UsingAustralia as an example, local councilsand universities have endured an ongoingreduction in government support,requiring them to explore new modelsand formulas. For example, universitieswhich once relied on 100% governmentfunding support are now seeking otherareas of financial support to meet overhalf of their annual operating costsincluding student tuition or fees,corporate sponsorship, alumni donationsand the aggressive pursuit of researchquantum from public and private sources.They, like local government, have learnedthe value of a dollar and the benefit oftime value of money. Mutuals areinherently successful in minimising thehighs and lows of insurance costs overtime, shielding members from the swingsof the insurance cycle, and making thissignificant expense far more predictableover the long run.

Theory 2: Genetics. This view holdsthat the long term success of thesemutuals is the result of an obvious matchof cultures. We know both the academiccommunity and local government groupshave long histories of working actively intheir respective associations and peergroups. The concept of pooling

resources, experience and skills is but ashort step from sharing risk financingmechanisms. This comfort with joining toshare knowledge is in the “DNA” of suchgroups and mutuals are successful wheremembers engage and assist in findingsolutions.

Theory 3: Value Adding ThroughRisk Management. In this theory,members of pools and mutuals rapidlyunderstand how sharing riskmanagement programs not only targetssector unique compliance needs, but cancapture years of sector specificexperience and cumulative knowledge.Using the mutual, risk professionals cantap sector-wide risk experience, creatinga culture which learns from losses forcontinuous improvement whichunderwriters appreciate.

Theory 4: Emerging Risk Cover.This theory relates to the lost marineinstrument arrays. Mutuals and pools canbetter understand the risks of the sectorsthey serve, and design compensationwhich best meets members needs, notmarket needs. We see, for example, thatmost mutuals have the ability to offerdiscretionary protection to members,compensating for losses which wouldnormally have been excluded fromtraditional insurance programs. Coversare constantly modified and newproducts introduced to meet thechanging requirements of entities whichwork in dynamic area such as research orurban planning.

For example, as I write there is activediscussion about coverage exclusions forswine flu from commercial insuranceproducts. This recalls Unimutualmembers in 2007 that were affected byanother “excluded” influenza outbreak,Equine Influenza, which caused anestimated $1 billion of loss to the horseracing industry alone. Affected Unimutualmembers requested and receiveddiscretionary compensation from themutual as the outbreak seriously affectedtheir veterinary education programs andfunds were needed to ensure continuityof this important area of research. Such

payments were made by the mutual’s

Board, as special consideration for losses

were compensated through the mutual’s

discretionary powers, ensuring the

individual members did not suffer a loss

which would have affected teaching and

learning.

In summary, we have witnessed 20

years of successful growth and

development of mutuals in the local

government and higher education sector

in Australia, Canada and the United

Kingdom, as we all have ridden the

cycles. This sustained contribution of risk

financing to the objectives of government

and higher education is worthy of

detailed examination as it illustrates that

through a skilful combination of loss

control, risk management and specialised

sector knowledge, groups can clearly

benefit from the forming of mutual

support networks. We have seen this

demonstrated for hundreds of years in

the academic side of our business and for

20 years, it has been developing in the

financial and operational sections of our

campuses. This may be a lesson as the

world faces an extended period of

uncertainty, that working together;

groups can create stability and increased

certainty.

Yarra City Council’sCore Principles are:

DiversityFairness and Equity

LeadershipParticipationPartnerships

ResponsivenessSustainability

risk management


Introduction: Goulburn-MurrayWater (G-MW) is the third largestWater Authority in Australia and

manages water storage, delivery anddrainage systems across the regionknown as ‘the food bowl of Victoria’,which depends on a reliable, affordable water supply to survive.G-MW is a Critical Infrastructure Provider. (Refer towww.tisn.gov.au for details). Since 2008, G-MW has beenprogressively building a business continuity capability to matchthe organisation’s critical role in the harvest, storage anddelivery of water resources to more than 30,000 bulk water andretail customers across northern Victoria. The implementation ofa best practice Business Continuity Management (BCM)framework is reshaping many aspects of G-MW operations.

Need for a new approach: G-MW has always had welldeveloped disaster recovery planning consistent with its role inmanaging 17 major water storages – including 2 of Australia’s 5largest dams, amounting to 70% of Victoria’s stored capacityand its extensive network of delivery infrastructure.

According to G-MW’s BCM Project Manager Chris Massey,rapid business and operational change along with increasinglegislative requirements demanded G-MW increased its focuson continuity of business functions, as opposed to pure disasterrecovery.

“The appointment of a Manager of Corporate Risk was thefirst critical step in shifting our approach and was followed by areassessment of the organisation’s key corporate-based risks,”said Mr Massey.

“In March 2008, the Victorian State Government declared allsewage and water services were essential services to which Part

6 of the Terrorism (Community Protection) Act 2003 applied.Consequently this declaration was also applied to G-MW as abulk water supplier to many Urban Water Supply Authorities inNorthern Victoria. This reinforced both the need and urgency fora comprehensive business continuity approach,” said MrMassey.

G-MW’s Manager of Corporate Risk, Martin Krzywak addedG-MW needed a new business continuity framework andcapability for G-MW that would address its complianceobligations.

“It was clear from the outset that a business continuityapproach demanded new and often different informationregarding business processes, their criticality and supportingresource requirements. The quickest way to bring thisunderstanding together and also undertake a review based oncurrent best practices was to form a project team,” said MrKrzywak.

Understanding the task is vital to Project Success: Earlyon the team realised one of the biggest obstacles toimplementation was the understanding of the new approachamongst staff.

“We were introducing a fundamentally new approach tohow the organisation assesses, manages and responds to risks.A Training Needs Analysis identified that an understanding ofBCM would be necessary to successfully lead and communicatethe project.”

“G-MW looked for a training course that would provide anunderstanding of how to properly approach an enterprise BCMprogramme implementation and provide practical advice andtools to enable us to complete the work ourselves – if necessary.We chose the BCM in a Box BCM Fundamentals course. Oncompletion of the course, we had a new perspective on BCMplanning. Using an all-hazards approach, we focus on resourceimpacts and how the unavailability of resources – regardless ofthe cause – affects the critical operations of the organisation,”said Mr Krzywak.

“With this knowledge and applying the approach detailedduring the course, we were able to build recovery strategies thataddress the loss of any of the eight general supporting resourcetypes. This requires systematically analysing the organisation’sfunctions to determine their criticality, recovery timeframes andidentifying the key resources that support the successfuloperation of the functions,” said Mr Massey.

Business Continuity Management (BCM) –Best Practice – Case Study

risk management


Recognising the need for additional expertise: G-MW’sBC team considered three options to progress the developmentof business continuity plans:

1. Use specialist consultant to lead a small G-MW projectteam with a software assisted approach.

2. G-MW project team lead project streams in eachbusiness area with minimal use of Consultants.

3. G-MW manages the project completely internally. Option 1 was selected for the following reasons: • Time: G-MW staff may not be able to commit the

appropriate time to options 2 and 3 to developcomprehensive and accurate BCP’s;

• Expertise: G-MW has extensive business processknowledge but little BCM knowledge;

• Retention: G-MW will retain knowledge of the BCMmethodology used to build and maintain the planswithin the organisation as the BCM in a Box softwareautomatically enforces the methodology.

• Cost: the overall cost of building the requiredcapability using consultants and a small project team isless than using internal resources.

• Capability: BCPs will be available sooner, thusmitigating a key organisational risk.

G-MW’s Business Continuity Project Officer, KathrynRaleigh, said taking the time to evaluate the business’ ability toundertake the work while also fulfilling existing business activitywas extremely important.

“Everyone agreed this is a vital project but also recognisedthat completing the work in-house would require significantresource commitment,” said Ms Raleigh.

“However Option 1 was only possible because we hadaccess to specialist consultants that provide a maturemethodology and integrated software package. That’s why wechose BCM in a Box. G-MW would have been forced to takeoption 2 or 3 otherwise.”

Automate to Expedite: BCMIAB Directors (Bryan McAteeand Scott Lansley) said: “Our approach was to use the BCM in aBox application as a project tool in conjunction with ourexpertise to facilitate the BCM process at G-MW. We would nothave been able to deliver the volume or quality of outputdemanded by G-MW in the timeframes available using thetraditional spreadsheet and word document approach”.

The process involved a number of steps:• The externally hosted BCM in a Box web-based

application was set up in 2 days.• The application was configured and populated with all

the key reference data used by G-MW. • “Train the Trainer” sessions were completed. From the start G-MW wanted to establish ownership for

business continuity in the right place – with the businessfunction owners.

To support this approach, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)were identified and Business Impact Analysis (BIA) workshops

conducted over a period of weeks, followed by BusinessManager’s review and General Manager’s approval. Thisprovided a comprehensively visible and robust baseline of corefunctions and key resource dependencies.

“The workshops were like groundhog day! The consultantled the first few workshops and we gradually took over thedeployment until we reached the next BCM lifecycle phase. Thisminimised project consulting costs while obtaining the supportwe needed to confidently progress activities. The workshopswere monotonous but vital to the outcome of the project –good start-good finish. What made it bearable were the peopleinvolved and their sense of humour,” said Ms. Raleigh.

Quality Reviews: G-MW requested BCMIAB to performreviews to validate the data collection process and informationquality. So far, G-MW has achieved extremely high qualityresults across all 58 functions assessed.

“One of the reports used to confirm results was a matrixthat showed all business functions and the IT applications theydepend on. We provided this report to IT and asked them toconfirm the IT system recovery capability for critical functions.As a result, IT now has a business-driven recovery requirementthat assists in determining the ultimate design of each system interms of its availability objectives. The report is dynamicallyproduced from the BCM in a Box database in seconds. Thissaves us a lot of time,” said Mr. Massey.

Martin Krzywak said “This project will provide G-MW withthe following benefits:

• Compliance with legislative requirements;• Greater understanding of risks posed to the

organisation’s critical infrastructure;• Ability to better target funding for capital expenditure

at key asset infrastructure;• Comprehensive and current Business Continuity Plans;• Enhancement of G-MW’s Incident Response and

Recovery Framework.”Moving Forward: The next phase of the journey will

involve practical testing to identify any shortcomings in theplanning arrangements and familiarise staff with their plans. Thesoftware will again be used to prepare, track and report on thetesting performed.

“The BCM project has a very high profile in the organisation– it has changed people’s attitudes. Our relationship with BCMin a Box is like a productive alliance partnership, whom we canrely on for quality advice and support. I’m managing asuccessful project,” said Mr. Massey.

About the Authors: Bryan McAtee and Scott Lansley are the Co-

Founders/Directors of BCM in a Box and have a wealth of practical

experience globally in the delivery of Business Continuity, Disaster

Recovery and Crisis Management (BCM) solutions. Both Bryan and

Scott are well respected and have presented on BCM topics around

the world and have a rare and proven capability through successful

response to real events.

legal


Contract Works Policies in MajorProjects—

Recovery under contract works policies can provide fertile ground for dispute inmajor projects, particularly when property is allegedly damaged in consequence ofdefective workmanship, material or design. While each case will be determined byreference to the particular policy wording, the following authorities are instructive,when assessing the likely attitude of the courts to such claims.

Written by Patrick Mead, Partner, Carter Newell Lawyers LLB (Hons), LLM (QUT), MIAMA,Graded Arbitrator (IAMA), Accredited Mediator (IAMA/Qld Supreme Court), RegisteredAdjudicator (BCIPA Qld)

legal


POLICY EXCLUSIONS

In the case of Chalmers Leask Underwriting Agencies v Mayne

Nickless Ltd1 a clause in the policy of insurance excluded from

cover:

“loss or damage directly caused by defective workmanship,

material or design or wear and tear, or mechanical breakdown

or normal upkeep or normal making good but so that this

exclusion shall be limited to the part immediately affected and

shall not apply to any other part or parts lost or damaged in

consequence thereof.”

A claim was made under the policy in respect of damage

caused to flood mitigation works through the breaching by flood

waters of a coffer dam that had been impacted by vehicles

passing over its top. No claim was made for damage to the dam

itself. The construction of the limiting words of the exclusion

clause was raised, for the first time, in the High Court.

It was held:

“that this exclusion referred to a single overall exclusion of

loss or damage of the type described in the clause and not to

one or other of the possible causes of exclusion. Accordingly,

the limitation applied only to the coffer dam as ‘the part

immediately affected’. The consequentially damaged works

were covered by the policy.”2

THE COFFER DAM AND BANK

In that case no claim was made in respect of the coffer dam or

bank for its rectification. However, in the case of Walker Civil

Engineering v Sun Alliance & London Insurance PLC3, Rolfe J

considered that there were strong indications in the judgments

in Chalmers Leask that had a claim been made for its

rectification it would have been rejected. His Honour in that

case, noting that there was no binding authority directly on the

point, considered that the decision provided persuasive support

for the proposition that reinstatement work of the defective

work was not recoverable under the policy before him for

consideration. The basis for his Honour so concluding was that

the loss or damage resulting from the necessity to carry out

such rectification work was directly caused by defective

workmanship, material or design.

THREE COATS OF PAINT

Another case of interest in this regard is Graham Evans & Co

(QLD) Pty Ltd v Vanguard Insurance Co Ltd4. In that case a

building required three coats of paint and, after a substantial

part of its exterior had been painted with three coats, the

paintwork began to flake from it.

The plaintiff, as the responsible building company, had to

strip a considerable amount of the paintwork with a view to

large areas being repainted. The evidence establishes that the

primary cause of the problem was that the primer coat had

been applied in too dilute a form and it had, therefore, failed to

achieve adequate adhesion to the concrete surface of the walls

and adequate cohesion within itself.In consequence, the other two coats were prevented from

adhering to the walls of the building. The plaintiff claimed underthe policy, which was essentially in the same terms and havingin effect the same exclusion as the one considered in ChalmersLeask.

In this case, noting that the impugned workmanship couldrelate only to the preparation and/or application of the primercoat, Foster J held that the exclusion clause did not apply to theloss or damage claim in respect of loss or damage occurring tothe second or third coats of paint.

By contrast, in the UK case of Skanska v Egger5, Mance L Jdismissed out of hand any attempt to claim that a defective sub-base to the flooring could be considered to have causeddamage to the floor above. Mance L J said:

“That argument attempts to divide the indivisible. I see noprospect of any court accepting that the sub-base damaged therest of the slab above it.”6

In Walker Civil Engineering v Sun Alliance & LondonInsurance PLC7, Rolfe J interpreted Foster J’s decision in theGraham Evans case to be based upon his Honour’s findings thatwhilst the three coats of paint were necessary to establish afinished painted surface, only the first coat was defective andthat lack of quality in it caused damage to the second and thirdcoats. Rolfe J thought his Honour’s reasoning to be that each ofthe second and third coats had a function to perform which wasindependent of that to be performed by the first coat,notwithstanding that all coats were necessary to bring about thefinished result.

This enabled Rolfe J to distinguish the facts of that case fromthose in Walker, where the concrete (the subject of the claim)had no other function to perform other than to stabilisefibreglass tanks which were found to be defective.

In Walker Rolfe J also disagreed with Foster J’s finding thatthe causal connection was indirect rather than direct, finding itimpossible to conclude that the damage to the second and thirdcoats did not arise directly from the failure of the first coat.

SEWERAGE TANKS

In Walker’s case, the contract works policy excluded cover forloss or damage directly caused by defective workmanship,construction or design. A proviso to the exclusion, however,stated that the exclusion applied only to the defective part, andany other part or parts lost or damaged in consequence of thedirect loss or damage did not fall within the exclusion and werecovered by the policy.

As part of the contract works, the plaintiff had installed in-ground fibreglass sewerage tanks on the site. One of theproblems which had arisen with the fibreglass tanks was that,when empty, the tanks would be “popped” out of the groundby hydrostatic ground water pressure. To counter this, concretehad been poured over each tank in order to stabilise it in

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position. The tanks were then found to be defective and had to

be replaced. In order to remove them from their position, the

plaintiff had needed to break and remove the concrete.

The plaintiff accepted that the fibreglass tanks were not

covered by the policy because of the exclusion. It, however,

made a claim under the proviso for indemnity in respect of the

costs of removing the concrete as being loss or damage flowing

from the necessity to carry out rectification work.

Rolfe J, in finding for the insurer which had denied

indemnity under the policy, considered that re-instatement of

the defective work was not recoverable under the policy, the

reason being that the loss or damage resulting from the

necessity to carry out such rectification work was directly

caused by defective workmanship, material or design.

His Honour considered that if fibreglass tanks had not been

used, then there would be no need to use the concrete or, put

another way, the concrete played no part other than to stabilise

the tanks. Thus the concrete was an integral part of the tank

construction.

His Honour considered the secondary submission of the

insurer, whereby it was contended that to the extent that the

loss was not excluded, it was not an “occurrence” under the

policy because the policy defined occurrence as an act which

was not intended or expected by the plaintiff, whereas the

removal of the concrete was intended by the plaintiff.

The court, in rejecting this submission, held that the word

“intended” was to be limited to exclude from the policy an

intended act giving rise to the initial loss or damage and

“expected” should be construed in the same way. Accordingly,

if the court’s view on the primary submission was not correct,

the plaintiff was entitled to recover the costs of removing the

concrete under the policy.

The case went to appeal before the New South Wales Court

of Appeal (Mason P, Sheller JA and Sheppard AJA)8. The court

unanimously held that the appeal should be dismissed. Sheller

JA (with whom Mason P agreed) said:

“In my opinion, the appellant’s claim is properly

characterised as a claim to be indemnified under the policy for

the cost of reinstating the defective part, namely the fibreglass

tanks. So characterised, it was not a claim in respect of any

other part or parts lost or damage in consequence of defective

workmanship, construction or design, any more than would be

a claim for the cost of stripping off of the second and third

coats of paint in Graham Evans if they had remained intact

and undamaged but had to be removed in order to reinstate

the primer coat.”9

Sheppard AJA, who delivered the leading judgment said as

follows:

“Here the parts which were defective were the fibreglass

tanks. No other part was defective. Their defectiveness, for

which it is acknowledged no claim can be made, led to the

need, not only to replace the tanks, but also to remove the

complex of equipment installed within them and to break up

much of the concrete placed around the tanks in order to keep

them stable … It is important, I think, to reach a conclusion on

the meaning of the words “part” and “any other part or parts”

where used in the limitation to the exclusion clause. In my

opinion “part” is not a reference to a part such as a tank or a

gasket; it is a reference to a part of the work being carried out

by the appellant … The natural meaning of the word “part” in

those circumstances is that it refers to the part of the works

which, being defective, have been productive of loss or damage

… The words “loss or damage” in the exclusion should receive

the same wide interpretation that should be accorded to the

same words in the insuring clause subject only to the

requirement that it be “directly caused” by defective

workmanship … In my opinion the loss or damage suffered by

the appellant as a result of having to remove the tanks because

of their defectiveness was all “directly caused” by the need to

replace them.”

Sheppard AJA went on to say:

“On that view the loss and damage suffered by the

appellant in the present case would all be within the exclusion.

The critical question is whether the words of the limitation to

the exclusion make any difference. It operates to limit the

exclusion to the part of the works (on the construction which I

have given to the word “part”) which is defective. It does not

apply to any other part or parts … lost or damaged in

consequence of the defective workmanship, construction or

design. The question then arises as to what the part of the

work which was defective involves. In my opinion it was the

part of the works which involved the construction of the three

sewerage pumping stations. It is perfectly true that the complex

of equipment installed within the tanks was not defective, but

the entirety of that part of the work was of no use once it was

found that the tanks were admitting water. That made the

whole of that part of the work defective.”10

Sheppard AJA concluded thus:

“Here the part of the works which was defective was the

tanks and all that was installed within them, the latter not

because there was any defect in the equipment which was

housed in the tanks but because the equipment was of no use

unless it was housed in tanks which were free from defects. It is

not appropriate, in my opinion, to look separately at the tanks,

so as to consider them alone and treat the need to remove the

equipment inside them as a separate and distinct item of loss.

One has to look at the tanks, really the sewerage pumping

stations, as a whole. When this is done it becomes clear that

the exclusion clause, notwithstanding the limitation to it,

operates to exclude the claim which is here made, the relevant

part of the works being defective.”11

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The case can be contrasted with that of Promet Engineering

12 in which the Court was requested to consider whether a

defective part, in that case the weld, had caused damage.

Hobhouse LJ said:

“The submission based upon the use of the word “part” is in

my judgment open to … objections. It leads to absurd results. It

provides no criterion for distinguishing between what is and

what is not damaged …”13

COMPACTED EARTH MOUNDS

A similar argument to that advanced in Walker’s case was

raised and rejected by the Full Court of the Supreme Court of

Victoria in Prentice Buildings Ltd v Carlingford Australia

General Insurance Ltd14.

In that case, the appellant had subcontracted the work of

building compacted earth mounds and sheds. The mounds had

originally been completed to the satisfaction of that

subcontractor’s foreman, however, a new foreman was brought

to the site and he instructed the subcontractor’s workmen to

begin removing the top of the mounds for the purposes of

reshaping them.

Subsequently, the head contractor’s representative stated

that the work in question was unnecessary and demanded that

the subcontractor rectify the mounds. When it failed to do so,

and left the site, the mounds were rectified at considerable

expense. It was contended by the subcontractor’s counsel, that

as the costs and expenses incurred by the appellant necessarily

included the cost of demolishing the non-defective parts of the

mounds, and expenses to which the appellant was put by

reason of having to carry out additional work on the mounds,

the case, or part of it, fell within the exception to the exclusion

in the policy. In that case, the proviso limited the exclusion to

“the part which is defective and shall not apply to any other

part or parts lost or damaged in consequence thereof.”

In rejecting this submission the court said:

“In my opinion, the sort of thing covered by what might be

called the proviso to the exception is exemplified by the water

damage suffered in the valley in the case of Chalmers Leask

Underwriting Agencies v Mayne Nickless Ltd, as distinct from

the cost there of rectifying the defective design of the dam plus

roadway. If, for example, the mound in the present case had

been a brick wall made with poor workmanship and as a result

part of it fell and damaged some machinery, the proviso to the

exclusion would apply to leave recoverable under the policy the

loss suffered by reason of the fall and the damage to the

machinery. But, in my opinion, in the present case there is no

difference in character between … rectification of non-defective

parts and … rectification of defective parts because both parts

merely are constituents of a defective whole, or a whole that

embodies, as a whole, defective workmanship.”

PAVEMENT FAILURE

More recently, there has been a move away from the use of

exclusions containing a proviso based upon the use of the word

“part” and a move towards exclusions in terms similar to those

considered by the NSW Court of Appeal in Rickard

Constructions Pty Ltd V Rickard Hails Moretti Pty Ltd15.

In that case, the plaintiff (“Rickard Constructions”)

constructed a pavement for a container depot at Port Botany.

The third defendant, an insurer, issued a contract works

insurance policy (“the policy”) for the project in favour of

Rickard Constructions. The pavement failed shortly after it was

put into service.

The exclusion in the policy relevantly included that the

underwriter would not indemnify the Insured against:

“The costs of repairing, replacing or rectifying Insured

Property in which there is a fault, defect, error or omission in

material or workmanship, but the Underwriter will pay the cost

of loss or damage caused directly by such fault, defect, error or

omission less the costs which would have been incurred in

repairing, replacing or rectifying the faulty or defective material

or workmanship immediately prior to the loss or damage

occurring.”

The trial judge had held that there was “fault, defect, error

or omission in material or workmanship” within the exclusion.

This was based upon the trial judge’s finding that there had

been “defective workmanship” attributed to Rickard

Constructions.

As the Court of Appeal noted, following from his finding the

exclusion was engaged, the trial judge said17

“The reason why… the exclusion[s] affords a complete

answer to the claim is simple. Where that clause applies (i.e.,

where its opening words ‘the costs… workmanship’ are

engaged), [the insurer’s] only liability is to pay the costs of loss

or damage directly caused by defective workmanship (to use a

compendious term) less the costs that would have been

incurred in rectifying that defective workmanship immediately

prior to the occurrence or loss or damage.

The opening words of the clause make it clear that [the

insurer] is not liable for the cost of repairing, replacing or

rectifying Insured Property in which there was defective

workmanship. It is, however, liable to pay the cost of loss or

damage caused directly by that defective workmanship. That

liability is limited because there must be subtracted from it the

costs that would have been incurred in repairing the defective

workmanship immediately prior to the occurrence of the loss.”

The Court of Appeal then turned itself to consider the

application of the exclusion and stated18 as follows:

“Rickard Constructions accepted that the finding of

defective workmanship in the pavement would mean that it

could not recover the ‘cost of repairing, replacing or rectifying’

the pavement (“costs A”), and would leave it with only the

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recovery expressed by the ‘costs of loss or damage causeddirectly by’ the defect in workmanship (“costs B”) less the ‘costswhich would have been incurred in’ rectifying the defectiveworkmanship immediately prior to the loss or damage occurring(“costs C”).

It submitted that costs B could be the same as costs A, andin the present case were. And it submitted that costs C wereless than those costs because immediately prior to the failure ofthe pavement it could have been repaired or rectified simply byallowing the materials to dry out (at no cost) or by removing theasphalt wearing layer, working the materials so as to reduce themoisture, recompacting and reasphalting (at less cost, or soRickard Constructions said).”

The Court of Appeal went on to say19

“The policy was a contract works policy. The insuring clauseindemnified Rickard Constructions against loss of or damage toInsured Property, being the contract works and relevantly thepavement. It did not insure defective workmanship by thecontractor, with recovery for the costs of making good thedefect in workmanship in the Insured Property. That was madeplain by the exclusion of costs A and the deduction of costs C.There could be different recovery of costs B, that it wasdifferent being made clear by the restriction to loss or damage‘caused directly by’ the defect in workmanship. The loss ordamage the subject of costs B was not that there was thedefect in workmanship in the Insured Property.”

The Court of Appeal found that it was not necessary, asRickard Constructions’ submission seemed to assume, to givethe exclusion clause a construction whereby a costs B had to befound – in its submission, the costs of repairing, replacing orrectifying the pavement.

In dismissing the appeal (and finding that the insurer’spolicy did not respond) the Court of Appeal concluded thatRickard Constructions’ difficulty was that, on the facts of thecase, there was not a costs B, or at least none which it putforward.

CONCLUSION

These decisions generally reflect a correct and sound approachto the construction of both the primary indemnity clause andexclusions contained within contract works policies. Althoughrecovery in any given instance must necessarily be determinedhaving regard to the particular factual matrix and the precisewording of the primary insuring clause and applicableexclusions, the decisions provide illustrations of the manner inwhich it is generally intended that such policies will operate.

Ordinarily, such policies will afford indemnity with respectto damage occasioned by external events (an example given bythe NSW Court of Appeal in Rickard Constructions Pty Ltd vRickard Hails Moretti Pty Ltd20 was storm activity breaching abuilding after lock up with rain water causing damage). Bycontrast21, having regard to the particular conclusion the Court

was called upon to consider, if the window flashing is

defectively installed and rain water enters the building and

causes damage

“… the contractor cannot recover the cost of rectifying the

building (costs A), but may be able to recover the cost of the

loss or damage from water entry (costs B) less the costs which

would have been incurred in rectifying the faulty flashing (costs

C). Why less costs C? Lest in recovery of costs B the contractor

is paid for doing what it should have done to rectify the

defective flashing.”

The decision in Rickard, supports the approach taken by the

New South Wales Court of Appeal in the earlier decision in

Mutual Acceptance Insurance Ltd v Nicol22, in which the Court

accepted that “Defect or Deficiency” is to be read in the broad

sense of “shortcoming, fault, flaw or imperfection.” It also

follows logically from the decision of the Full Court of the

Victorian Supreme Court in Prentice Builders Ltd v Carlingford

Australia General Insurance Ltd23, which confirmed that

“workmanship” means the performance or execution of work as

a whole.

The cases are accordingly a salient reminder that the

existence of contract works insurance is unlikely to afford a

contractor indemnity with respect to its own defective

workmanship (material or design) where the only damage to

“Insured Property” is comprised by the defective workmanship

(material or design) itself. In such circumstances, any attempt to

distinguish between a “fault or defect” on the one hand, and

damage resulting directly from such “fault or defect” on the

other hand may be misconceived.

REFERENCES1 (1983) 155 CLR 279; 49 ALR 149.2 Ibid.3 (1996) 9 ANZ Ins Cas 61-311.4 (1986) 4 ANZ Ins Cas 60-869.5 [2002] BLR 236 at 243.6 As identified in a presentation by Nicholas Longley: “What is ‘Damage’ in

Contract Work Claims”; Society of Construction Law Seminar, pg 19, HongKong, 28 September 2005.

7 (1996) ANZ Ins Cas 61-3118 (1998) 10 ANZ Ins Cas 61-418.9 Ibid at 74, 684.10 Ibid at 74, 693.11 Ibid at 74, 694.12 [1997] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 14613 Ibid at 156.14 (1990) 6 ANZ Ins Cas 60-951.15 [2006] NSWCA 356.16 Rickard Constructions Pty Ltd v Rickard Hails Moretti Pty Ltd (2004) 220

ALR at 286.17 Ibid at 311.18 Ibid at 118-119.19 Ibid at 120.20 Above n 16.21 To further use the illustration adopted by the Court of Appeal at [121].22 [1987] 4 ANZ Ins Cas 60-821

23 [1990] 6 ANZ Ins Cas 60-951

The material contained in this publication is in the nature of general commentonly, and neither purports nor is intended, to be advice on any particularmatter. No reader should act on the basis of any matter contained in thispublication without considering and, if necessary, taking appropriateprofessional advice upon his or her own particular circumstances.

© Carter Newell. January 2009

occupational health + safety


Fitness for dutyBy Dr Rob McCartney, Occupational Physician

As the rate and cost of work-related injuries fail to decline despite continualimprovement in safety systems, we need to look towards behavioural factors andhow best to manage these.



Workplace Health and Safety Legislation obligesmanagement and executives to control the risk ofwork-related injury and illness with severe penalties

to individuals and organisations who fail. Management of healthand safety includes ensuring that individuals are fit to performthe requirements of their positions without risk of injury tothemselves or others.

Some employees will have or will develop significantunderlying conditions or behaviours that put them at risk ofinjury or illness. This is the employer’s problem!

However, in managing this, a balance between the variouslegal obligations, including duty of care, disability discriminationand privacy needs to be considered.

In these cases the same risk management approach as youuse with any other risk is appropriate.

IDENTIFY THE RISK

Who may present an increased risk of injury or illness?Medical issue in workplaceDoes the employee have a medical condition that may beimpacting on their fitness to undertake the requirements of theirposition without increased risk of injury or illness?Presents with certificateIf an employee presents with a certificate for suitable or lightduties and/or indicates a medical condition that may impact ontheir fitness for duty,Returning to work after significant absenteeism

Any individual who has a significant amount of absence due toillness or injury should be assessed for their fitness to return towork.Recurrent work-related injuriesEmployees who have a history of multiple work-related injuriesmay have an increased risk of injury due to an underlyingmedical condition or other human factor.Under-performance/excess absenteeismAre there concerns about productivity, performance orabsenteeism, which may be the result of, or impacted by amedical condition?Reasonable concernsAny other concerns regarding fitness for duty that may have amedical component.Drugs/alcoholAre there concerns about drug or alcohol use impacting on theemployee’s fitness to undertake the duties of their position?

ANALYSE/EVALUATE THE RISK

To analyse and evaluate the risk, organisations need to considerusing expert medical opinion to collect all the appropriatemedical information, consider the information as well as theworkplace factors and advise the organisation of the risk profileand how this can be managed.Who should assist in the evaluation process?The medical professional used to assist in the risk managementprocess should:

Partnerships: WorkCover and industry

This signals a new approach to managing workplace safety,

one that focuses on cooperation and collaboration between

all parties to achieve long-term safety outcomes. As

WorkCover’s relationship with employers, workers and the

community evolves, the creation of partnerships facilitates a

clear and consistent pathway in the journey towards safe

and productive workplaces.

This collaborative approach is proving highly successful in

addressing issues consistently across the length of a

project. An example of this is the construction of the South

Coast Correctional Centre at Nowra. WorkCover signed an

alliance with the Department of Commerce and Richard

Crookes Constructions for this construction project. This

alliance has paid significant dividends by opening up

dialogue in the decision-making process and facilitated a

resolution process to issues through consultation and

collaboration without compromising safety standards.

It is partnerships and alliances like these that have the

potential to enhance workplace safety outcomes through

joint ownership of the decisions being made. A shared set

of practices and principles are at the heart of the success of

these partnerships and will result in more sustainable OHS

outcomes for all of NSW.

For further information, visit www.workcover.nsw.gov.au or

call 13 10 50.

WorkCover NSW is increasingly working hand-in-hand with industry and employers to

create strategic partnerships and alliances.



3 Have a good understanding of the workplace3 Be skilled at collecting the appropriate medical

information3 Be skilled at determining the risk of injury or illness3 Be able to advise employers regarding management

strategies considering relevant legal requirements3 Have excellent communication skills to communicate

information effectively to employer and employees

TREAT THE RISK (IMPLEMENT MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIES)

Implement risk management strategies such as restricted duties.

MONITOR OUTCOMES

Monitor how the management strategies are working, this willprobably include further assessment and review by theorganisation’s medical advisor.

WHAT IF THE EMPLOYEE IS NOT FIT FOR

DUTY?

If the employee is unable to carry out the essential and inherentrequirements and presents a foreseeable risk to themselves orothers, management strategies need to be implemented.In considering this some further information should beconsidered:

3 Prognosis – How long is the increased risk going to havea foreseeable impact on the employee?

3 Is there any treatment/rehabilitation?

3 What can they do?

3 Can the employer make changes to the workplace orwork systems to accommodate the employee?

One of the most significant pieces of legislation impactingon “fitness for duty” management is the various state anti-discrimination legislation.

These Acts direct us that discrimination on the basis ofcertain attributes is prohibited. Such attributes include sex;marital status; pregnancy; age; race; and impairment.

Employers should be aware that it may not be unlawful todiscriminate on the grounds of disability if reasonableexemptions apply.

Such exemptions (which vary from State to State) may applyfor:

3 Genuine occupational requirements

3 Actions done in compliance with other legislation

3 Actions reasonably necessary to protect public health

3 Actions that are reasonably necessary to protect thehealth and safety of people at a place of work

Employers then have an obligation to provide reasonableadjustments (without ‘unjustifiable hardship’) in the workplaceto accommodate individuals with disability.

For further advice on fitness for duty concerns, discuss withyour organisation’s medical advisor.

WorkCover NSW is working with industry

to help develop practical solutions to

problematic safety issues. WorkCover’s

Industry Solutions Program is a research

and development initiative that

recognises the need for assistance in

some industry sectors to overcome

particular difficulties or challenges to the

improvement of their workplace safety.

Solutions to safety issues are developed

in partnership with industry and released

for industry-wide implementation. Within

12 months, an evaluation is conducted

jointly with industry to determine the

effectiveness and practicality of the

solutions. If necessary, further

refinements, including additional

solutions, are included after the

evaluation.

The program:

• aims to reduce injury and illness by

providing practical safety solutions for

employers, workers and industry

• promotes design and engineering

solutions to eliminate safety risks

• builds awareness, knowledge and

skills that will enable employers,

workers and others to make their

workplaces safe

• provides confidence that risk controls

will meet relevant health and safety

obligations

• benefits employers, workers and the

community through greater

cooperation, safety awareness and

the sharing of ideas and information.

To date, there have been five industry

safety standards published on:

• post drivers

• grain augers

• erection of timber roof trusses

• erecting, altering and dismantling

prefabricated steel modular

scaffolding

• wood splitters.

Three new industry safety standards will

be published that deal with:

• front-end loaders on tractors

• slashers

• masonry structures.

For further information about the

program visit www.workcover.nsw.gov.auor call 13 10 50.

WorkCover’s Industry Solutions Program

GRAIN AUGER

Contact us today for all your accredited training needs.Call us on 132 832 or visit us online at www.protectoralsafe.com.au

132 832www.protectoralsafe.com.au

Protector Alsafe Pty Ltd is a Registered Training

Organisation (RTO) delivering Nationally recognised

competency based training.

Confined Space Entry

Use and Operation of Fire Extinguishers

Working at Height

Hazard Control and Personal Protective Equipment

Use and Operation of Gas Detection Equipment

Use and Operation of Breathing Apparatus

Protector Alsafe Accredited Training Provider

Courses available in the areas of:

The Safety Specialists

*Not available in all states

With 40 locations nationwide, contact us today for all your accredited training & safety needs.

Call 132 832 or visit us online at www.protectoralsafe.com.au

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indigenous employment


Our commitment to halving the employment gapbetween Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoplerequires a shared effort between governments,

employers and the community working together effectively.One of my first acts as Minister was to visit Indigenous

organisations and meet with the team behind the AustralianEmployment Covenant. The Covenant is a national, industry-ledinitiative which aims to place and retain 50,000 Indigenouspeople in employment.

I think the Covenant’s efforts have real potential to helpclose the unacceptable gap in employment in this country.

There has been an outpouring of goodwill and enthusiasmfrom employers around Australia, who recognise the potentialof Indigenous people to make a real contribution to theirbusinesses.

Employers also recognise the role they can play in providingIndigenous communities with real jobs and a promising future.Employers are making commitments to take on Indigenousemployees, identifying training and providing job seekers withsupport to enter and remain in the mainstream workforce.

I want to see more co-ordination in the sector to make surewe are lining up job opportunities with training with Indigenousjobs providers.

The Rudd Government’s new Indigenous EmploymentProgram (IEP) will also encourage more innovation in this field.

The Indigenous Employment Program will allow employers,communities and Indigenous job seekers to access flexibleassistance including pre-employment training, mentoringsupport, and support for Indigenous people to be selfemployed.

In addition to the reformed IEP, the Australian Governmentintroduced Job Services Australia in July 2009.

Geared towards assisting all Australians, especially thedisadvantaged, Job Services Australia is focused on meeting theneeds of employers and employees, providing increasedflexibility and access to job seekers, and helping employers findthe staff they need. Job Services Australia will provide anotherentry point for Indigenous Australians to access employment.

Through my discussions with employers involved in theCovenant initiative, it is apparent that translating the goodwilland commitment into practical strategies requires a number ofsteps – identifying locations and types of jobs available toIndigenous people, sourcing the appropriate training forprospective workers and developing and implementingarrangements for mentoring and support of new employees.

This is the first stage in developing a longer term plan forrecruitment and retention of Indigenous staff and making anyadjustments to ensure that organisational practices aresupportive of Indigenous employment. Together the AustralianEmployment Covenant Executive team and the Department ofEducation, Employment and Workplace Relations can assistemployers to work through these steps.

My focus is on taking the theory and turning it into real,tangible outcomes for Indigenous people. Helping them to find,and more importantly, keep jobs.

But more than this, I am enthusiastic about ensuring ourprograms and services meet the needs of Indigenous peopleand employers.

I want to reduce red tape and make services accessible evento those in very remote locations.

And on top of job opportunities I want to encourage andsupport Indigenous Australians to develop their own sustainablebusinesses and economic opportunities in urban and regionalareas.

My goal over the next 12 months is to continue tocommunicate and foster relationships, build trust and providethe foundation for a hopeful future for all Australians – nomatter where they live or what they want to achieve.

Tangible Outcomes forIndigenous EmploymentOne of my major priorities as Employment Participation Minister is theGovernment’s commitment to addressing Indigenous employment.

Senator the Hon Mark Arbib

Minister for Employment Participation

employment, education + training


How the AEC is empoweringindigenous workersWith the backing of the Australian Government and business, the AustralianEmployment Covenant (AEC) seeks initially to deliver 50,000 jobs for indigenousAustralians, but the flow-on effect could be much more radical.

There are now 43 corporations across up to 14 industry

sectors that have signed up with the Australian

Employment Covenant, however the AEC is not a job

creation scheme. Companies that have signed up to it are not

making up jobs, designed specially for indigenous people. They

are providing normal jobs that come about through the normal

course of business evolution as each company expands its

operations. There are already 12,000 commitments for jobs,

and the list is growing.

The AEC provides companies with the potential to tap into

one of the fastest growing sectors of Australian society. The

Australian Government estimates the annual rate of growth of

the indigenous population at 2.3% per annum compared with

1.2% growth per annum for the non-indigenous population in

2003.

The Government’s role here is critical because it funds the

training and it is doing that through a ground-breaking model

that is changing the way training has been undertaken in

Australia. Up until now, a lot of training was for the sake of

training, People did it but there was no guarantee of a job at the



end of it. The AEC changes that by providing trained indigenousemployees with a job from day one.

“The current world economic situation has definitely madethe hill a little steeper but that increased challenge has alsoserved to increase the energy and the professionalism of theteam of the employment covenant,” Mr Forrest says.

“The thing to remember is that we are climbing out of arecession, we are not falling into one, so this is really a verygood time to be getting on with solving this problem. Comingout the other side of a recession people need to employ and weare already seeing that and despite the economic difficulties,employers across the country have already committed toproviding more than 12,000 jobs.”

Mr. Forrest believes the AEC adds value for companies in allindustries.

“The Australian Employment Covenant is not restricted tothe mining industry,’’ he says. “It’s open to every industry, everybusiness, every company in Australia. It’s a whole group ofAustralian employers who’ve got together with indigenousAustralians and the Federal Government to break the viciouscycle of indigenous disadvantage and unemployment –Australia’s biggest social challenge.”

And while the proposal could transform Australia, AEC ChiefExecutive Mal James says it really boils down to a very basicidea.

“The results of it will be nation changing, revolutionary, but Ithink the essence of it is quite simple and nothing toorevolutionary,’’ Mr James says. “We’re asking employers andbusinesses around Australia to say we know we are going toemploy and we will make X number available to indigenouspeople as long as the government trains them in the way wewant them to.”

“It’s not revolutionary. The new aspect is getting better bangfor the training dollar so that when training money is spent, wehave a job straight away rather than the potential of a job.That’s one of the things wrong with the training programs inAustralia, they haven’t had the right outcome as theirmeasurement of success.

“We’ve got to be able to say to indigenous people that ifyou undertake this pre-employment training and this jobspecific training, there is a guaranteed job at the end of it.”

He says the AEC rigorously assesses each company onwhether it can deliver the job. The company also has to providea mentor for each employee. But one of the most criticalelements is showing the business case. “We don’t say to peoplehow many can you do and sign up on the dotted line,’’ MrJames says.

“They have to show commitment from the top that theorganisation is going to make that commitment. That becomesan almost subjective call for us that the organisation is seriousabout doing it and that it’s not tokenism.

“If we believe an organisation is looking purely to makemoney from it or getting cheap employees, we’re not

interested.”A steering committee, including Noel Pearson and Warren

Mundine, will work with the AEC to look at welfare reform andlegislative change.

“This isn’t a one way street,’’ Mr James says. “It isn’t thatwe have had indigenous people necessarily queuing up to getemployed and they can’t because Australian businesses won’tengage them. There have been significant issues on both sidesand those issues on the indigenous side also need addressing.”

Other government agencies, while not signatories to theAEC, are joining in to build the indigenous job market.

In 2006, Queensland Main Roads struck an alliance withSeymour Whyte Constructions and Myuma, a non-profitcorporation owned and managed by Indigenous traditionalowners to do works on the Barkly Highway which runs fromCloncurry in Queensland to the junction with the StuartHighway north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. Acommittee was established and that committee still works withMyuma which now manages a construction camp that providesvocational training and skills for indigenous people.

Wendy Harris, the Indigenous Employment Co-ordinator forVic Roads, says her organisation wants to bring moreindigenous people into management roles. Vic Roads has setitself a target of having a workforce where 1% of employees arefrom indigenous backgrounds. At the moment, it is more thanhalf way there with 19 indigenous employees out of a totalworkforce of 3100.

Ms Harris says: “Indigenous staff have taken up rolesincluding senior customer service officers in the customerservice centres, including license testing. A number are roadworkers, surveillance officers and two in human resources. Wehave targeted opportunities in the area where the mostvacancies come up.

“The challenge we should set ourselves now is to try and getsome indigenous graduates in which we haven’t managed to doso far and particularly to get people into office, more intoproject roles and really to look at the broader organisation andthe range of opportunities that are out there.”

The business case for indigenous employment seeks to fillthe gaps by connecting with a rapidly growing section ofAustralian society.

ANZ’s head of indigenous employment and training, BruceMcQualter, says it is built around building a strong, committedand focused workforce.

The bank, which has signed on to the AEC, has set a targetwhere 10% of entry-level branch roles are for indigenouspeople, with 5% of these coming from the graduating skills baseand full time trainee scheme and the other 5% from directemployment. ANZ also plans to have 20 indigenous managersin place by 2014.

“It’s very achievable’’ says Mr McQualter. “A lot of thoseleadership roles aren’t going to come off the street, or frompinching indigenous senior people from other sectors because



they don’t exist. Let’s home grow future leaders from our ownranks as entry level staff.

“The 20 managers will predominantly come from the ranksof our graduated trainees or entry level employees and a veryminimum amount will come from poaching from thegovernment sector or the health sector. At the moment, thereality is that there is probably less than a handful of indigenousmanagers in any of the banking organisations. We figured let’snot try and poach people who are already trained because theydon’t exist, let’s do it ourselves.”

“For any new trainee or any direct employee that is comingin under this program, that’s a very firm and positive signal tosay this is the start of a career. If you want it, it’s there. You’vegot to earn it, it’s not going to be given to you.”

Mr McQualter says the initiative is about matching the rightpeople for hard-to-fill positions in remote and regional Australia.

“I was a regional manager in north-west New South Walesand to put it simply, I was running out of staff. I had a lot ofbranches in heavily indigenous populated townships and in thebank, people weren’t easily transferring to these locations andwe were running out of staff.”

Mr McQualter started doing something about it in 2004. Atthe time, it was a solo effort but now the bank has adopted theAEC policy.

“I figured why don’t we recruit locally and while we are it

why don’t we recruit kids because just by the age, it’s going tobe a longer term proposition and while we are there, how comewe don’t have any indigenous people?

“When you walk up and down the main street of a lot ofregional Australian towns where there is an indigenouspopulation, you don’t see indigenous employment on the mainstreet.’’

He says the business case is about succession planning, andtapping into a rapidly growing youth market. But the AECprogram also flows into the rest of the community and open jobopportunities elsewhere. And as Mr McQualter says, it creates astronger platform of staff retention.

“Of all the kids that start the traineeship, 75% end thetraineeship successfully. Of that 75%, 65% end up gettingpermanent jobs with ANZ and the rest get permanent outcomessuch as university or jobs elsewhere

“We put hand on our heart and say every kid that hasfinished the trainee program has got a positive outcome. Noone has been left unemployed or on the dole queue. All the kidsthat have finished the program and that have ended up with ajob at the ANZ, 93% of them are still with us two years later.”

If it successfully lays the foundations for other businesses,the AEC could make a huge difference to industries all overAustralia.

(Adapted from an article by Leon Gettler)

If you would like to be amongst the first to study this exciting new program contact CPEE on (03) 9830 5721 or at

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Graduate Certificate in Infrastructure Asset Management

Infrastructure Asset Management



“For every one job, ten flowers will bloom in the future of Indigenous children.

And for every ten jobs 100 flowers will bloom. And for every 1000 jobs there

will be a complete transformation in the prospect of Indigenous people.”Noel Pearson, Chairman, AEC Steering Committee, AEC Launch, 30 October 2008

Australian EmploymentCovenant (AEC)On the 30th October 2008 Kevin Rudd, Andrew Forrest and Australian businessleaders signed an historic agreement to work together to break the vicious cycleof unemployment and poverty amongst Indigenous Australians. That agreementknown as the Australian Employment Covenant (AEC) is a national led initiativeto secure 50,000 sustainable jobs for Indigenous Australians. The trainingrequired for these positions will be tailored specifically to meet employerspecifications and to ensure that each new worker is given every opportunity tosucceed in their new job there will be a one on one workplace mentor.



GOALS OF THE AEC

1. 50,000 sustainable jobs1. 50,000 workplace mentors to provide support to new

workers.1. 50,000 Indigenous people into work with sustainable

employment.

THE AEC

It is important to note that the AEC will provide support to allstakeholders in moving Indigenous Australians from welfare towellbeing. This includes:

3 Actively encouraging and increasing the commitment byAustralian employers to employ Indigenous workers;

3 Supporting all stakeholders (employers, mentors,training providers, job networks and workers) throughfiftythousandjobs Hotline, AEC workshops, AEC website,online cross cultural awareness training and guide books;

3 Working with the Indigenous community to stronglyencourage participation in the AEC;

3 Working with government to tailor training;

3 Providing a national network to support and encourageparticipation in the program;

The AEC is a three way agreement between the AustralianGovernment, Employers and Indigenous people.

THE ROLE OF EMPLOYERS

Employers are crucial to the success of the AustralianEmployment Covenant. Employers involved in the AEC committo provide jobs to Indigenous people who successfully completeAEC endorsed training programs tailored to your specifications.

You, as an employer, recruit the people you need. A personis employed only when he/she reaches the employmentspecifications and is available to undertake a job at your place ofwork.

The uptake commitment must accurately reflect theoperational needs of the business. That is, the placement ofAEC workers is anticipated to fill opportunities that arise in thenormal course of business activity and staff turnover.

Employers also work with the AEC implementation teamand Government to determine the specific requirements oftraining according to the skill level and geographical location ofthe work placement.

A crucial requirement of the employer is the provision ofvolunteer workplace mentors to support the transition to workof the Indigenous employee.

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

The Australian Government will assist employers by facilitatingspecific training to levels specified by industry. The Governmentwill also provide access to employment services to facilitate thetraining and post-placement mentor support for eligibleIndigenous Australians.

Government funded employment services assist thesuccessful delivery of the AEC concept.

INDIGENOUS PARTICIPANTS

Any unemployed Indigenous person aged 16 or over is eligibleto be involved in this commitment between employers andGovernment.

Indigenous Australians wanting to participate in thisprogram commit to undertake training and employment withAEC employers by signing up to the covenant.

Having met the training requirements as determined by theemployer, the Indigenous job seeker will be guaranteed a jobcovenanted by a participating employer.

Once employed the Indigenous worker will be encouragedto commit to ongoing training and to remain in employment.

A key component of the AEC is the P-Plate Program which istargeting Indigenous students in Years 8-12 with the goal ofpreparing those students so that theywill be in a position to engage in theworkforce when they leave school.The AEC is well aware of the issuesfacing Indigenous students andbelieve that our program will aid inthe retention of those studentsbecause of the employmentopportunities the AEC can offer themif they remain engaged at school.

The major focus of the P-Plateprogram is having the students’ jobready when they leave school, andthis is achieved through a strongcareer education program at schooland practical experience in the areasof strength that are identified throughthat program.

WHERE DOES LOCAL GOVERNMENT FIT IN?

There are over 600 local Governments in Australia made up ofcities, shires, towns and municipalities. Together these localGovernments employ tens of thousands of people across manyof the industry sectors found in our economy. Most, if not all ofthese local Governments already employ Indigenous workersand are making a huge difference in helping to close the gapbetween Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment and theongoing social benefits such as better housing, improved health,reduced infant mortality, increased life expectancy and rolemodelling to younger impressionable Indigenous familymembers.

The AEC is asking local Governments to see what furthercommitments they can make to improving the short and longterm outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Remember that bycommitting to the AEC you will receive our full support inregards to all aspects of the employment of Indigenous jobseekers.

Our website is www.fiftythousandjobs.com.au

Call our office (08) 64604949

Split Rock Inca Alliance (SRIA)

Department of Transport and Main Roads

The SRIA was commissioned to undertake the

$58M federally funded highway upgrade project

which involved constructing 35km of highway –

17km of new road and rebuilding 19km of existing

highway and erecting three new bridges, to

complete the upgrade of the Barkly Highway and

improve safety and fl ood immunity for all road

users.

Partnership between government, industry and

Traditional Owners were the project’s hallmarks,

with Alliance partners working together to

successfully deliver a large scale construction

project in a culturally sensitive remote location,

$4.7M (15%) under budget and almost one month

ahead of schedule, while also meeting set targets

in key result areas such as quality, Indigenous

Traditional Owner training and development,

Cultural Heritage and community relations.

The collaboration of a wide cross-section of

organisations to develop a self-sustaining

Indigenous employment and training model and

appropriate resources proved to be instrumental

in facilitating reconciliation not only within the

SRIA but within government and industry circles

and the wider community as a whole.

The Split Rock Inca Alliance (SRIA) was

created to complete the fi nal stage of the

Barkly Highway upgrade between

Mount Isa and Camooweal in far north-west

Queensland. The SRIA was an Alliance

between the Department of Main Roads,

civil construction company Seymour Whyte

Constructions and Myuma (a young company

owned and managed by the Indjilandji-

Dhidhanu people), the Aboriginal Traditional

Owners of the Camooweal region.

Achievements in providing training, employment and business development opportunities for the

local Indigenous communities were a testament to the successful delivery of the project. Indigenous

employment and training on the SRIA project was delivered at 57% and 24% respectively, exceptional

outcomes which far exceeded government policy requirements (20% and 10% respectively). The

commercial business and development opportunities aff orded to local Indigenous organisations

throughout the SRIA project will provide sustainable benefi ts for Indigenous employment and

commercial enterprise within the region – another outstanding achievement in facilitating

reconciliation.

In summary, the SRIA was delivered by a collaborative Alliance partnership that provided signifi cant

employment; training and business development outcomes for Indigenous people – the Traditional

Owners, the Indjilandji-Dhidhanu people – and promoted increased cooperation and understanding

between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people while achieving crucial project outcomes for

construction deadlines and productivity. The SRIA is an inspiring example of reconciliation in action.

Since 2006 the department has continued to support training and employment program for

indigenous people.

» The camp at Camooweal is now operated and managed by Myuma as a Road Construction

Camp and Regional Training Centre

» Myuma has continued as an Alliance partner with the department, including RoadTek, for

construction projects around Camooweal, providing ongoing opportunities for employment

and training in civil construction

» The department has used the experience with Myuma and is providing training and

employment opportunities on other roads projects for Traditional Owner groups throughout

the Gulf region

water


Regional rain water harvesting fromroofs in the growth areas of townsutilising the new catchment

created by the housing is far more costeffective than individual tanks and is aviable alternative to other augmentationoptions.

The regional harvesting of roof water isa viable means of supplementing theexisting water supply from an economic,environmental and social perspective. Thefirst phase of this project see’s rain waterharvested from 142 rooftops in a newresidential subdivision in Warrnambooland transported through pipes to anexisting raw water storage managed byWannon Water. From there it is treatedand becomes part of the drinking supplyfor Warrnambool. This harvested roofwater will represent 76 per cent of thesubdivision’s annual household demand.

The 142 lot Warrnambool subdivisiondemonstration site provides a valuableworking example of how developers,water corporations and Councils can worktogether to reduce the water resourceimpact of expanding residential areas bysimply harvesting the water from the roofsthat are causing the increase in demand.

The principle is very simple andadaptable to any scale of township that isgrowing. Whether the growth is in termsof 100’s of houses or 10’s of thousands ofhouses, the opportunity exists to install thenecessary infrastructure as the subdivisionproceeds to ‘tap’ the new catchment.

Tapping the urban catchmentwith Roof Water HarvestingMany townships and cities around the State and nationally are experiencingdwindling water resources and are looking at extremely expensiveaugmentation options including desalination.

To find out how roof water harvesting can work in

your area contact Wannon Water:

Ben Pohlner, Recycled Water Manager or

Peter Wilson, Branch Manager Asset Planning

Ph: 1300 926 6666 b/h

Roof Water Harvesting Project – Funding has been provided

through the Australian Federal Government “Water for the

Future” program and from the Victorian State Government

“Stormwater and Urban Recycling Fund” allowing the

demonstration site to be established and the regional

harvesting principle to be explored in other areas of Australia.

water


Wastewater the key tofuture securityWater shortage has become one of the most pressing issues facing Australia today,as rapid population growth, drought and unreserved consumption have seen dam

However, wastewater recycling and community

education present realistic opportunities to slow the

rate of consumption and safeguard future water

supplies.

With the average Australian using around 350 litres of water

per day, water restrictions in many councils have proven an

unpopular but essential measure in water use reduction. The

Local Government and Shires Association (LGSA) has

recommended that councils implement community education

and water restrictions to try to reduce the figure to below 175

litres per day.

Whilst some communities have failed to fully embrace water

restrictions, many more have also rejected the idea of

supplementing water supplies with recycled wastewater.

However, wastewater recycling has now emerged as the

only realistic solution to water shortages. With growing

populations and lower rainfalls each year, many councils will

soon be left with little choice but to go ahead with water

recycling infrastructure projects.

The wastewater recycling procedure is known as “indirect

potable reuse”, and options include effluent (black water),

domestic grey water from the bathroom or laundry, and

municipal wastewater.

For over 3 years the Goulburn Mulwaree Council in New

South Wales had been enforcing water restrictions before the

option of supplementing potable supply with treated effluent

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was discussed. The scheme proved unpopular with communitymembers, however and the plan never went ahead. The councilinstead uses all recycled water to irrigate 220 hectares ofagricultural land, saving billions of litres of potable supply.

The benefits of treating effluent extend beyond water supplysavings. By recycling domestic and commercial water, billions oflitres of wastewater are diverted from local waterways annually.The Armidale/Dumaresq Council in the New England region isrealising this benefit. It irrigates around 200 hectares of cropswith treated effluent, thereby preventing 1.7 billion litres ofwaste from polluting the natural environment.

Councillor Bruce Miller, President of the Shires Association,has said that educating councils about sustainable water use is apriority. Readily available clean water improves health, socialwellbeing, and environmental conditions, and localgovernments should consider these factors as benefits of abroader sustainability philosophy. Cr Miller has also cited theimportance of clean water to economic development in NSW,“In this state, water is our oil,” he said.

Water supplies in Queensland are far healthier than those inNSW, but the state has nevertheless embraced the importanceof sustainable water use. The Mackay Water Recycling Projecthas recently taken a major award at the Infrastructure of PublicWorks Engineering Australia—Queensland (IPWEAQ)Excellence Awards. The $154 million project was completedafter ten years of planning and development and is now a keypart of the region’s water management. The plant recycles up to90 per cent of the city’s wastewater for irrigation purposes,providing a reliable water source for nearby farmers.

Ironically the construction suffered damage in the 2008

floods, but the project does more than save water. It redirects

over 250 tonnes of nutrients and 150 tonnes of solids that

previously flowed into the Great Barrier Reef each year.

The applications for recycled water are many and varied,

extending beyond irrigation to industry uses, watering sports

fields or golf courses, and even home gardens. Australia’s

largest residential recycled water scheme is operating in

Sydney’s Rouse Hill, and has been supplying more than 18,000

homes with up to 1.4 billion litres of recycled grey water

annually since 2001. Residents use the water for flushing toilets,

watering gardens, and other outdoor activities. The scheme has

reduced demand for drinking water by 40%, and there are

plans to extend the project to serve 36,000 homes.

Equally valuable is the recycling operation at Sydney Water’s

Wollongong Sewage Treatment Plant which supplies 20 million

litres of recycled water to BlueScope Steel every day. This

scheme saves up to 7.3 billion litres of drinking water per year,

a 57% reduction in consumption by Sydney Water’s largest

customer.

Whilst wastewater recycling certainly provides significant

water savings and environmental benefits, Cr Miller has

suggested it is only part of the solution. He says that to

safeguard the country’s water supplies, all levels of government

must work together. Implementing thorough public education

programs, including the use of water restrictions and individual

water consumption targets, are all key components of our

collective future water security.

mon

adel_1

4304

Monadelphous is a leading national engineering group, providing extensive engineering construction, maintenance and industrial services to the resources, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Our experienced water team, specialise in providing the following services:

Monadelphous’ capabilities extend across the lifecycle of water infrastructure, from concept, design and

At Monadelphous, we build, maintain and support our customer’s operations through the provision of safe, reliable

Offering flexible solutions to the Water Industry.

water


Sustainable wastewatertreatment to become the norm

Large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) emit asignificant quantity of greenhouse gases (GHG) and theglobal impact of climate change is forcing design

decisions to be increasingly driven by considerations of theseemissions and long-term sustainability.

Leading engineering, sciences and project delivery firm,Sinclair Knight Merz has collaborated on a study of the GHGfootprints of three large WWTPs, as part of the W2W Alliancefor the Water Corporation (Western Australia) in the WAcapital, Perth which highlights the need to look at the ‘biggerpicture’ to achieve truly sustainable design options in the longterm. The W2W Alliance combines the international and localengineering design and construction expertise of Black &Veatch, Thiess and SKM with the Water Corporation in tacklingon one of Western Australia’s most substantial wastewaterprograms, to upgrade treatment plants at Beenyup, Subiaco andWoodman Point.

The analysis showed that the greenhouse gas footprints ofthe Woodman Point, Beenyup and Subiaco WWTPs returnedwidely varying results according to the accounting model used.

The three plants were each assessed using the WaterServices Association of Australia (WSAA) standard model, theAustralian Greenhouse Office (AGO) model and acomprehensive model that includes a more thorough list of theinputs and outputs of wastewater treatment facilities.

Traditionally, the AGO model has only taken theconsumption of power into consideration to calculate a plant’sGHG footprint, whilst the WSAA model also accounts formethane leaks and nitrous oxide (N2O). (This latter gas isimportant because in terms of its greenhouse footprint, it is 320times more potent than CO2.)

The comprehensive model includes the WSAA data plus allfurther potential sources of GHG emissions, such as the CO2

produced through activated sludge treatment, the CO2

associated with off-site mineralisation of biosolids (whenapplied to land as a soil enhancer) and the embedded CO2 inchemicals used on-site.

The full carbon footprint shows that while power is ameasure of the energy used to operate a WWTP, a range ofother items need to be taken into consideration including the

chemicals that areconsumed. While the plantsthemselves do not producethe chemicals or the energyused to manufacture them,the demand for chemicalssupports an industry thatconsumes a lot of energyand therefore is part of thebroader impact of WWTPoperations.

At the Woodman PointWWTP, it was proposed todose ferric chloride into theprimary sedimentationtanks to reduce the aerationpower requirements in theaeration tanks. According tothe AGO and WSAAmodels, GHG emissionswould be reduced by 90%and 32% respectively,

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to improve the long-term sustainability ofwastewater treatment plants is of vital interest to all local government professionals.

By Dr Katie Third, Process Engineer, Sinclair Knight Merz

The shire of Broome uses reclaimed water on its playing fields.

water


indicating a highly sustainable design option. However thecomprehensive model predicted only a 10% reduction in GHGproduction, due to the increased amount of chemicals requiredand the extra sludge produced, suggesting mitigation effortscould perhaps be better focused elsewhere.

Comparisons of the GHG footprints of the three plantsaccording to the comprehensive model showed that theWoodman Point plant had a high emissions value—more thantwice as large as the Beenyup WWTP. This is despite the fact thatboth plants have similar loading rates, receiving around 122ML/dat similar wastewater composition. Additionally, the WoodmanPoint plant generates power on site using digester gas.

The large difference is due to the significant quantities ofN2O emitted from the aeration basins in the Woodman Pointsequencing batch reactor (SBR). This was constructed in 2001using ‘state of the art’ SBR technology. The technology wasconsidered to be more efficient at the time due to the fact thatboth nitrification and denitrification could be performed in asingle, low dissolved oxygen aeration phase (referred to as SNDor simultaneous nitrification and denitrification), rather thanseparating the two biological phases, as is the case at bothBeenyup and Subiaco WWTPs.

Research into N2O emissions by Murdoch University in 2005revealed that Woodman Point emits around 15 times more N2Ofrom its aeration basins than both Beenyup and SubiacoWWTPs. So while SBR technology has a number of advantages,including lower capital cost, a major disadvantage is that N2Oappears to be emitted in significant quantities.

The study also determined that while the Subiaco WWTP ishalf the size of the other plants, its carbon footprint is notproportionately smaller. This indicates that the plant is quiteinefficient, which is in contrast to widely-held perceptions of itsperformance.

The key to determining truly sustainable design options inthe longer term is therefore about understanding the biggerpicture and focusing on the items of greatest impact. It is notsufficient to focus on power consumption alone. In addition tothis, the question in any study of GHG footprint is always whereto draw the boundaries. In this study, SKM decided to extendthe boundaries beyond the fence line in recognition of thebroader impacts that WWTPs have on the community. Thebroader that the boundary is drawn, the more truly sustainabledecisions will be.

This represents a great revelation for those attempting togain an unequivocal picture of where a plant’s emissionsoriginate and their relative sizes. For SKM, this provided anenhanced understanding of what to target and led to a deeperstudy into N2O emissions in the bio-treatment section ofWoodman Point. Our aim was therefore to focus on decreasingthose emissions, something that is relatively easy to achievethrough operational changes.

When constructing a GHG reduction strategy it is thereforecrucial to appreciate this more holistic view. Without the benefit

of this wider analysis, it is easy to waste resources on targetingsmaller technical questions such as pump efficiency, forexample. Yet improved pumps would win only a one or twopercent improvement in overall GHG footprint. By targeting thebio-treatment for Woodland Point, however, the plant’semissions will be cut by half.

The results of the study will also be invaluable when theproposed carbon trading scheme comes into effect. While thedetails are yet to be released, companies that have documentedthe steps they have taken to proactively reduce their carbonfootprint will earn credits for their efforts that could be in theorder of millions of dollars per year.

This carbon credit aspect is important in light of the SKMstudy since it means that developing a comprehensive GHGreduction strategy across multiple WWTPs can lead to evenlarger returns. Focusing on N2O reduction was an obviousstarting point for the Perth plants, but SKM is currently workingon an even more comprehensive strategy that will tackleoperations across all three facilities.

The baseline that the study provided has enabled us tounderstand what we need to focus our efforts upon and howcan we assist WWTP operators going forward.

The W2W Alliance combines the international and localengineering design and construction expertise of Black &Veatch, Thiess and Sinclair Knight Merz with the WaterCorporation.

(Article reproduced courtesy Sinclair Knight Merz)

The ‘pink’ recycled water tap is set to become a common sight in Australianyards over the coming decade.

water – stormwater, drainage, reticulation, sewage waste, treatment and reuse


PPI Corporation Pty Ltd has been at the forefront in the

development of Polyethylene (PE) Pipe as the

preferred material for use in sewer pipelines in recent

years. After trials and then introduction in Queensland through

Brisbane City Council the popularity of PE pipe as an alternative

to traditional pipe materials is starting to spread. Water

authorities in both New South Wales and Victoria are starting to

take an interest in PE for sewer pipes.

The fundamental benefits of a PE100 Sewer system are;

3 Welded system - no mechanical joints

3 Eliminates Root Intrusion

3 Zero leakage

3 Less Maintenance

3 Corrosion protection

3 Flexibility, durability and strength

3 Suitable for directional drilling

3 High visibility to aid camera inspections

PPI’s new and improved Hi-Vis Sewer product is

manufactured using no PE100 natural raw material, with the

capabilities to manufacture pipe through an internal lining

method which now lines the traditional black pipe with a light

grey inner. The product can also be externally striped for

identification purposes under the WSAA guidelines, Grey for

Gravity Sewer and Cream for Pressure Sewer.

The new Hi-Vis Sewer product now delivers the following

additional benefits;

3 UV protection

3 No need for protective end wrapping

3 Lower cost

3 Stock availability

3 Improved internal lining, less reflection

For more information or to arrange for a sample please contact our

Mining, Industrial and Civil division on 07 3860 0388 or email

[email protected].

PPI’s New PE100 Hi-Vis Sewer

PPI Corporation Pty Ltd – Mining Industrial & CivilSales Phone: (07) 3860 0388 Email: [email protected] Fax: (07) 3860 0392

Manufacturing and warehousing across Australia: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin & Townsville.

Hi-Vis Sewer Pipe Eliminates root intrusion

Strength and flexibility

PPI Polyethylene

Welded joints create a fully sealed system that tree roots can not penetrate.

PPI’s consistent high quality, ensures easy installation, strength and long life.

• Flexible customer service

water


Stormwater recyclingcomes of ageDespite generally drier conditions, huge amounts of water can fall on Australia’scities during rain storms. The massive quantity of stormwater run-off takes with itcontaminants, from within the rain itself, as well as pollutants picked up fromstreets. This water consequently ends up in vital bodies of water—the ocean, lakes,and rivers—with adverse consequences to the ecology and water supplies.

water


But just as worrying as the pollution caused bystormwater run off is the wastage of such a vast amountof usable water.

It seems untenable in times of drought that most citiesexperience periods of rainfall that are in excess of their non-potable water usage, and yet rely heavily on conventional,potable water supply rather than looking into harnessing thesignificant stormwater volumes.

In March 2009, the federal government announced a $200million addition to the existing National Urban Water andDesalination Plan. This new funding is intended to assist localgovernments with projects relating to stormwater harvestingand reuse. State, territory and local governments can apply forassistance with stormwater recycling projects, with the secondround of applications closing on 11 December 2009. Funding isavailable for up to 50 percent of eligible capital costs, effectivelydoubling any local council’s budget for stormwater recyclinginfrastructure projects.

Local governments are being urged to consider theirindividual communities’ water needs, and devise accordingly astormwater recycling initiative that addresses those needseffectively.

The effective use of stormwater recycling can providenumerous benefits to local communities. Local governments,realising the potential value of stormwater as a sustainableresource, are now experimenting with ways to capture andrecycle stormwater.

As one of the driest states in Australia, South Australia hasalready begun developing projects to decontaminate and re-usestormwater run off from the state’s cities. These projects areaimed at lessening reliance on the Murray River for non-potablewater needs, such as irrigation, toilet flushing and industries.

Salisbury Council, in South Australia, has had great successwith stormwater recycling. Around two decades ago, the localgovernment established a wetlands area with the intention ofcleaning the stormwater that flowed into the Barker Inlet. Runoff from the city of Salisbury is filtered into the wetlands, wherenatural elements such as reeds and mud work with the sun tofilter the water. Various natural processes address differentcontaminants, resulting in the removal of most of the water’spollutants.

The project’s original goal of decontaminating the run offbefore it reached the sea was reached, and the method foundto be more efficient that expected. This led the council to therealisation that that there was more scope for how thedecontaminated water could be used. As a result, the facilityhas now replaced 11 percent of the city’s consumption from theRiver Murray with recycled stormwater. The aim is to increasethis consumption to about 40 percent, and eventually to put anend to intake of water from the River Murray.

Since the establishment of the wetlands project, SouthAustralia’s stormwater recycling initiative has grown, particularlyin the capital city. Adelaide’s old Cheltenham racecourse is set

to become a wetlands area designated to stormwater re-use,and the incorporation of recycled water for non-potable use isalso a main feature of the Lochiel Park ‘Green Village’ housingdevelopment. In the latter project, 87 percent of household andpublic space irrigation will be supplied by recycled water,including the re-use of stormwater. The recycled water will besupplied via purple pipes, to ensure clear distinction betweenpotable and non-potable water.

Adelaide has a natural advantage when it comes to storageof the recycled water, because it is situated atop a system ofnatural aquifers. These aquifers are perfect natural containersfor the cleaned water, which is pumped underground into theaquifers, and pumped back to the surface when needed.

On a smaller scale, other local governments are embracingstormwater recycling as a means of enhancing the community.With the absence of aquifers in many states’ urban areas, newsolutions to storage of recycled water must be met, meaningthat the planning and implementation of such schemes can be alengthier and more costly process.

With more than 108,000 residents, Ku-ring-gai is one ofNew South Wales’ most populated local government areas. TheKu-ring-gai Council has responded to the increasing need forlocal councils to become more environmentally sustainable byputting in place a $4 million water recycling initiative, whichcaptures stormwater and re-uses it to irrigate local sports fields.

The first stormwater initiative in Ku-ring-gai was establishedin 2005 at the Barra Brui Oval in St Ives. Through the use of adam and a 250,000 litre underground tank, approximately fivemillion litres of water are captured per year, and used to irrigatethe oval. 70 percent of the oval’s irrigation needs are metthrough this system, and in addition, erosion and nutrient buildup in local waterways are reduced. Other similar projects havebeen completed at various parks and sports grounds in the Ku-ring-gai area.

The Mildura Rural City Council has also successfully installeda stormwater recycling system, where non-potable recycledwater is used to suppress dust at a local landfill site. 10megalitres of potable water are expected to be saved per yearthrough the implementation of this venture, and tests are beingcarried out to determine the suitability of the recycledstormwater for other uses.

In 2003, the city of Port Phillip installed a stormwaterrecycling unit at the JL Murphy reserve, which has turned overan average of 1 million litres of water per month, eliminatingthe council’s reliance on potable water supply for irrigation ofopen spaces.

Small projects similar to these examples are operating inlocal government areas nationwide, and now, with the federalgovernment’s $200 million addition to the National UrbanWater and Desalination Plan, local councils have theopportunity to invest in larger stormwater recycling schemes,and to create a more sustainable environment for theircommunities.

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Community Acceptance ofRecycled WaterBy Jenifer Simpson

ABSTRACT

In the concluding observations from the IWA 2007 WaterReclamation & Reuse Conference in Antwerp, it was observedthat public acceptance of recycled water is the key tomaximising its advantages but that the water industry was itsown worst enemy. It needed to communicate better. Little hasbeen done to reassure the community of the safety of recycledwater—to the contrary, the use of negative and stigmatisingterminology causes alarm. The terms used to describe thequality of water relate to its source and degree of treatmentwhereas the community needs to know what it can safely beused for. There are also mindsets within the industry that createanomalies and inhibit the development of trust in water utilities.Lack of community knowledge leads to political decisions basedon emotion rather than the rational approach that is needed tocater for our increasing population at a time when dams areletting us down. There have been many surveys and muchresearch into the reasons for the community’s attitude torecycled water but no investigation to find ways to overcomethe problem. There is evidence that informed people are morelikely to accept recycling than the less informed but there hasbeen little or no attempt to provide the information in anunderstandable and interesting way. The community does nothave knowledge of what we put into water and how we take itout again. If we do not understand wastewater, we will not beable to understand and accept recycled water. The reason whythis information has not been provided is not clear. It is also notclear whose responsibility it should be to provide it.

INTRODUCTION

In his concluding observations at the IWA 2007 WaterReclamation & Reuse Conference in Antwerp, Chairman,Professor Boudewijn Van De Steene observed that the waterindustry needed to communicate better. He was echoing themessage from the CEO of the US WateReuse Association, WadeMiller, who said, “Public acceptance is the key to widespreadreuse but we are our own worst enemy.” Reuse strategies areoften rejected due to fear and misunderstanding. There is adebilitating gap between scientific understanding and publicperception and belief. This is because the community has scantknowledge and understanding of water and wastewatertreatment and qualities because it has never been explained tothem. This lack of knowledge leaves water management issuesvulnerable to political exploitation.

The current language of water is mainly jargon, technical

terms and acronyms that have evolved over the years. In thepast there has been no need or opportunity for water andwastewater engineers to share their knowledge with thecommunity so the language of water is not suitable forexplaining water quality and treatment to a lay audience.

Lack of knowledge is widespread and extends to somesenior members of Government Departments and decision-makers. Much of what we think we know is negative and weare often wrong. The language of water language and ourregulatory processes create alarm—we are actually scaringpeople away from reuse! As a consequence it is difficult toconsult with the community about water issues as uninformedpeople have uninformed opinions.

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NEGATIVE TERMINOLOGY AND IMAGES

WOULD YOU LIKE A GLASS OF TREATED SEWAGE,

DEAR?

Little attempt has been made to provide information aboutwater and wastewater quality to the community—instead weput people off by the use of stigmatising language and images.It is not surprising that, if we talk about recycling sewage,wastewater, treated wastewater, treated effluent or treatedsewage, we evoke feelings of disgust and receive a negativeresponse. We even hear of recycling treated sewerage. In NewSouth Wales they are undertaking desalination rather thanrecycling because they say that people won’t accept recycling.This was proven by a survey in which the question was, “wouldyou drink recycled sewage that includes water from the toilet?”

The term ‘recycled wastewater’ is frequently heard. At theAWA Water Recycling Conference in Sydney 2007 it was in thetitle of the paper by the Managing Director of Sydney Waterand in a report on recycling by the National Water Commission.The conference, when reported in AWA’s magazine, Water,was flagged on the front cover as Wastewater Recycling. TheEuropean project, Aquarec, was entitled, Integrated Conceptsfor Reuse of Upgraded Wastewater. When the QueenslandDepartment of Natural Resources undertook its Water RecyclingStrategy, it was originally called the Wastewater Reuse Strategy;it took 9 months of nagging and, eventually, a decision by theMinister to change it.

The question ‘would you like a glass of treated sewage,dear?’ was asked on the ABC National TV Four Cornersprogram. The negative response was said to be typical of the‘yuck factor’. We hear so much about the yuck factor that wefeel as if we are expected to be affected by it—we are not‘normal’ if we are not. It is another example of terminologystigmatising recycling. The ‘yuck factor’ is fully exploited by themedia to create headlines that attract attention.

HISTORY V. QUALITY

We agree that “Water should not be judged by its history but byits quality” (Dr Lucas van Vuuren) but we continue to place theemphasis on history, describing water quality in terms of itssource and the degree of treatment it has had. This does notinform the community what the water can safely be used for.The terms primary, secondary, advanced secondary and tertiarytreatment are not well defined and have no meaning to thelayperson.

RECYCLED WATER: DO NOT DRINK

John Ruetten (Resource Trends) notes, “When we post purplesigns that say ‘Recycled Water: Do Not Drink’, we are implyingthat the water is not drinkable because it is recycled water,rather than because it has been treated to be acceptable onlyfor irrigation. This brands all recycled water as non-potable. Itthen becomes difficult to promote recycled water for potablepurposes.”

On the Gold Coast we are told that the water supplied in

purple peril pipes in the Coomera dual reticulation scheme is“Recycled water: Do not drink”, yet next door, in Brisbane, weare told “Purified recycled water: Do drink”. We would beslightly less deterred if it were to be called “purified water”.Recycling is the process and water is the product.

MICROCONSTITUENTS

In the USA, the WateReuse Association chose‘microconstituents’ to replace the cumbersome and intimidatingterms such as emerging pollutants of concern. One academiccomplained that the term was not scary enough and wouldmake it more difficult for him to raise funding for his research.

Unanswered questions about microconstituents are:3 Why it is that there is an abundance of research being

undertaken into microconstituents in recycled water butnot into current drinking supplies?

3 Why do researchers concentrate on detecting smallerand smaller amounts of chemicals but do little todetermine their effect?

ANOMALIES

WATER REUSE IS THE WATER INDUSTRY’S BEST

KEPT SECRET

Instead of taking advantage of the recycling that is alreadyhappening to reassure the public, water reuse is the waterindustry’s best kept secret. There are many examples ofrecycling along the major rivers of Europe and the UnitedStates.

3 There are 360 wastewater treatment plants thatdischarge into the Thames River and nearly 7.3 millioncustomers consume the water daily as their source ofdrinking water.

3 There are about 280 effluent discharges into theColorado River before it becomes the source of drinkingwater for Los Angeles.

3 There are 80 discharges into New York’s drinking supplythat comes from the Catskill Mountains—the water ischlorinated but not filtered before it is supplied to thecustomers.

3 In Australia, the drinking water supply for Richmond andWindsor in NSW is sourced from the Nepean River thatcontains up to 30% of effluent from the PenrithWastewater Treatment Plant.

Yet we make it seem as if recycling is extraordinary ratherthan commonplace.

It scarcely inspires confidence when we learn that waterutilities are responsible for ‘inadvertent’ and ‘unplanned’practices. Why is it all right to recycle water if it is done in an‘unplanned’ or ‘inadvertent’ way but it is not all right todeliberately recycle it, using best practice?

TWO SETS OF GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING WATER

The community is given the impression that planned recycling ismore risky than unplanned recycling. There are two sets of

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guidelines for drinking water. The Australian Drinking WaterGuidelines provide for water that comes from conventionalsources, including those that contain ‘inadvertent’ and‘unplanned’ effluent discharges. The Australian Guidelines forWater Recycling: Augmentation of Drinking Water Supplies areconcerned with drinking water that is derived from plannedrecycling using best practice technology. It is not clear why theGuidelines for planned reuse should be different and morerigorous than for unplanned reuse.

It does not give the community confidence in either thequality of their current drinking water or the recycling process.

HOW LONG IS THE MIRACLE MILE?

We are told that we will be saved from plant breakdowns,inadequately trained operators and other disasters, by anenvironmental barrier, a process whereby clean water is mixedinto a dirty dam or allowed to flow down a muddy river for aMiracle Mile. This theory is based on the outdated principle that‘dilution is the solution to pollution’. Dilution and delay wereused in the past to improve the quality of effluent.

The amount of dilution and residence time are notspecified—perhaps because it would limit the use of the waterwhen it is most needed—when reservoirs are low. There havebeen no studies to ascertain if this is the best way to spendmoney and energy to ensure the safety of the water. In Europe,the emphasis has been on providing more treatment at thewater treatment plant, such as ozonation and filtration throughactivated carbon, rather than having sophisticated wastewatertreatment and reclamation plants.

In order that the community may trust recycled water it isimportant that they trust those who are providing it for them, theutilities. Water is a manufactured product and the utility shouldbe seen as a provider of its quality as opposed to the sourceproviding it. The irrational insistence on an environmental barrierundermines the role and image of the utility.

KEEP DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES AND

WASTEWATER APART

Another problem is that water professionals are encouraged tokeep drinking water supplies and wastewater as far apart aspossible both physically and mentally. They are dealt with inseparate textbooks, separate university courses and, in America,drinking water suppliers and sanitary service providers haveseparate organisations.

Bruce Durham of EUREAU offered the following observationin the April 2008 Water 21 Magazine of the International WaterAssociation. “The ‘clean water suppliers’ and the ‘others whotreat wastewater’ can no longer remain at arm’s length; theyhave to accept that they are dealing with a single resource thatcycles through a complex of quality phases, all of theminterlinked. Failure on this score has been and remains a majorobstacle to reuse and probably goes a long way to explain whythe concept is difficult for the regulators and wider public tounderstand and accept.”

SURVEYS AND RESEARCH

The social acceptance of the use of recycled water has been thesubject of many surveys.

Most of them have provided only minimal information tothe participants—general information about the recyclingprocess but did not including anything about wastewater. Somenoted that those surveyed became more unlikely to acceptrecycled water after the survey. The surveys have producedresults that are not significantly different. 20 to 25% of peopleare willing to drink recycled water, 50 to 60% have reservationsand 20 to 25% are unwilling.

There appears to be more interest in researching why thoseagainst recycling have their opinions as opposed to researchinto ways in which their irrational and emotional perceptionsmay be overcome.

One of the first studies was carried out in America in 1984by Loretta Lohman, a Research Social Scientist, who studied theattitude of the population of Denver, Colorado, to reclaimedwater while their reclamation plant was under construction. Shediscovered that the community could be divided into the threegroups:

3 Don’t mind at all. The first group had no problems withthe concept of reclaimed water and ‘didn’t mind at all’even the idea of drinking it.

3 Mind a little. The second group ‘minded a little’ mainlybecause they lacked trust in the technology.

3 Mind a lot. The third group ‘minded a lot’. Ms. Lohmanconsidered that there was little chance of changing theset minds of this group because their opinions werebased on emotion rather than logic.

Ms. Lohman went a step further and demonstrated that,with information, familiarisation, reassurance and, particularly,an on-site inspection of the plant, a high proportion of the‘mind a little’ group came to accept recycled water. In onegroup the number of `don’t mind at all’s’ rose from 9% to 64%after a tour of the plant.

In her Research Report No.48 for the CRC for Water Qualityand Treatment, ‘Community Views on Recycled Water—theImpact of Information’, Naomi Roseth concluded that “exposureto a brief, objective and attractive information leaflet canenhance support for the use of recycled water, though notdramatically. The information leaflet had a greater impact onpeople’s rational rather than emotional response to recycledwater.” She suggested that “water authorities need to considerwhether more substantial communication initiatives mightachieve greater levels of understanding and support for recycledwater schemes.”

HYDROCOPROPHOBIA

The distribution of the groups appears to be similar in allprofessions and occupations, including politicians, bureaucrats,health and water professionals although there is some evidenceto show that the lower socio-economic and less well-educated

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people are more likely to be in the ‘mind a lot’ group. Waterregulators also give the impression of having a higherpercentage of ‘mind a lots’ than the rest of the community. Thislatter group have a phobia—hydrocoprophobia (an irrationalfear of wastewater)—they are likely to be vocal, especially whenthey are politically motivated.

LACK OF COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE IS NOT

BEING ADDRESSED

Few people in the community have a sound knowledge of waterquality science—holistic knowledge of the urban water cycle isweak at all levels in the community. It is easy to fill the vacuumin community knowledge with misinformation. Few peopleknow the difference between a bacterium and a virus,wastewater and effluent or sewage and sewerage; we do notunderstand what happens at a wastewater treatment plant.

At the moment the way is wide open for the opposers toexploit opportunities for political gain while there is noresilience in the community to withstand them. The ‘mind alittles’—the doubters—are introduced to misperceptions andthese are reinforced by the propagation of emotionalmisinformation so that many of them are converted to ‘mind alots’.

We have allowed this situation to develop, continue andintensify because, for some unidentified reason, the waterindustry is reluctant to provide knowledge and understanding inorder to strengthen and make more robust the belief of the‘don’t mind at alls’ and reassure the ‘mind a littles’ so that theymay come to accept recycled water.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN

There needs to be a concerted effort to tell the community whatwe put into water, how we take it out again and how we can besure that it has been taken out. There needs to be an activewater education program that simplifies the concepts and useseasy to understand words and images (the Flesch Reading Easeshould be over 60). It should be imaginative and stimulating. Itshould cater for all learning preferences and styles. It should beindependent of the media, energetically and charismaticallydelivered to the community and take advantage of moderncommunication techniques. It should not rely on people beingsufficiently motivated to visit websites.

It would include, not be confined to, mobile and staticexhibitions, interpretive centres as well as creative materialsdistributed by all methods of communication such as websites,brochures etc.

Discussions on recycling invariably start with the processesused to purify the water whereas they need to start withknowledge of water and, particularly, wastewater. If we do notunderstand wastewater, we will not be able to understand andaccept recycled water. The discussions also start too late in thedecision-making process—it has been shown many times that itis difficult, if not impossible to retrofit an education program—itis seen by the community as ‘marketing’ and rejected.

The water industry considers it to be enough to put outrebuttals. This is an unsatisfactory reactive approach—closingthe stable door after the horse has bolted; it has been shown somany times not to be enough. Rebuttals do not increase thecommunity’s understanding of water and wastewater; they relyon ‘experts’ saying that they are right and the naysayers arewrong. It presumes that we trust the ‘experts’ and relies on theIMBRISS principle (It Must Be Right I Say So). This approachhas been used many times without success.

The recent rains have relieved the drought situation in manyof our States providing a window of opportunity to improvecommunity understanding of water science so that when theneed for recycling occurs again, they will feel more confidentabout accepting it.

SOME QUESTIONS TO SUM UP:

3 Why is the water industry so reluctant to explain waterscience to the community?

3 Do we have adequate, easily understood words thatsimply and clearly explain water and wastewater qualityand treatment to a lay audience?

3 Is the community confused by some water managementand risk communication concepts? For example:3 Planned and unplanned recycling3 Direct and indirect recycling3 Environmental barriers3 Two sets of Guidelines for the same product,

drinking water3 How do we turn the focus from the history of water to

its quality?3 How do we encourage trust in our utilities?3 How should we explain risk?3 Who should be responsible for providing the

information—should it be the utilities, universities,schools, government, community consultants orsomebody else?


Jenifer Simpson


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Are current groundwater remediationtechnologies sustainable?By Andrew Thomas, Principal Remediation Engineer, OTEK

INTRODUCTION

In-situ physical remediation technologies such as AirSparge/Soil Vapour Extraction (AS/SVE), Multi-Phase Extraction(MPE) and Pump and Treat (P&T) are widely used forremediating groundwater. While some of these have proven tobe successful at achieving remediation end points in a timelymanner, these remediation technologies typically incorporatecomponents such as high vacuum extraction pumps andthermal treatment equipment that consume large amounts ofpower.

As the remediation industry matures and becomes moreconscious of the impact of remediation activities on theenvironment, the question now arises whether thesetechnologies are sustainable remediation approaches to beconsidered in the future.

This article firstly explores remediation technology trends,how trends have changed and what have been the drivers forchange. The practice of remediation technology selection, howit relates to sustainable remediation will then be discussed.Finally, it will look at the factors affecting implementation and

achieving a consistent approach to sustainable remediation.

REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS – HOW

HAVE WE PROGRESSED?

The USEPA compiled report titled Treatment Technologies for

Site Cleanup:Annual Status Report (12th Edition, Sept 2007),

documents the status, achievements and trends associated with

treatment technologies at National Priority List (NPL) sites

between 1982 and 2005. A review of the trends and general

observations identified the following:

3 The selection of in-situ treatment technologies for source

control continues to increase, accounting for

approximately 60 per cent of new projects between

2002 and 2005;

3 From 2002 to 2005, MPE and chemical treatment have

increased compared with SVE which has decreased;

3 There is a continuous increasing trend in the use of

innovative technologies;

3 Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) has been

increasing since 2002 with almost half of all sites

Bulk excavation prior to installation of groundwater remediation system.

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selecting MNA in 2005;

3 The most common in-situ technologies include AS,bioremediation, chemical treatment, Permeable ReactiveBarriers (PRBs) and MPE;

3 In-situ bioremediation and chemical treatment haveincreased significantly in recent years, with between 70-80 per cent of these projects being selected in the past 6years;

What these above points illustrate, is that remediationtechnologies are inherently evolving and maturing, theirapplications becoming more defined and cost and performanceand more accurately measured, enabling them to becomeestablished.

There appears to be a move towards in-situ technologieswith the use of bioremediation and MNA being more prevalentthan ever.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THE DRIVERS FOR

CHANGE?

LESS ENERGY INTENSIVE TECHNOLOGIES

The most frequently used energy-intensive treatmenttechnologies used at NPL sites are pump-and-treat (P&T),thermal desorption, MPE, AS, and SVE. Using data from costand performance reports compiled by the Federal Remediation

Technologies Roundtable and other resources, OSWER

estimates that a total of more than 14 billion kilowatt-hours

(kWh) of electricity will be consumed through use of these five

technologies at NPL sites from 2008 through 2030 (Table 1).

Table 1 – Estimated Energy Usage of Various Remediation

Technologies

Source: Green Remediation Primer (USEPA)

Inherently energy-intensive remediation technologies such

as P&T have lost their appeal as a result. Technologies such as

MPE and AS/SVE have increased in popularity over the years

due to their significantly less energy requirements. More

recently, in-situ chemical injection technologies have increased

in popularity for the same reason.

TechnologyEstimated EnergyAnnual Average

(kWh*103)

Total EstimatedEnergy Use in 2008-

2030 (kWh*103)

Pump & Treat 489,607 11,260,969

Thermal Desorption 92,919 2,137,123

MPE 18,679 429,625

AS 10,156 233,599

SVE 6,734 154,890

Technology Total 618,095 14,216,209

Typical groundwater extraction well trenching works.

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PERFORMANCE

Another reason for the change in technology selection has been

related to the overall performance of remediation technologies

in achieving the remediation end points. Of the compiled list of

remediation technologies used at NPL sites, more than 70 per

cent of P&T projects selected are currently operational.

Furthermore, only 10 per cent of P&T projects have been

completed and of this 10 per cent, a number of these projects

have been completed because the decision was made to

shutdown the P&T system, not necessarily because they reached

their remediation end points.

By comparison, in-situ treatment technologies represent 31

per cent of completed projects, similarly 45 per cent SVE and

less than 30 per cent of AS. It was noted that the percentage of

completed in-situ projects was expected to increase as these

technologies only became established in the 1990s.

CURRENT PRACTICE FOR REMEDIATION

TECHNOLOGY SELECTION

The following criteria are currently the predominant aspects

considered in the remediation technology process:

3 Ease of implementation;

3 Cost effectiveness and justifiability;

3 Technology meets remediation end points; and

3 Risks are mitigated or removed as appropriate.

Of these criteria, it could be argued that ease of

implementation (including the ability of consultants to

effectively implement the technologies) and effectiveness of the

technology, have been the main decision-making criteria

followed very closely by cost. If remediation end points were

not achieved, then risks were mitigated or removed by other

means.

REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY SELECTION

PROCESS TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE

REMEDIATION

In order to discuss how the process of remediation technology

selection plays a part in achieving sustainable remediation, we

first need to define what sustainable remediation means.

The concept of “Green Remediation” has arisen in recent

times, and is defined by the USEPA as:

“The practice of considering all environmental effects of

cleanup actions and incorporating strategies to maximize

the net environmental benefit”.

However, the question is whether “green remediation”

represents “sustainable remediation”.

Sustainable remediation is commonly defined as “the

balance between economic, environmental and social impacts”

and can be represented by the following illustration:

The key element of sustainable remediation is a holistic

approach to remedial selection criteria to achieve the optimum

outcome (centre of all three circles).

Green remediation should therefore not be considered

sustainable remediation, but rather simply forming a part of the

overall selection process. The goal of green remediation is not

to change the remedial selection criteria, but to make the

technology more sustainable in terms of its net environmental

impacts.

WHAT MAKES A REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY

SUSTAINABLE?

The chosen technology achieves the remediation objectives in a

cost effective and timely manner, with minimal impact to the

environment. But it must also achieve the most optimum net

benefits to society.

3 Effectiveness and timeliness of technology;

3 Remediation technologies meet end points;

3 Cost effectiveness;

3 Social needs are met;

3 Future liability is reduced or removed;

3 Green Remediation components include reducing

impact to the environment.

HOW DO WE ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE

REMEDIATION?

As discussed previously, the key to achieving sustainable

remediation is in the application of a holistic approach whereby

the true social priorities are incorporated. In order to ensure

that remediation technologies are assessed in a non-biased

manner a common unit of measure needs to be used. This

requires a dollar amount be determined and placed on social

and environmental benefits. That way, decisions can be better

made for weighing up the overall cost benefit analysis, in

particular for remedial approaches that achieve cleanup goals

faster but involve more intensive short-term emissions. In order

to determine this, the future use of the site (and of the

neighbouring properties) needs to be understood. In addition,

ENVIRONMENTAL

SUSTAINABLE

FINANCIAL SOCIAL

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the needs of the community should also be understood, as theirinterests may differ from what those responsible for the clean-up may presume to be the preferred outcome.

A site specific approach is necessary with very clear endpoints identified prior to the remediation technology selectionprocess.

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABLE

REMEDIATION?

The implementation of sustainable remediation from aregulatory and industry perspective needs a consistent andunified framework so that it doesn’t become ’fashionable’ oreven worse, abused. Examples include limited measuring toolssuch as carbon emissions or energy usage as a single measuringtool. This could lead to misconceptions that remediationapproaches such as MNA are treated as the “silver bullet”.Similarly, technologies such as P&T and thermal technologiessuch as thermal conductive heating are not automaticallydiscounted due to their high energy intensive nature. Inaddition, a framework needs to include suitable incentives toencourage companies to aim for sustainable remediationoutcomes.

In order to minimise remediation efforts, remediationendpoints need to be agreed upon with regulatory agencies.Furthermore, greater emphasis needs to be placed on riskassessment processes and their value in determining suitableremediation end points to mitigate risks.

The same rigorous cost-benefit analysis and holisticapproach also needs to occur on treatment requirements forvarious waste streams, such as vapour treatment. What is thenet environmental benefit of utilising vapour treatment toremove organic pollutants that requires large amounts of energywhich in turn produces significant carbon emissions?

Are there other areas where vapour emissions could bealternatively reduced or removed?

Separately, but equally important, there needs to be morecertainty provided by auditors and regulatory agencies alikewhen it comes to determining remediation end points and therequirements for obtaining site closure. The timeframe requiredto reach remediation end points and the subsequent time atwhich the site is available for its proposed future use plays amajor role in the overall sustainability rating of a remediationtechnology. Some technologies may in fact be deemed to bemore suitable in achieving a sustainable outcome if theremediation timeframe is significantly less than anothertechnology.

CONCLUSIONS

Over the last 20 years, remediation technologies have inherentlybecome more sustainable, simply through the introduction ofinnovative technologies that are more cost effective, less energyintensive and achieve remediation timeframes in a more timelymanner. The use of in-situ technologies will likely continue to

become more prevalent in the years ahead.Are remediation technologies sustainable? The question isn’t

whether the remediation technologies are sustainable; it is theirapplication as part of the entire remedial approach that makesthe technology sustainable.

There will be many challenges ahead to ensure the currentmomentum is maintained and ensuring that the importance andrelevance of sustainable remediation is not lost through misuseor abuse.

OTEK is an environmental, engineering and remediationcompany established in 1991 and has offices located inMelbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and in Beijing.We pride ourselves in offering professional, practicalenvironmental solutions. OTEK staff are an innovative anddynamic team of professionals with extensive experience in thefollowing areas: Environmental Consulting, Remediation andEngineered Risk Solutions, Contaminated Land Assessment,Remediation, Accredited Auditing, Legal Compliance, WasteResource and Environmental Management, OutsourcingPositive Liability Transfer, Sustainability, and OH&S.

Please visit our web site at www.otek.com.au.

Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse Projects

WATERfor the FUTURE

A special call for Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse projects was recently announced under the $1 billion National Urban Water and Desalination Plan.

$200 million has been made available to support stormwater harvesting projects that will reduce the demand on potable water supplies. It forms part of the Government’s $12.9 billion Water for the Future initiative to prepare Australia for a future with less water.

Who is eligible to apply?State, territory and local governments, public water utilities and private companies are eligible to apply.

How much project funding is available?Project funding is capped at 50% of eligible capital costs. The minimum project size is $4 million, with funding capped at $20 million per project.

When are proposals due?Proposals for the second round of funding are due on 11 December 2009.

For more information and the program guidelines, visit http://www.environment.gov.au/water/programs, email [email protected] or telephone 1800 218 478.

water


Aerobic granulation forwastewater treatmentBy Dr Maite Pijuan, EBCRC Research Fellow, Advanced Water Management Centre

Biological wastewater treatment systems are commonly used to achieve the removalof chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen and phosphorus from domestic andindustrial wastewaters.

Biological N removal is achieved through the microbialprocesses of nitrification and denitrification. Thebiological removal of P is facilitated by poly-phosphate

accumulating organisms (PAOs) and requires alternatinganaerobic and aerobic/anoxic conditions. Most biologicaltreatment plants to date operate using floccular sludge, diffuseaggregates consisting of a range of micro-organisms and a looseextra cellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix. However,floccular sludge necessitates long settling times at the end of atreatment cycle and as a consequence, large settling tanks arerequired. As an alternative and advantageous technology inbiological wastewater treatment the aerobic granulationtechnology is getting increasing attention from research andindustry.

Figure 1: Aerobic granules

Aerobic granules are approximal spherical microbialaggregates (Fig. 1) that are packed with micro-organisms thatare encased in a dense EPS matrix. Granules are oftenconsidered a type of biofilm that is not attached to a surface.

Aerobic granules are dense microbial aggregates of 2-3mmin diameter. They do not coagulate under reduced shear andexhibit a substantially faster settling rate as floccular sludge,with the sludge volume index (SVI) at 5min being equal to the

SVI at 30min.

These characteristics of aerobic granules lead to several

advantages for biological wastewater treatment as compared to

the floccular sludge technology: the high settleability of granular

sludge allows for higher biomass concentration in the reactors

and therefore, higher loading rates in C, N and P. Due to the

size of the granules, oxic and anoxic niches can form in the

granules allowing for simultaneous nitrification and

denitrification.

However, the aerobic granular sludge technology also faces

challenges which impede its full scale application: the start up

of reactors can be difficult and long (granule formation), there is

a poor understanding of the fundamental biology of the

microbes in aerobic granular sludge, e.g., of the mechanisms

and reasons for the development of aerobic granules little is

known about the factors influencing long term stability of

granules. Most studies were conducted at lab-scale reactors and

in most synthetic wastewater was used.

To find solutions for these challenges, the aerobic

granulation research group of the Environmental Biotechnology

CRC (EBCRC) is focusing on the formation, stability and

capabilities of aerobic granular sludge by combining engineering

approaches with fundamental microbiological research. The

aerobic granulation research group aims to contribute to an

optimisation and assessment of the granular sludge technology,

especially for the treatment of domestic and industrial

wastewaters.

Our research demonstrated that a good nutrient removal of

soluble COD (85%), N (93%) and P (85%) could be achieved in

a lab scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating abattoir

wastewater using granular sludge. This good nutrient removal

was achieved through the process of simultaneous nitrification,

denitrification, and phosphorus removal (SNDPR; Fig. 2), likely

facilitated by the presence of large anoxic zones in the centre of

the granules. The removal of nitrogen was likely via nitrite,

optimising the use of the limited COD available in the

wastewater. This research also showed that high loading rates

could be applied in this reactor, which were 2.7 gCOD L-1 day-

1, 0.43 gN L-1 day-1, and 0.06 gP L-1 day-1, respectively.

water


Figure 2. Cycle study data showing the occurrence of SNDPR in a lab scale

granular SBR treating abattoir wastewater

Other advantageous aspects of the granular sludge

technology for the removal of N and P from abattoir wastewater

were demonstrated in a study using a novel 2-sludge 3-stage

process. The system consists of a granular SBR working under

alternating anaerobic/anoxic conditions (GAA reactor) (for P-

removal and denitrification) supplemented with a short aerobic

phase and an aerobic biofilm SBR (BA reactor) (for nitrification)

that operated in-between the anaerobic and the anoxic phase

(Fig. 3).

Compared to conventional 2-sludge systems (using floccular

sludge), the combined granule and biofilm system achieved

much higher volumetric COD, N and P removal rates.

This is attributed to the use of granular sludge in the

anaerobic/anoxic reactor as the excellent settleability of granular

sludge allowed the use of a much shorter hydraulic retention

times. With an N and P removal of 81% and 94%, respectively,

the system produced an effluent that was suitable for land

irrigation. Like other 2- stage systems reported in literature, this

system has the advantage of maximising the utilisation of

organic substrates and reducing operational costs. However,

due to the excellent settleability of the granular sludge, the

residual ammonium concentrations in the granular reactor could

be minimised before the anoxic step. Thus, by using the

granular sludge technology, a major drawback of traditional 2-

stage systems could be solved, namely high ammonia

concentrations in the effluent which are a problem in the

conventional 2-stage systems.

Figure 3: Schematic diagram of the 2-stage -3 stage system using a granular

and a biofilm SBR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project is funded by the Environmental Biotechnology

Cooperative Research Centre (EBCRC), Australia.

From waste-d water to pure water – reprintThe National Water Commission has funded a reprint of 10,000 copies of Fromwaste-d-water to pure water by Jennifer Simpson and is supporting its nationalcirculation.

This publication has previously been released throughout south-eastQueensland and contributes to an improved public understanding ofrecycled water.

It provides easy-to-understand information on the issues underlyingwater recycling and treatment processes.

The International Water Association (IWA) named the book ‘bestpopular presentation of water science’ during its major congress in Viennain 2008. The booklet also has been published by the Water ReuseAssociation of America for distribution in the USA.

For further details, log onto:

http://www.nwc.gov.au/www/html/983-distilled-35---jan09---from-waste-d-water-to-pure-water-reprint.asp

Tieman Industries has been around along time. In fact over 55 yearsmaking stainless steel tankers.

These days Tieman not only produces afull range of aluminium and stainless steeltankers but also sells tail lifts, materialshandling equipment for warehousing andmanufacturing, wheelchair lifts and vehicleconversions as well as providingnationwide mobile service for its ownproducts as well as competitors products.

For local government, Tieman oftenfinds the wheelchair lifts and tail lifts to bemost popular but given Australia’schanging climate they are now findingmore interest in their long-life stainlesssteel tankers for potable water cartage asthe water supplies of many smallercommunities suffer. These are available inrigid truck, single trailer, B double and roadtrain configurations to suit application andmaximise the payload per trip. Whilstthere have been many short termsolutions, the lack of water has becomeendemic and many local governmentbodies are seeking longer term and morerobust solutions to the increasing need totruck water into some communities.

The Tieman wheelchair lifts are made

to Australian Standards and are available inexternal, internal fixed platform andinternal split platform models to suit avariety of different needs. Tieman alsomanages and carries out the completevehicle conversion process to ensure fullcompatibility and compliance.

With increased focus on OH&S, more

and more Parks & Gardens style vehiclesare being fitted with tail lifts on utilityvehicles and small tippers to create greaterflexibility and employee protection.

Tieman can be contacted on1300TIEMAN with branches in allStates or through their website atwww.tieman.com.au

VIC 03 9305 2255 NSW 02 9732 7100 SA 08 8347 0788 QLD 07 3868 3066Somerton Wetherill Park Regency Park Eaglefarm

HO 03 9469 6700 WA 08 9453 6522 TAS 03 6334 5877 NZ 09 836 1452Keon Park Forrestfield Distributor Distributor

[email protected] www.tieman.com.au

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTTIEMAN WHEELCHAIR LIFTS, TAIL LIFTS, AND TANKERS HAVE:

• Superior Strength & Reliability

• Choice of Models to Suit your Needs

• Proven Safety Record

• National Service Support

• Compliance to Australian Standards

• And are Great Value for Money

Tieman – Built to last

roads


South Metro Connectto set new benchmarks

The creation of the South Metro Connect (SMC) projectteam to manage the environmental approvals,engineering design and community engagement

processes for the proposed Roe Highway extension would setnew benchmarks according to WA Transport Minister SimonO’Brien.

Mr O’Brien said the team, to be made up of senior MainRoads officers and personnel from environmental andengineering consulting firm AECOM, would be responsible forensuring strict environmental guidelines and approvals weremet.

“At the last election, communities across the southmetropolitan area voiced their support for this project. We areworking towards delivering what communities have clearly saidthey want,” he said.

“The formalisation of the South Metro Connect team meansthat the construction of the Roe Highway extension, fromKwinana Freeway to Stock Road, will meet the highest possibleenvironmental standards.

“The State Government recognises the value of the naturalenvironment in the vicinity of the project. The high level ofinnovative design solutions and construction techniques to beimplemented on this project will set new benchmarks for MainRoads.

“The work of the South Metro Connect team and the futureconstruction of the Roe Highway extension will result in lessfreight and passenger vehicles and congestion on the LeachHighway and Kwinana Freeway.

“The Roe Highway extension also provides improved access

to the Fremantle Inner Harbour and excellent access to thefuture Outer Harbour, the James Point Facility and theexpanding Kwinana Industrial Area.”

The Minister said the South Metro Connect team wouldcontinue the environmental approvals process for the RoeHighway Extension, already initiated by Main Roads WesternAustralia which self-referred the project to the EnvironmentalProtection Authority to determine the level of environmentalassessment.

“The highest levels of community engagement will beadopted on this sensitive and very important project to ensuresustainable outcomes are achieved,” he said.

Community consultation initiatives will include:3 The establishment of SMC community based reference

groups to debate issues and assess options3 A toll free number (1800 132 572) through which

community members can make enquiries and requestadditional information on the project

3 An online forum and ‘project view’ resource wheremembers of the community can comment on proposalsand look at aerial views of the project

3 An array of traditional communications tools such ascommunity newsletters and public meetings

3 A ‘base line’ survey to get an idea of the amount ofknowledge about the project within the project site andinfluence area.

“The SMC team will shortly commence this extensive andmeaningful engagement with the community and stakeholders,”Mr O’Brien said.

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road safety


The annual TRB (Transport Research Board)conference was held in San Antonio in the firstweek of June 2009. Academic institutions have

been researching the effects of the changes to theMASH standard. Manufacturers have been designingand testing new products to the MASH standard. Itwill be of interest that the substantially higher impactloads required under MASH TL3 and TL4 teststandards have caused the “stiff post” guardrailconcept to reach a design limit. Concerning wire ropesafety fences, it will also be of interest that as theenergy of the impact increases the all importantinteraction between the rope and post reaches a limit.The rope-post interaction is important to thedeflection of the fence, and it is a matter of getting thedesign right – if there is insufficient interactionbetween the rope and posts then the deflection is toogreat, if there is too much interaction then the ropesmay break before the tension can stretch the ropes tothe desirable extent or the posts may not release fromthe ropes and become a hazard.

Manufacturers are seeking to design and testproducts that are MASH TL4 acceptable and yet allow

safety in a small car impact. Under the NCHRP350 TL4standard the impact severity of the TL4 test was132.3kJ. However under the MASH TL4 standard theimpact severity of the TL4 test is now 209.3kJ. The 8ttruck has increased to a 10t truck, and the impactspeed has increased from 80kph to 90kph. This 58%increase in impact energy is just one factor that ismaking life interesting for road safety productdesigners.

What will the introduction of this new MASHstandard mean for road users? When MASH testedequipment starts to appear on Australian roads theproducts will be superior to what is currently beingused. The MASH testing is more thorough and isbroader in the requirements.

Brifen decided to start new product developmentwith a clean sheet. This is the first major productdevelopment for Brifen in 5 years. The aim is to have afully tested Brifen product not only to the new MASHTL4 standard, but to the European EN1317 H2,available in the market place within 12 months.

For further information on Brifen wire rope safety fence

products contact Paul Hansen (02) 9631 8833.

MASH makes Safety BarrierDesign InterestingFrom the 1 January 2009 the MASH manual (Manual for AssessingHighway Safety Features) replaces the NCHRP Report 350(Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation ofHighway Features) in the USA. The effects of this change instandard will improve road safety in Australia.

road tunnels – lighting innovation


Conventional tunnel lighting hasto be compliant to AustralianStandard and utilises the 5 zone

incremental lighting levels with thetunnel which for daytime use the tunneldesign will be predicated by theadaption of the motorist to the ambientlighting levels and the lighting withinthe zones in the tunnel. These are splitinto the Access zone (just in front of thetunnel entrance), Threshold zone, (thestart of the tunnel) Transition zone,Interior Zone, Exit Zone.

The Threshold, Transition and ExitZones are interdependent upon the amount of light availablethroughout the day and night at the tunnels entrance thisrequires the internal to be adjusted to suit external conditions sothat the driver can adapt from the external daylight/nightconditions to the internal tunnel conditions as the driver entersand exits the tunnel.

With the advent of modern lighting control high wattagedischarge lighting can be controlled by adding a purpose builtDALI ( Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) which has becomea control method for commercial lighting control. Sylvania

Lighting Australasia installed this intelligent lighting system inthe Inner North Busway in Brisbane, QLD, utilising the DALIcontrol with conventional reactor control gear, interfaced withSCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) to ensuretotal control.

The interior zone was light using T5 fluorescent lamps onDALI dimming ballast. As the tunnel is used infrequently, theDALI system allows the fluorescent lighting to be dimmed downto a low level, and is only ramped up when the tunnel is in useby buses, allowing for maximum energy savings.

New Development in Tunnel Lighting Control

roads


With long development timeframes and a complexityof stakeholders and project contributors, collectingthese elements into a holistic approach can be

difficult. Project formulation and planning phases provide the best

opportunity, however sustainable outcomes can also beachieved in detail design and construction phases.

The duplication of the Hume Highway in south westernNew South Wales (NSW) from Woomargama to Table Topshows how sustainability can be incorporated into a major roadinfrastructure project.

The Hume Highway linking Sydney and Melbourne forms akey component of one of Australia’s busiest inter capital roadcorridors. Approximately 67 kilometres of the 807 kilometrehighway consists of single lanes in each direction. Most freightis moved by road, particularly overnight. Completing theduplication of the highway has major benefits in improvedsafety and freight efficiency.

In 2006, funds were committed by the Federal Governmentto complete the duplication of the highway so that there will bea high grade dual carriageway suitable for current and predictedfreight and other traffic.

Upgrading the highway involves significant earthworks andassociated engineering activities in a predominantly rural areathat also has areas of significant remnant vegetation, habitat andheritage. Another important aspect is that this part of Australiais in the grip of long-term drought conditions, so availability ofwater is scarce.

Upgrading the highway poses many challenges in relation tobalancing the development of a safe and efficient transportsystem, while maintaining the amenity of the area andminimising additional environmental and/or social stress.

Infrastructure agencies recognise the inherent tensions inreconciling the goal of sustainability with activities that initiallypresent limited opportunities for sustainability. Agencies such asthe NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) are seekingopportunities to incorporate sustainability principles in projects.

Assessments may be undertaken at the strategic level toconsider the way a project contributes overall to sustainabilitygoals and to ensure a strategic fit. At the concept level a rangeof options are considered against environmental, social andeconomic criteria.

However, project development, including route

development and detailed environmental impact assessment, is

where it will be most effective to investigate and identify key

sustainability principles and opportunities.

The Hume Highway duplication involved rigorous and

comprehensive assessment of route options, identification of

potential impacts, and mitigation of impacts through route

refinement and in the design of appropriate environmental

management measures.

Key considerations included traffic and transport efficiency,

biodiversity, heritage, water management, community impacts

and long-term and cumulative impacts.

To deliver the project successfully, the RTA decided to use

an alliance framework, with the work being awarded to two

alliances; the Northern Alliance and the Southern Alliance.

The Hume Highway Southern Alliance, comprising the RTA,

Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) and Abigroup, is delivering the

Woomargama to Table Top section of the duplication.

Sustainable Practices inRoad ConstructionFor major road development projects, the big ideas that shape our overall approachto sustainability can be challenging to implement at a project level.

roads


DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN THE

ALLIANCE FRAMEWORK

The unique structure of the alliance team and the identificationof key result areas for the RTA that go beyond traditionalconstruction time and cost drivers provide the opportunity forprominence of sustainability in a road development project. TheHume Highway Southern Alliance Management Teamcomprises individuals with specific accountability for design,quality, construction, engineering, occupational health andsafety (OHS), environment and sustainability. Each area hasoverall and equal commitment to the project’s outcomes.

This ensures that environment and sustainabilityperformance is as crucial to the successful delivery of theproject as other factors are.

Delivering the project as an alliance is a way of working thatfosters collaboration and innovation. A diverse range of skillscome together with the same goal in mind and this can promotethe development of ideas that on other projects would be seentoo difficult to implement, or the responsibility of others.

The alliance framework also opens communication channelsthat would otherwise not be available or most certainly moredifficult to utilise.

The alliance is a significant adaptation to a way of workingand opens the means to create a changed culture within theorganisations involved. Culture change is a fundamental step inincorporating sustainable thinking into projects.

Importantly, the alliance culture provides opportunities torecognise and implement opportunities to achieve sustainabilityoutcomes that are better than ‘business as usual’ and that donot necessarily increase costs.

SUSTAINABILITY OUTCOMES

A sustainability workshop early in the project identifiedoutcomes and objectives that would leave a legacy to thecommunity, improve the sustainability of delivery methods forthe project, and involved RTA personnel outside the Alliance inthe development of the project, as well as other keystakeholders.

Water savings and rehabilitation of landfill waste are amongkey innovations achieved by the Hume Highway SouthernAlliance, resulting in successful environmental management andsustainability.

Water is an essential component during construction of roadworks being used in compaction of earthworks, dustsuppression activities and revegetation of the construction site.Due to the project’s large scale, significant volumes of water arerequired.

Preliminary hydrological investigations undertaken as part ofthe environmental assessment indicated there was a severeshortage of reliable water available in close proximity to theproject.

Norske Skog Paper Mill (approximately 10km south west ofthe Project) was identified in this analysis as having a significant

surplus of treated effluent and cooling water used in its papermilling process.

Working in conjunction with Norske Skog, the HumeSouthern Alliance connected a pipeline from the irrigationsystem to the project alignment, transferring water to a series ofinterlinked storage dams. By using Norske Skog’s existingpumps and pressure within the irrigation system, minimalenergy is required to transfer water to the construction site.

The recycled water from the Norske Skog facility isproviding approximately 50 per cent of construction water,significantly reducing the reliance on Lake Hume.

The partnership with Norske Skog has also extendedbeyond the use of wastewater, with the use of bio solidmaterials. These materials are a bi-product of the paper millingprocess. This paper mulch-like product is being used duringrevegetation and for erosion control. This is beneficial reuse ofan otherwise discarded product and consistent with achievingsustainable outcomes for the project.

Sustainability principles and practices used in the design andconstruction of the project site compound are reducing energycosts, with recycled water and rainwater harvesting significantlyreducing the need to import potable water to the remote site.

Prior to construction, the Mullengandra tip was locatedunder the new road alignment and contained burnt wastematerial and putrescible wastes that needed to be addressed.

The solution adopted included sorting material that could berecovered and recycled including metals and tyres, excavatingand sieving the waste material to separate ash and soil for re-use in earthworks, with any remaining putrescible material thenremoved to the Albury landfill tip.

The outcome has eliminated the ongoing liability of a wastecell for the RTA, with an overall benefit to the local environmentand the reduction of potential risks to the local surface andgroundwater reserves.

There has been very effective collaboration between theenvironmental and design teams, along with the RTAenvironmental specialists to maximise the retention of Box GumWoodland and minimise disturbance of heritage sites throughalignment and cross section modifications.

The project has also made a very significant contribution tothe Murray River Re-snagging Project, by donating felled treesand root balls.

Value engineering sessions identified drainage modificationsto shorten the length of culverts that lowered cost and alsoreduced the length of underpass for fauna to cross through thecorridor.

The Hume Highway Southern Alliance has made asignificant contribution to establishing, implementing andmanaging an environmental management system withinnovations that demonstrate how sustainable constructionprinciples can successfully be applied to road infrastructureprojects.

roads


In this time they have developed the engineering expertiseand state of the art manufacturing processes to produce arange of superior quality batteries better suited to Australia’s

hotter climate and harsh working conditions.

AUSTRALIAN MADE FOR

AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONSAustralia’s climate and extreme working conditions create havocfor batteries, attacking critical internal components which canlead to early battery failure. Unfortunately, some importedbatteries, made for softer climates focus on higher startingpower at the expense of more critical design features.

Century batteries are designed and built here in Australia tosuit our climate and harsh working conditions. They featuremany substantial design improvements and specialisthardwearing components to deliver what fleet managers andplant operators really want – longer life and ultra reliability withless down time.

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To find out more about Century’s range of products and services

contact a Century Batteries representative

on 1300 362 287 or visit www.centurybatteries.com.au

Century Batteries –Your first choice battery solution!Century batteries is Australia’s oldest and most recognised battery manufacturerwith a proud history of designing, manufacturing and supplying batteries inAustralia since 1928.

road construction + maintenance


Any general car park barrier system must be capable ofwithstanding the relevant impact loads and minimiseany residual energy being passed onto the structure

that is being protected. The selection of an effective perimeteredge protection is based upon a number of variable factors:

3 Space available in which to install a barrier and minimiseencroachment onto the travelled way

3 Climb-ability of the barrier3 Compatibility with handrail attachments and mesh infill

panels3 Anchorage detail3 Compliance with relevant Australian Standards and

Building Codes

It has been common practice for rigid guardrail posts usedin roadside applications to be used in non-roadside applications.The perception is that a guardrail post designed for roadsideimpacts will have the structural capacity to withstand a car parkimpact. However, a roadside guardrail post is typically driveninto the ground and the surrounding soil provides critical lateralpost support. A roadside guardrail post concreted into theground or mounted on a base plate is unlikely to satisfy the carpark loading requirements nominated in AS1170.1

The horizontal imposed action on barriers required towithstand the accidental impact from vehicles during parkingshall be 30kN for barriers installed in light traffic areas. This loadis based upon a 1500kg vehicle travelling at 2m/s and 0.1m

Ingal Spring Steel BuffasOff highway vehicle safety barrier systems are a specific range of barriersdesigned for use in car parks, logistic yards, warehouses, factory facilities, retail parks and loading bays. Their objective is the protection of people, plantand buildings.

ABOVE: Ingal Classic Post ABOVE: Ingal Standard Post

road construction + maintenance


crumple zone. Light traffic areas are defined as parking areas,garages, driveways and ramps restricted to cars, light vans, etcnot exceeding 2500kg gross mass. The impact force shall bedistributed over a 1.5m length of the barrier at any positionalong the barrier and shall be assumed to act at 0.5m abovefloor level.

Ingal’s range of Spring Steel Buffas are specifically designedfor applications where protection is required from heavy vehicleglancing blows and low speed perpendicular impacts.Traditional bolt-down rigid post systems provide no energyabsorption upon impact resulting in damage to the barrier andpost foundations. Ingal’s Spring Steel Buffas absorb impactenergy, thereby reducing the pullout forces on the holding downbolts. Fewer holding down bolts are required, resulting in aneasier to install system and minimal damage to the impactingvehicle and barrier.

An Ingal Spring Steel Post is manufactured from high-gradespring steel and is heat-treated for strength and flexibility. AnIngal Spring Steel Post can deflect upon impact reducing theforces transferred to the anchor bolts by up to 75%. Thisabsorption of energy allows the post to be installed with onlyone anchor bolt whilst still complying with Australian Standardcar park loading requirements.

As Australia’s largest manufacturer of safety barrier systems,Ingal is requested to supply a variety of barrier designs. Thesedesigns generally involve rigid posts attached to the deck of thecar park. These posts are often expensive to manufacture andrequire substantial holding down bolts. Their installation canlead to the damage of the slab reinforcement and increasessusceptibility to water and chemical ingress. These post designsrarely accommodate screens and handrails and they do notabsorb impact energy.

The Ingal Spring Steel Post, with only one anchor bolt per

post, is extremely easy to install. The post and rail design isavailable with mesh infill panels and handrails providingcompliance to the Building Code of Australia. The width of thesystem can be as little as 100mm, meaning valuable floor spaceis conserved. The open design facilitates light infiltration andcross flow ventilation.

Recent crash testing of Ingal Spring Steel Buffas has beenperformed to validate compliance in light traffic areas inaccordance with AS1170.1.

Each test configuration comprised of a 4m length of Ingalguardrail supported by three posts at 2m centres. Each post wasanchored with just one M20 anchor bolt. The 1500kg testvehicle impacted the barrier over a 1.5m section at the edge ofthe system to ensure maximum loading was applied to thesupport post at the end of the barrier.

A series of tests, each at different impact speeds, werecarried out on each of the two barrier posts to determine theeffects of different impact forces and subsequent barrierdeflections.

The Ingal Spring Steel Buffas performed outstandingly andwell exceeded the impact speed of 2m/s stipulated inAS1170.1. The Standard Post was subjected to impact speeds ofup to 6.4m/s. The Classic Post was subjected to impact speedsof up to 7.0m/s.

The flexible nature of an Ingal Spring Steel Buffa allows it toabsorb a higher level of impact force than is required by thestandard while still satisfying the requirements to halt andcontain the vehicle.

A Spring Steel Buffa is exclusive to Ingal Civil Products.Components are held in stock at Ingal distribution facilitieslocated throughout Australia.

To find out more about Spring Steel Buffas, visit

www.ingalcivil.com.au or freecall on 1800 803 795.

Ingal’s range of Spring Steel Buffas are specificallydesigned for applications where protection isrequired from heavy vehicle glancing blows andlow speed perpendicular impacts.

“

MADING859 ALG Yearbook 09.indd 1 10/8/09 10:00:59 AM

MADING859 ALG Yearbook 09.indd 2 10/8/09 10:01:17 AM

road tunnels


In the interest of safety, prescriptive regulations have beendeveloped to address the requirements and performance ofthese fire safety systems. The purpose of these mandatory

requirements is to ensure the wiring system maintains thecircuit integrity of these safety services for a specified period oftime under the stress of fire, mechanical and water damage. InAustralia, wiring systems for safety services require testing andclassification of fire performance in accordance withAS/NZS3013 which utilizes the AS1530.4 standard heatingregime.

AUSTRALIAN STANDARDSInternational works relating to fire tests date back to the early20th century with the basis for AS1530.4 time temperatureheating regime first published in Australia in 1935. As aconsequence, a large database of test results and experienceutilizing AS1530.4 heating regime exists. The standard heatingregime of AS1530.4 provides a method for ranking the fireresistant elements of building materials for regulatory purposeshowever, it is widely recognised that it is not directly applicableto modern buildings and results may not resemble failure timesin a real fire. Many fires in buildings, industrial and tunnelapplications develop rapidly and reach temperatures whichexceed the specified time temperature curve of the standard fireresistance test in AS15403.4 and ISO834. This has promptedinternational regulators to develop time temperature fire curvesto meet application requirements for the purposes of evaluationof prescriptive or performance based solutions. AS1530-4:2005includes alternative solutions and procedures for determiningthe tests for assessing a systems ability to protect criticalservices under fire conditions which includes a hydrocarbontime temperature curve based on EN1363.2.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDSCellulose Curve – ISO384 and AS1530.4 standard timetemperature curves are applicable to cellulose fires and theburning rate of general contents and materials found in abuilding. Temperature rise gradually to exceed 1000°C after 90minutes.

Hydrocarbon Curve (HC) – UL1709 and EN1363.2 /AS1530.4 rapid rise time temperature curves are moreapplicable to small petroleum fires, ie. car fuel tanks, tankerscontaining petrol, oil & some chemicals, typically in an openspace where some dissipation of heat would occur.Temperatures are in excess of 900°C within 5 minutes and reacha maximum of 1100°C in 10 and 30 minutes respectively.

Modified Hydrocarbon Curve (MHC) – the rapid rise timetemperature curve is similar to hydrocarbon in rise time with1150°C reached in 5 minutes however, it is more severe with amaximum temperature of 1300°C. This is more applicable to anenclosed area, such as a tunnel, where there is little chance ofheat dissipation to surrounding atmosphere.

RWS Rijkswaterstaat Curve (RWS) – a rapid rise time

temperature curve developed for tunnels on the assumption ofa worst case scenario of a 50m³ fuel or oil tanker fire, with a fireload of 300MW for a duration of 120 minutes, based on testsconducted in the Netherlands in 1979.

RABT-ZTV Curves – rapid rise time temperature curvesapplicable to car and train tunnels. The temperature reaches1200°C in 5 minutes and remains constant for 25 minutes and55 minutes respectively before a 110 minute cooling period.

THE FIRE The risk and consequence of fires on heavy goods vehicles intunnels was demonstrated in four full scale fire tests conductedin the Runehamar tunnel in Norway in 2003 as a scientific studyto simulate fires in semi trailers with cargo containing 80%cellulose 20% plastic. The cargo used in the study, mainlycellulose materials, ranged from 10911 kg of wooden & plasticpallets to 3120 kg of cardboard boxes and polystyrene cups.The study confirmed that each fire test followed the rapid risetime temperature plot of the RWS curve.

THE WIRING SYSTEMInternational standards developed for rapid rise fires intransportation applications provide evidence to designers of thefire severity and that performance of the wiring systems iscritical for public safety. This evidence would also suggest thatthe wiring system design and cable selection for tunnelapplications should consider a performance based solution andnot rely only on AS/NZS3013 certification that is based onAS1530.4 standard heating regime. The fire rated wiring systemsupply safety services eg. ventilation, illumination, water supply& drainage and communication equipment.

To ensure operational performance all components of awiring system which include the cable, support, fixings, joints,etc must withstand the stress of fire, mechanical and water

Public safety reliant on fire survival of wiring systemsThe risk of accident in transportation tunnels is low but the catastrophicconsequence of fire is evidenced by fatality statistics. Although fire engineeringmay predict the outcome of a fire, the uncertainty of public safety is still relianton the operational performance of the electrical wiring systems supplying thesafety services for detection, suppression and evacuation.

road tunnels


damage in the event of fire. Components used within the tunnelinfrastructure also suffer under the effects of fire which mayultimately impact on the performance of the wiring system. Oneshould also consider in the design and installation of the wiringsystems the potential damage caused by explosive spalling ofthe concrete indicated to occur at 300 to 450°C, loss of stiffnessand strength of cable supports and ladders at 300 to 800°C, andchanges that occur in the physical properties of the insulation ofpolymeric fire resistant cables.

Mineral Insulated Metal Sheath (MIMS) fire survival cablesunique design offers the least risk of failure from fire,mechanical and water damage when compared with polymericfire resistant cables.

Pyrotenax® MIMS cables have a proven fire survivalperformance over 70 years. Pyrotenax® MIMS fire survivalwiring systems are certified to AS/NZS 3013 and UL2196 whichinclude stringent fire and hose stream tests.

CHANNEL TUNNEL FIREPyrotenax® MIMS cables proven fire survival performance isevident in the photograph below. Pyrotenax® MIMS cable areinstalled in the Channel tunnel and survived the 1996 fire whichresulted in extensive tunnel lining spalling and damage to thetunnel facilities.

Tyco Thermal Controls manufacture a range of Pyrotenax®MIMS cables which include constructions specifically designedfor hydrocarbon applications.

When considering public safety in sub way stations, carparks, tunnels or any infrastructure application linked totransportation consider a Pyrotenax® MIMS wiring systems.

Editors note: References not published due to space limitations.

roads


Works will take place in the city to create morepedestrian-friendly streets, provide spaces forcultural events, promote retail development, and

enhance the tropical character of the CBD. Retail properties inthe CBD pay more rates than any other area of Darwin, and thisinvestment in public infrastructure has been warmly welcomedby business.

Two main streets will receive upgrades; Smith Streetbetween Bennett Street and Peel Street, and Knuckey Streetbetween West Lane and Austin Lane. The ‘decluttering’ of TheMall will also be a priority. The total project budget is projectedto reach $6,994,000, with the majority (4.2 million) goingtowards updating Smith Street.

The Knuckey and Smith Street intersection is a key retaillocation and will be the focus of the revitalisation. Currentlythere are no shade trees in the street, and the entry into theCBD remains a largely car-dominated route. Plans for theintersection include:

3 planting large trees in build-out boxes, 3 improving tourist facilities with a covered bus area

including information panels3 making space for al fresco dining, and3 improving aesthetics and pedestrian access. It is anticipated that the revitalisation will encourage

pedestrians to window shop, whilst softening the appearance ofhigh-density development.

Greening the Centre of DarwinThe Darwin City Centre Revitalisation scheme has received a $3.6 million FederalGovernment injection to get the project underway. The funds are more than doubledby contributions by the NT Government and The City of Darwin of $1.75 million and$1.55 million respectively. The Paspalis Property Trust is contributing $500,000.

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roads


The Smith Street Mall, the pedestrian section of the street,last underwent upgrade over ten years ago. The proposedrevitalisation project aims to open up the space for access bylarger numbers of pedestrians, provide improved shade usingstructures that will become key gathering spaces in the city,introduce a central row of shade trees and seats, and constructa children’s play equipment ‘play trail’.

Approximately 45 trees will be planted as part of theproject, and vegetation build-out boxes will be constructedevery 24-30 metres. These boxes will be free-standing andconstructed to a water-sensitive design with planning that willultimately result in a shady canopy. Planting trees in free-standing boxes allows plants to grow straight because they arein full sunlight, not tucked away in the shade of tall buildings.

The project intends to plant small white Bush Apple trees,which are native to the area, and already used in streetplantings in Darwin’s CBD. The trees are fast growing, havedense foliage and a neat shape, and flower attractively duringthe wet season.

Large shade trees will also feature among theredevelopment plans for Smith Street up to the Chinatown

Carpark, the traditional main street of the CBD. Plans for thislocation include the removal of street landscaping items likeplanter boxes to open up the street and facilitate ease ofpedestrian access. Construction of a covered walkway from theCBD to the new multi-level car park will be especially designedfor shelter during the wet season.

Creating a better CBD experience for pedestrians is a focusof the proposals, and this includes the improvement of thecentral Raintree Park. The project aims to turn the park into acity square and meeting place using covered alfresco dining andfacilitating greater disability access and cross-city travel.

Local commercial property owners are, not surprisingly,enthusiastic about the proposal, and have already undertakenindependent work to improve their shop fronts and retailspaces.

The works are scheduled to commence late October 09 andDarwin City Council is project managing the process. Withfunding from all three levels of government, along with privatesector contribution and enthusiastic business co-operation, theDarwin City Centre Revitalisation project is a great example ofthe community improvement that can be achieved throughgovernments working together.

PROPOSED STREETSCAPE


waste management


Regional waste data collectionand performance reportingBy Andrea Klindworth, Executive Officer, Gippsland Regional Waste Management Group

INTRODUCTION

One of the largest budget items for local councils is providing ahousehold waste collection service, which is generally deliveredunder contract by the private sector. Councils may also owninfrastructure such as landfills and transfer stations. The systemfor waste management enabling unwanted materials to berecovered for further use, or disposed of to landfill, operateswithin a state government policy and regulatory framework.

Regional Waste Management Groups (RWMGs), governedby their member councils, are responsible for planning forwaste management in their regions. RWMGs are alsoresponsible for giving effect to state policies, strategies andprograms for best practice in waste management. Groupsfacilitate change and provide leadership in their regions.

The establishment of state government targets for reducingwaste to landfill and increasing resource recovery needs allstakeholders in the waste management system to plan for andimplement improvements. The lack of regular reporting ofconsistent, comparable data throughout the year impedesplanning and limits the effective evaluation of changes made tothe system.

Data is needed to meet regulatory, contractual and/orfinancial obligations of a broad range of organisations deliveringwaste services in Victoria. The current data collection andreporting systems are delivering incomplete and out of dateinformation. Therefore, in 2007, a successful application wasmade to the Sustainability Fund to undertake a project toimprove waste data collection and reporting.

The project will develop a data collection and recordingsystem to enable the reliable monitoring of flow of recyclablesand solid inert waste through landfills and transfer stationsthroughout the year. The project will be implemented acrossregional Victoria under the leadership of the Association ofRegional Waste Management Groups AVRWMG.

BACKGROUND

In Victoria, under the EPA Act 1970, RWMGs haveresponsibility for giving effect to state strategies, policies andprograms for the management of municipal waste in theirregions.

RWMGs are responsible for the development of RegionalWaste Management Plans and business plans demonstratinghow individual regions will facilitate best practice wastemanagement and meet their statutory responsibilities. Planningthe management of waste and measuring progress require

access to consistent, comparable data throughout the year.

Data may be collected to meet regulatory, contractual or

financial requirements. However, current systems for the

collection and reporting of waste data are generally external to

RWMG operations with many sources of data difficult to access

for planning or other purposes.

Examples of current practices include:

3 Measurement and reporting of the quantity of materials

disposed of to landfill by sector of origin (industry or

municipal) in order to calculate the landfill levy payable

to the Victorian Government. This data is held by the

EPA Victoria.

waste management


3 Completion of the annual municipal survey by councilsto report the quantities of general waste, recyclables andgarden organics collected at kerbside. This data is heldby Sustainability Victoria and is accessible to regions.

3 Collection and reporting requirements of operationalcontracts for council owned facilities. This data isgenerally held by the contractor with subsets reported tothe council.

3 Other operational data collected to meet the financialreporting needs of waste management companies.

The comparability of data from one site to another is also acause for concern. There is variation in waste managementinfrastructure and operational systems across Victoria.

Many facilities lack weigh bridges and waste continues to bereported as a volume that is then converted to weight. Theaccuracy of such data is reliant on the operator’s skill andknowledge. It is likely that volume to weight conversions willvary from the actual weight of material.

In order for regions to effectively meet their regulatedresponsibilities, best practice in the collection of waste data andperformance reporting needs to be defined and put intopractice at waste management facilities. This should improveaccess to data to enable regions to work with their membercouncils to meet targets established by the VictorianGovernment for reduced waste to landfill sand increasedresource recovery (The State of Victoria. 2005)

THE PROJECT

The lack of current, consistent and reliable waste data is aproblem shared by all of Victoria’s RWMGs. Therefore, in 2007,the Gippsland RWMG, on behalf of the AVRWMGs, successfullysubmitted an application for a grant of $368,250 to support thecompletion of a project leading to the development of a Guideto Best Practice for waste data collection and performancereporting.

The Regional Data Collection and Performance Reportingproject is supported by the Victorian Government SustainabilityFund, managed by Sustainability Victoria. The VictorianGovernment Sustainability Fund supports innovative projectsthat foster sustainable resource use and have economic andsocial benefits for Victorians. The Sustainability Fund isadministered by the Victorian Treasurer and the Minister for theEnvironment and Climate Change on behalf of the VictorianGovernment by Sustainability Victoria.

The project will develop a Guide to Best Practice DataCollection and reporting that includes:

3 A data collection method3 Data collection tools3 A data management system3 A dictionary of waste terms3 Contractual clauses outlining data collection and

reporting requirementsThe project will be implemented in stages combining the

contacts, knowledge and experience of regional waste

management group officers together with the skills andfocussed effort of a consultancy.

The stages are as follows:3 A consultancy to develop the data collection method and

tools3 Testing of the data collection method and tools by

regions3 Consultancy continues with the development of the data

management system, incorporation of collected dataand completion of the remaining elements of the bestpractice guide

3 Consultation with Victorian local government councilsand training in the use of the guide

It is anticipated that the project will be completed by April2010.

PROGRESS TO DATE

The project commenced in mid 2008 following notification ofthe success of the grant application. Steady progress has beenmade since that time including a project scoping and planningworkshop, the formation of the steering committee andcommencement of the consultancy. The testing of the datacollection method and tools by regions will be undertakenduring May to July 2009.

On 8 August 2008, a facilitated workshop was held forRWMG executive officers and representatives fromSustainability Victoria. The workshop provided an opportunityfor widespread participation and clarification of the goals for theproject. Participants discussed the actions required to be taken,when they should occur, who is responsible and the resourcesrequired. Analysis of critical points and risk mitigation were alsoaddressed. Following the workshop a Gantt chart was preparedto aid in the execution of the project

Following the workshop the project contract was finalisedand the steering group formalised. The Gippsland RWMG, onbehalf of the AVRWMGs, is the signatory to the contract and isresponsible for managing the project, providing administrativesupport and meeting the reporting requirements of the project.The steering group comprises executive officers from threeregions, a council officer, representatives from the WasteManagement Association of Australia, Sustainability Victoria andthe National Packaging Covenant. It meets as needed to overseethe completion of the project and ensure that projectmilestones are achieved. For example, the steering groupplayed a key role in the development of the tender specificationfor consultancy services and the selection of Hyder Consultingto provide the required services.

Following their appointment in December, Hyder Consultinghas completed a review of current practices and commencedthe development of the best practice guide. The review hasincorporated desktop research, site visits and interviews withfacilities operators.

Six landfills and transfer stations across three wastemanagement regions were visited during January and February

waste management


2009. The sites visited represented a broad range of operatingconditions with and without weighbridges and computers onsite. A general willingness was expressed to adopt a newsystem providing more accurate data on materials entering andleaving facilities.

Hyder Consulting has now prepared a summary of thereview of current practices for consideration by the steeringcommittee. The summary contains findings andrecommendations for the development of the individualelements of the best practice guide. The summary will bepresented at an April 2009 workshop for consideration by thesteering group and executive officers from all regions in Victoria.

FUTURE ACTIVITY

The commencement of the second stage of the project isimminent. The April meeting will consider therecommendations (Hyder. 2009) outlined below together withthe data collection method and tools to be trialled acrossVictoria.

RECOMMENDATIONS

3 All waste entering a site that cannot be weighed, shouldbe recorded in number (e.g. tyres), cubic metres orstandard load types (for example, car boot, stationwagon, single axle trailer).

3 All waste entering a site should be recorded according towaste category (municipal, C&I, C&D) and material type(e.g. general waste, green waste, comingled recyclables,etc).

3 Material and site specific data should be collected for allmaterial leaving the site for reprocessing or landfill, orreprocessed on-site by an external contractor. This willverify the in-the-gate data collected.

3 Site-specific compositional data for mixed wastecategories should be utilised where available. Thesecompositions should be recalibrated regularly accordingto out-the-gate or audit data. Standard defaultcompositions for mixed waste categories should beprovided within the guide and the data managementsystem for use by sites that do not have site-specific dataavailable.

3 Tares for vehicles delivering materials to the site shouldbe checked at least annually.

3 Hard copy data collection tools are only required forthose sites that do not already have an electronic systemin place.

3 A hard-copy data form should be provided in the guidefor recording the details of individual transactions. Thisform will fulfil the requirements of the data collectionmethod. These sheets must be able to be completed bythe gate attendant in a matter of seconds.

3 A Microsoft Office-based form should be provided tocompile daily transactions, in hard copy and electronicform. This form should be easily migrated into the data

management system.

3 A Microsoft Office-based data management systemshould be provided. A Microsoft Office-basedapplication allows maximum flexibility in data analysisand accommodates data importation and exportation,which is necessary to accommodate the diversity acrossthe sites. The system should be supported by hard copydata collection tools.

3 Those sites with proprietary products should continue touse them, ensuring that the reporting requirements andstandards from the best practice guide areaccommodated (this can be achieved in future versionsof their product).

3 Where there is no on-site computer, data should becollected using hard copy forms and collated at analternative location, such as at the contractor’s office orby the waste management team at the Council offices.

3 The interface of the data management system must beuser friendly as data entry will be a substantial elementof the use of the system.

3 The data management system should enable thegeneration of standard reports at any time.

3 The system should automate volume to massconversion, and vice versa.

3 Financial reporting is not an essential output of the datamanagement system, but should be included to meetthe needs of site owners and operators.

3 The data collection system should be updated via regularreviews to ensure it does not become obsolete.

3 The data dictionary should build upon the glossary ofterms in Sustainability Victoria’s Guide to Best Practiceat Resource Recovery and Waste Transfer Facilitiespublication.

3 Waste terms should be consistent with the AustralianStandard AS/NZS 1831 : 1998, the EnvironmentProtection Act and the Australian Waste Database.

The April meeting will also finalise arrangements for thenext stage of the project during which the methods and toolswill be trialled and data collected.

CONCLUSION

One of the key purposes of the Waste Data Collection andReporting project is to ensure that waste managementauthorities have adequate waste data, to enable sound regionalplanning and to evaluate the impact of waste and recyclingprograms.

In summary, the data needs to account for materialsreceived at facilities, disposed of to landfill and diverted awayfrom landfill for further productive use. The materials need tobe defined by weight, sector of origin, destination andcomposition.

For further information email: [email protected]

landfill remediation


Phytocapping: a good landfillremediation techniqueBy Kartik Venkatraman1 and Nanjappa Ashwath2

1 Central Queensland Waste Management, Central Queensland Local Government AssociationPO Box 1624, Rockhampton QLD 4700

2 Centre for Plant and Water Science, CQ University, Rockhampton QLD [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Landfills have been the major repositories of urban wastes andthe costs of construction, maintenance and remediation oflandfills have escalated over the years. Research is thereforerequired to identify alternative techniques that will not onlyminimise the costs but also demonstrate increasedenvironmental performance and community benefits. Analternative landfill capping technique known as ‘Phytocapping’(establishment of perennial plants on a layer of soil placed overthe waste) was trialled in Rockhampton, Australia. In thistechnique, trees were used as ‘bio-pumps’ and ‘rainfallinterceptors’ and soil cover as ‘storage’ of water. Treeperformance was measured based on their canopy rainfallinterception and water uptake potential. The percolation ratewas estimated using HYDRUS 1D code for two differentscenarios (with and without vegetation) for the thick (1400mm)and thin (700mm) covers respectively. Results from thesimulations incorporating 15 years of meteorological datashowed percolation rates of 16.7mm yr-1 in thick cover and23.8mm yr-1 in thin cover, both of which are markedly lowerthan those expected from a clay cap.

Keywords: Phytocapping, transpiration, landfills, treespecies, bio-pumps, canopy interception, methane, site waterbalance, HYDRUS 1D.

INTRODUCTION

Landfills are the most economical and easiest means ofdisposing waste globally and in Australia (Scott et al. 2005)where up to 95 per cent of the waste is placed in landfills(CSIRO 2001). This places Australia among the highest 10 solidwaste generators within the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD) (Scott et al. 2005).About 70 per cent of the Australian population live in coastalareas (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 2006), and hencemany of the landfills have been constructed in wrong placessuch as low lying areas of mangroves and marsh lands. InQueensland alone, around 1.7 million tonnes of domestic wastewas deposited in landfills in 2006; of which only 14 per centwas recycled (EPA 2006). Deposition of wastes in these placesresult in adverse environmental impacts such as leachategeneration and methane emission (Scott et al. 2005, El-Fadel et

al. 1997). Hence, to reduce the impact of landfills on theenvironment various technologies such as leachate collectionsystems (Rittman et al. 1998), compacted lay liners (Alston etal. 1997), composite liners (Halse et al. 1990), GCL’s (Benson2000), compacted clay covers (Khire et al. 1997), compositecovers (High Density Polyethylene, HDPE) (Khire et al. 1997,Levin and Hammond 1990) have been introduced.

Landfill capping is a mandatory post closure procedure toisolate the deposited wastes from outside environment, mainlywater (Vasudevan et al. 2003). Landfill capping involves placinga barrier, which acts as a raincoat over filled landfill to minimisepercolation of water into the waste (Scott et al. 2005). In recentyears, conventional capping systems made of compacted clay(Othman et al. 1994); Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCL) (Benson,2000), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (Levin and Hammond 1990) andHDPE (Simon and Muller 2004) have been used extensively indeveloped and many developing countries. Amongst these, themost popular practice in Australia has been the use of claycapping (Fig 1) to minimise percolation of water into the waste(EPA 2005).

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of a typical clay cap used in Queensland (EPA2005)

In Australia, the caps constructed on landfills should besustainable for at least 30 years. Recent studies however showthat clay caps have shorter life spans (Vasudevan et al. 2003)and fail to prevent percolation of water due to cracking (Khire etal. 1997, Benson and Othman 1993, Othman et al. 1994,



Albright et al. 2004, Melchior 1997, Albright and Benson 2001).

Furthermore, clay caps do not allow optimal interaction of

methane with oxygen, which is a must for methane oxidation

(Abichou et al. 2004).

A new technology called ‘Phytocapping’ was introduced in

1991 by Idaho National Engineering and Environmental

Laboratory (INEEL) for the US Department of Energy 1991. In

brief, phytocaps have two major components, viz the trees that

act as ‘bio-pumps’ and ‘rain interceptors’ and the soil that acts

as ‘storage’ (Fig 2). The soil and trees together minimise

percolation of water into the waste. This concept system has

been well received by the US EPA but is yet to be implemented

in other countries. Thus the trial conducted at Lakes Creek

Landfill; in Rockhampton, Australia is the first of its kind in

Australia.

Figure 2: Cross section of the Rockhampton Phytocapping site showing

various processes

In addition to minimising percolation effectively, phytocaps

offer other advantages over conventional capping systems,

including methane oxidation, providing park environment and

biodiversity conservation. These benefits are not adequately

tested although some studies have shown the advantages of

phytocaps over conventional capping systems using lysimeters

(Albright et al. 2004). Hence, a large scale field trial wasundertaken in Rockhampton, Australia, with the view to testingthe effectiveness of phytocapping in minimising percolation,and selecting suitable plant species and optimising agronomicconditions. The study also tests the role of phytocaps inmethane oxidation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Details of establishing the phytocapping trial are provided inVenkatraman and Ashwath (2007). In summary, a 5000 m2 trialplot was established at Lakes Creek landfill in Rockhampton (22year old), which constituted two soil treatments viz. a thin cap(700mm) and a thick cap (1400mm) (Fig 3). The thin and thickcap was replicated twice (total of 4 plots). On each of the plots,21 tree species were established, with 18 plants/plot/specieswhich were thinned to 9 plants/plot/species after two years ofplanting. The experimental site was mulched with shreddedgreen waste (100mm deep), and the plants were drip irrigated.The plant species were chosen based on a number of criteria,including salt tolerance (Ashwath et al. 1987), droughttolerance, leachate tolerance (Ashwath and Hood 2001),adaptability to local conditions, commercial valuel, aestheticvalue and their ability to support wildlife (e.g. koalas, birds).Various plant and soil parameters were monitored over threeyears (Venkatraman and Ashwath 2007, Ashwath andVenkatraman 2007, Venkatraman and Ashwath 2006) and thesite water balance was predicted using HYDRUS 1D code(Venkatraman et al. 2008).

Figure 3: Thin (700 mm) and Thick (1400 mm) soil cover placed on the

Landfill

Initially, the established plants were observed for theirsurvival and growth. Of the 21 established species, Populus sp.and Salix sp. did not survive well. Height and stem girth wasmeasured every six months during the study using an 8 mcalibrated collapsible rod and a digital vernier calipersrespectively.

Transpiration rates in different tree species was estimatedusing Thermal Dissipation Probes (TDP) developed by Granier’s(1985) and Heat balance method developed (Dyngauge) byVieweg and Ziegler (1960) and advanced lastly by Weibel andVos (1994). The TDP sensors were preferred due to itssimplicity, low energy demand, accuracy and low cost (Andradeet al. 1998, Braun and Schmid 1999). Installation of TDPsensors require trees with a minimum diameter of 50mm andhence only 14 out of 21 tree species were studied using TDPsensors. A dynagauge was used to measure the sapflow in



bamboo due to its hollow nature. Sapflow rates of the fourteentree species are therefore only presented in this paper.Estimation of sap area is essential to calculate the sap flow inindividual species. Sap area was calculated as follows asdescribed in Venkatraman et al. (2006).

Throughfall and stem flow was measured in individual treespecies over a 2 year period with the rainfall ranging from0.60mm to 80mm. Detailed description of the method isexplained by Venkatraman and Ashwath (2006). The canopyrainfall interception and stemflow were calculated as follows:

Canopy rainfall interception (per cent) = [Total rainfall received at the site (mm)-

Throughfall (mm)-Stem flow (mm/m2 of the canopy spread)]÷[Total rainfall

(mm)]*100

Stem flow (mm) = Volume of rain water collected (litre) in a rainfall event

Crown spread of that tree (m2)

Methane emission was measured within each of the 19 treespecies in both thick and thin capping treatments, using aportable methane gas meter (Gastech, Australia 2004).Methane emissions were also monitored in the adjacent areasof the experimental site that were kept devoid of vegetation(bare site that contained 50cm to 100cm interim uncompactedsoil cover over the refuse). Methane concentrations weremeasured at two depths, one on the surface and the other inthe root zone (30 cm below the surface).

Diurnal variations in methane emissions were determinedby monitoring methane continuously over 24 hours at 17months (19 February 2005), 18 months (15 March 2005) and19 months (22 April 2005) respectively, after planting, usingPVC tubes that were inserted around plants down to a depth of30 cm (root zone). Methane readings were consistently highestbetween 9 am and 12 noon and as such all further methanereadings were recorded during this period. Detailed informationon the diurnal variation is given in Venkatraman and Ashwath(2006).

HYDRUS 1D was used in this study to predict site waterbalance. HYDRUS 1D code uses soil hydraulic parameters, treeparameters such as transpiration rate and root depth andclimate data (rainfall and evaporation). Root depth wasmeasured during biomass estimation by excavation method.Soil hydraulic parameters were taken from the studiesconducted by Dr Ian Phillips (Griffith University, 2004) andmulch hydraulic parameters were obtained from Findeling et al.(2007). Precipitation and evaporation data were obtained fromthe Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and the weather stationlocated at the landfill site. Final simulations were completedusing the average values obtained for the selected 10 treespecies (Fig 4) grown in the phytocapping system.

Two scenarios namely; 1) without vegetation and 2) withvegetation were considered while simulating the site waterbalance. Before running the model for scenario two, canopyinterception (32 per cent) was deducted from the actual totalrainfall data for the experimental site. Irrigation values wereadded to the rainfall data, and the rate of soil evaporation was

taken as 50 per cent of that of the un-vegetated site (worst casescenario), as the soil evaporation under agroforestry (Albright etal. 2002) systems will be much less than that under a treecanopy (reduced by 23 per cent to 40 per cent; Wallace et al.2000, Jackson and Wallace 2000). Merta et al. (2006) foundthat the soil evaporation under agricultural crops wasconsiderably low under high Leaf Area Index (LAI). For example,the soil evaporation was 50 per cent at a LAI of 1.5. Based onthese data, soil evaporation was taken as 50 per cent of thatreported by the BOM.

Figure 4: The top 10 performing species at Rockhampton landfill site.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Out of the 21 tree species grown on the phytocaps, all the treespecies survived well except the populus sp. and salix sp. Thepatterns of height response differ markedly between species,and this was expected, as this is related to genetic differencesbetween the species. On an average the species grew 4.7m tallwith an average stem girth of 84mm. However, the growthdifference between thick and thin cap was very marginal. Thesedifferences in plant performance between the two types of capimply that the thick cap’s greater soil water storage capacityallows the plants to grow faster and, thus, to transpire at ahigher rate.

Sap flow measurements were recorded in Acacia mangium,Acacia harpophylla, Casuarina cunninghamiana, Eucalyptusgrandis, Eucalyptus raveretiana, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Ficusmicrocarpa, Ficus racemosa, Glochidion lobocarpum, Hibiscustiliaceus, Melaleuca leucadendra, Pongamia pinnata,Cupiniopsis anacardioides and Syzygium australis on differentoccasions. Results from 48 observations show that sap flowvaried significantly among species. On an average the specieswere able to take up 1.4mm day-1. The species could alsowithstand water stress conditions and take up water as low as300ml day-1. This shows the potential of the selected species toadapt to the seasonal variation, and at the same time take upmaximum during rain events.

Three year old trees grown on the phytocaps were able to



intercept up to 50 per cent rainfall on per storm basis, with anaverage of 30 per cent of the total rainfall received atRockhampton. This is quite a significant contribution towardsthe hydrological balance of the phytocapping system. Averagerainfall received at Rockhampton is around 780mm (average of47 years rainfall data) and with the current performance of thetrees, only 546mm of the total rainfall actually reaches theground surface. This not only reduces the load off the soil layerbut also reduces the cost of soil to be placed on the landfill tohold excess water. Acacia mangium, Casuarinacunninghamiana, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Glochidion lobocarpum,Ficus microcarpa, Dendrocalamus maroochy, and Syzygiumaustralis intercepted more than 30 per cent of the rainfall (Fig5).

Figure 5: Canopy Rainfall Interception by 19 tree species grown on phytocapsin Rockhampton. Data are means of 50 events x 2 measurements over a 2year period).

Results from this study show a significant difference(P<0.001) in rainfall interception due to the variation in themorphology and characteristics (Crockford and Richardson2000). Among the 19 tree species studied, few had needleshaped leaves (e.g. Casuarinas) and few broad leaved (e.g.Eucalypts).

Methane concentration in the root zone and surface wereconsistently low in thick cap than in thin cap for all the testedspecies. The surface methane emission was also low in thickcap for the majority of the tested species. The methaneconcentrations were significantly (P<0.001) lower on the surfacethan in the root zone for majority of the tested species. Thiscould have been contributed by the root system, soil and mulch(Bogner et al. 1997, Christopherson et al. 2000). Overall, thethick cap was 45 per cent more efficient in reducing methaneemission compared to the thin cap. The significantly (P<0.001)lower levels of methane emissions in the thick cap than in thincap could be due to greater exposure of methane to largervolume (depth) of the soil, or an increased rate of oxidation bythe soil bacteria (Bogner et al. 1997, Khalil et al. 1998,Kallistova et al. 2005). The differences between thick and thincaps were much larger for the root zone methane than forsurface methane (with the thick cap having less methane thanthin cap). The unvegetated site adjacent to the experimental sitehad similar depth of interim soil over the refuse as in thin cap,

but it had no mulch placed over it. Thus the surface methaneconcentrations were significantly (P<0.001) lower in thephytocap (thick or thin) than in the adjacent unvegetated site(Fig 6). Phytocaps can therefore reduce methane emission 4 to5 times compared to a bare (un-vegetated) site.

Figure 6: Surface methane concentrations in the phytocapped site and its

adjacent bare site.

Site water balance was simulated for two scenarios asmentioned above.

Scenario 1: Percolation simulated for the thick cover(1400mm) and the thin cover (700mm) without vegetation was133.3mm yr-1 and mm 153mm yr-1 respectively (Fig 7). Thisdifference between the two covers was expected, as the soildepth plays a vital role in retaining maximum amount of water(Warren et al. 1996). Detailed description of the simulate runoffand storage capacity is given in Venkatraman et al. (2008).

Figure 7: Simulated percolation of water in thin (left) and thick (right) covers

respectively in the absence of vegetation (cumulative of 15 years data; 1992

to 2006).

Scenario 2: In this scenario, percolation was simulatedusing the same parameters as in scenario 1, but an additionalcomponent, vegetation, was introduced. In this simulation,average transpiration of 1.5mm day-1 was used. This averagerepresented the measured values from the top 10 selected treespecies grown on the experimental site. The average rainintercepted by the top 10 tree species was 32 per cent.Therefore, the incident rain was reduced by 32 per cent and thiscorrected rainfall was used in the simulation.

The HYDRUS 1D simulation for the vegetated site showed apercolation of 16.7mm yr-1 for the thick cover and 23.8mm yr-1

for the thin cover (Fig 8). The percolation for vegetated coverswas 8 to 10 times less than that simulated for non-vegetatedsites. This clearly demonstrates the role played by thevegetation in phytocapping.



Figure 8: Simulated percolation in the thin (left) and thick (right) covers in

the presence of vegetation (15 years data 1992 to 2006).

Results from the above simulation suggest that phytocapsare very effective in reducing percolation of water into thewaste. In this simulation, establishment of 10 selected treespecies using 1400mm layer of unconsolidated soil will allow apercolation of 251mm in 15 years. This is equivalent to 16.7mmyr-1. This value is significantly lower than the percolation rateexpected for a clay cover (c. 10 per cent; Geoff Thompson;pers. Comm.). The results also show that the reducedpercolation was due to the presence of deep rooted treespecies (compare Fig 7 and 8).

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study demonstrate that the establishedphytocaps can intercept as high as 30 per cent of the rainfall,thus reducing the effective rainfall at Rockhampton from700mm to 490mm. The long-term sap flow monitoring dataalso show that the trees can remove water up to 2.1mm day-1 (=766mm/yr) of water, with an average of 14mm day-1. Thesetwo parameters alone, without considering soil evaporation, cancontrol the entry of water into the waste on an annual basis.However, from a practical point of view, annual water balancewill be of limited benefit, as an estimation of daily waterbalance is required to evaluate the effectiveness of phytocaps.Phytocaps offer an additional benefit by significantly reducingemission from landfills (4 to 5 times compared to a bare site).Percolation rates estimated using HYDRUS 1D revealedpercolation rates of 16.7 to 23.8mm yr-1 for thick and thincovers respectively. The predicted percolation rate for theRockhampton site is much lower than that expected from wellconstructed clay cap (which is equivalent to 78mm inRockhampton; at 10 per cent of the incident rain). This showsthe better or equivalent ability of the phytocapping system tolimit entry of water into the landfill (c. 50 per cent of clay cap).The low cost of establishing phytocaps on landfills (compared toclay caps) shows the superiority of phytocaps over clay caps andits practicality in the drier regions of Queensland.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank Mr Craig Dunglison (RockhamptonRegional Council), Ms Jenny Moore (CQLGA), Mr RichardYeates (Phytolink Australia), Prof David Midmore (CQU), DrRam Dalal (Department of Environment and ResourceManagement), Dr Ninghu Su (JCU), Roshan Subedi (CQU), DrJirka Simunek (University of California Riverside), Dr Bill Albright

(Desert Research Institute, Nevada) and staff of Centre for Plantand Water Science for their timely guidance and support in thisresearch.

This Research is proudly supported by Central QueenslandUniversity, Rockhampton City Council and The QueenslandGovernment’s Growing the Smart State PhD Funding Program.

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Venkatraman, K, Ashwath, N. and Su, N. (2008) Performance of a phytocappedlandfill in a semi arid climate. In The 1st International Conference on

Technologies and Strategic Management of Sustainable Biosystems, Perth,Australia.

Venkatraman, K. and Ashwath, N. (2006) Phytocapping: can it mitigatemethane emissions from municipal landfills? In 2nd International Conference on

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Venkatraman, K. and Ashwath, N. (2007) Phytocapping: a potential alternativetechnique to clay caps. In: Landfill 2007 Melbourne, Australia, 19 – 21November.

Venkatraman, K. and Ashwath, N. (2007) Phytocapping: an Alternativetechnique for reducing leachate and methane generation from municipallandfills. The Environmentalist, 27: 155 – 164.

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on Environmental Science and Technology. Houston, Texas, USA.

Wallace, J. S., Jackson, N. E. and Ong, C. K. (2000) Modelling soil evaporation inan agroforestry system in Kenya, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 94: 198-202.

Warren, R. W., Hakonson, T. E. and Bostik, K. V. (1996) choosing the mosteffective hazardous waste landfill cover, Remediation (online publication),Spring: 23-41.

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The winds of change –New South Wales wind farmgets the go-aheadA $250 million wind farm in New South Wales has been given the go-ahead by theNSW government, in an effort to further promote green energy generation in thestate.

The approval has been given in spite of an ongoing courtcase in the Land and Environment Court claiming thatimpact statements regarding the project are flawed. The

wind farm will be located at the Southern Tablelands’ GullenRange, about 25km west of Goulburn, and will cover an area ofapproximately 3400 hectares.

This project will generate not only energy, but over 150construction and ongoing jobs, and up to $90 million for thelocal economy. Planning Minister Kristina Keneally elaboratedon this employment surge, stating that, ‘construction of the 73turbines, a substation, transmission grid connections, on-sitecontrol room and maintenance facilities will create up to 150construction and fifteen full-time operations positions.’

The approval of the project will enable the 73 turbines ofthe proposed plant to generate up to 241 megawatts of cleanelectricity to the power grid. This amount is enough to power inthe vicinity of 63,000 homes in NSW.

Keneally also notes that the wind farm will lessengreenhouse gas emissions by up to 511,000 tonnes of carbondioxide per year, which is comparable to removing over100,000 cars from the NSW roads over the project’s plannedlifespan. Additionally, this energy generation will help to fix theshortfall in power production in NSW, which has the highestelectricity demand of any Australian state.

According to Keneally, these are just a few of the benefits ofthe wind farm. Another major benefit is the reduction of

renewable energy


pollution from coal-fired power plants of up to 2,740 tonnes ofsulphur dioxide, about 1,222 tonnes of nitrogen oxides, and 76tonnes of particulates.

EPURON, a NSW based renewable energy company andmanagers of the project, will also provide an annual communityfund of $204,850 for local community and environmentalprojects, including a greener energy initiative. This CommunityEnhancement Program will fund or provide in kind communityinfrastructure and services in the locality of the project.

The project will proceed under a number of conditions, aftera rigorous assessment and consultation of the project and itsperceived impact on the area was undertaken. The investigationincluded engagement with the community to establish anyconcerns regarding the project area, as well as to exchangeinformation regarding the project.

Ms Keneally revealed that ‘consultation with thecommunity, key government agencies and stakeholdershighlighted concerns about the number and position of some ofthe turbines.’ As a result, the total number of turbines wasreduced from 84 to 73, which reduces the possible impact ofthe wind farm’s operations on the Crookwell Aerodrome, whichis close to the project site.

The company has also been requested to implement a rangeof other measures in response to the concerns of thecommunity.

Landscape screening is to be provided at the site, asrequested by community citizens who own residential landwithin 3km of the site, that is not involved with the proposal.

The area is also a nesting ground for the powerful owl,which is the largest owl in Australasia, and is listed as athreatened species. An agreement has been made regardingoperational restrictions and penalties on the wind farm’sactivities during the powerful owl’s nesting season, whenjuvenile owls begin to fly in the area before leaving the nestingsite. Penalties will be applied for the death of any powerful owlor wedgetail eagle as a result of the operation of the wind farm.

Shadow flicker is also a concern for the neighbouringcommunity, as the turbines can chop into the sunlight as theyturn, which is potentially irritating for local residents. EPURONhas agreed to ensure that shadow flicker resulting from theoperation of the wind farm will not exceed 30 hours per annumat any residence not involved with the wind farm project.

The South Australian Noise Guidelines for wind farms,2003, have been adopted for use in New South Wales, and thecompany is expected to adhere to these noise restrictions at alltimes, to further prevent community frustration. Additionally,noise performance verification tests will be carried out withinthree months of the operation’s commencement. If theoutcome of the tests is that the noise level is unacceptable,further noise mitigation measures must be identified andundertaken at the request of landowners close to the site.

The habitat lost in development of the wind farm projectwill be offset by a compensatory habitat package, which will be

developed by the company. This package will offset the value ofthe habitat lost on a ‘like for like’ basis, in perpetuity.

Additionally, the community must be kept abreast of alldevelopments involving the project, from inception through toand during the time of full operation. An electronic resourcemust also be made available to the community for the provisionof up to date information regarding the project.

The conditions that have been imposed on the project havebeen designed to ‘ensure the environment, the local communityand the generation of green energy can coexist,’ said MsKeneally. ‘These conditions are an example of how the majorprojects assessment system incorporates public input withrigorous and technical assessment, delivering a good outcomefor stakeholders.’

NSW has very high wind speeds, high base-load energyprices and the largest electricity demand in the country, all ofwhich point to NSW being the most suitable location inAustralia for wind farms.

Another proposed wind farm development site in NSW isthe largest planned wind farm in Australia, located just outsideBroken Hill, near Silverton. This project’s 598 wind turbines willcover 32,000 hectares, and would potentially generate enoughelectricity to power an estimated 437,500 homes –approximately 4.5% of NSW’s energy needs.

Australia ranks amongst the world’s worst perpetratorswhen it comes to releasing greenhouse emissions into theatmosphere. The Federal government is eager to minimise thecountry’s dependence on fossil fuels, and towards renewableenergy sources. The government has issued a target of 20%carbon dioxide emission reduction by 2020, but as yet has notlegislated for 20% mandatory renewable energy.

renewable energy


The world is changing. Globalwarming is a scientific realityand ever more companies,

governments and institutions arelooking into the endless possibilitiesthat renewable energy technology isopening up as an alternative topolluting fossil fuels. It seems that themarketplace surrounding renewablesis swelling, with many providersentering particularly the solar spacewith products and solutions.Sometimes it can be difficult tonavigate through the myriad ofproducts and services on offer. Manyrenewable energy manufacturers,dealers and installers are only new onthe market. Like many newbusinesses some are great and somewill not last the distance. If you havedecided to investigate the installation or sourcing of renewableenergy technology, it’s a good idea to do your homework andmake sure your partner will be there for you when you needthem.

Conergy is a globally renowned and establishedmanufacturer and systems integrator in the renewable energyindustry and has been operating for over 10 years. Thecompany manufactures and distributes components andsystems for generating solar electricity, solar hot water and windpower for domestic, commercial, community projects andindustrial applications. Conergy Pty Ltd, with headquarters inSydney and state office and warehouse facilities located inMelbourne, Brisbane and Perth – as well as planned expansionsinto Adelaide and Darwin - is a subsidiary of Germany’s stocklisted Conergy AG.

Conergy’s Australian operations were established at thebeginning of 2005 and its quality products and guaranteedperformance have seen the company fast become one of theleading manufacturers and wholesale distributors in theAustralian industry. The company’s focus is solely on renewableenergy technology, and it prides itself on a history of successfulsmall to large scale projects. Whether for small scale, remotearea power generation or some of the world’s largest multi-

megawatt solar power farms – Conergy has a track record ofsuccessful implementation with high quality products andperformance guarantees.

Conergy engineers have over ten years’ experience inbuilding photovoltaic systems – and in the past have alreadysuccessfully installed thousands of these systems worldwide.Comprehensive consulting, planning, financing and plantmonitoring services complete the Conergy customer serviceconcept.

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environment


Create a Cleaner Futurewith Century Batteries

It is estimated that 1 in 5 Australian householdshave a used or scrap battery in their garage orproperty which presents councils with the

challenge of ensuring these are not disposed of withhousehold waste or discarded on roadsides orbushland.

Century Batteries, Australia’s oldest and mostrecgonised battery manufacturer has embarked on amajor battery recycling campaign to help reduce theimpact of unwanted used batteries and help createa cleaner future.

Century’s National Battery Recycling Program isdesigned to assist local councils and businesses withmanaging and reducing the costs associated withthe disposal of used lead acid batteries.

Through a dedicated recycling website,www.recyclemybattery.com.au and a nationalphone number 1300 650 702, motorists,homeowners and businesses are encouraged todispose of their used batteries through a nationalnetwork of Century approved battery recyclingcentres.

According to Steve Hermann, General Managerof Century’s Automotive Division:

“As a responsible business it is important thatwe manage the ‘cradle to grave’ process ofmanufacture, distribution, sales and the correctdisposal of used batteries.

In many cases people are simply unaware ofwhere or how to dispose of their used batteries and

as a result we often see batteries discarded withhousehold waste, at local refuse sites or dumped onroadsides.”

“Century Batteries is committed to working withlocal councils to help reduce the number of scrapbatteries finding their way into refuse sites and thelocal environment. We have a range of materialsavailable for use by councils to support theirenvironmental and recycling programs and reducethe impact of used lead acid batteries.”

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environment + sustainability


Smart funding supports smartlocal energy solutionsCommunity facilities across Melbourne—including swimming pools, shoppingcentres and public housing buildings—will be given funding to create and sharetheir own electricity, under an innovative program unveiled by Environment andClimate Change Minister Gavin Jennings.

Mr Jennings announced the successful $2.57 millionSmart Energy Zones projects at the Craig FamilyCentre in Ashburton, a funding recipient which will

receive power from a gas-fired co-generation plant to beinstalled at the adjoining Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre.

“These projects will help these communities reduce theirreliance on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions,” MrJennings said.

“The Brumby Labor Government is taking action tosafeguard the environment and secure our economy for future

generations of Victorians by promoting innovative ways ofdealing with the uncertainties of climate change.

“Smart Energy Zones enable energy to be generated closerto where it is used—in homes, workplaces and communityfacilities. These small and medium scale projects will slashgreenhouse gas emissions and showcase new energy solutionsthat will create jobs in the green economy.”

Recipients of the funding will include:

3 Vic Urban, which, as part of revitalising the centralbusiness area of Dandenong, will supply electricity,



heating, cooling and recycled water to surrounding

offices via reticulation network;

3 Banyule City Council will build a gas-fired co-generation

plant to supply electricity and heating to a local

shopping centre. Excess heat will warm the

Greensborough Pool;

3 Manningham City Council’s green civic precinct will

include a community centre connected via a micro-grid

to supply electricity to surrounding council offices;

3 Boroondara City Council will install a gas-fired co-

generation plant to power the Ashuburton Pool and

Recreation Centre with heat and electricity and power to

the Craig Family Centre. Neighbouring buildings will

receive lighting retrofits and solar panels.

3 CERES environmental park in Brunswick will work with a

local shopping centre to take their organic waste to feed

a biogas digester. The gas created by the digester will

power the CERES site along with new solar and wind

generation;

3 The Department of Human Services will supply the new

public housing buildings in Carlton with gas-fired co-

generation plants, as well as wind generators on the

roofs. Energy efficiency measures will be incorporated

into the buildings.

Member for Burwood Bob Stensholt MP welcomed the

funding announcement.

“The Smart Energy Zones program is a wonderful initiative

and I’m very pleased Ashburton, with its exciting project, is one

of the areas leading the way in terms of developing practical,

efficient solutions that will benefit the community and the

environment,” Mr Shensholt said.

The Smart Energy Zones program is a Sustainability Fund

initiative, managed by the Brumby Government agency

Sustainability Victoria. It aims to demonstrate how leading

Victorian communities can dramatically cut greenhouse

emissions through thinking creatively about the supply and

demand for energy.

In a Smart Energy Zone, individuals and communities are

given the chance to generate and monitor their own energy, in

turn contributing to Victoria’s sustainability objectives. The

program funds projects whose aim is to commit to cleaner,

renewable living and industry through harnessing sun and wind

power.

The kinds of technologies that will be implemented to

enable Smart Energy Zones will be those such as Energy

Distribution and Storage, which incorporates such technology as

mini-grids that operate separately from the main transmission

grid, district heating and cooling systems, and thermal energy

storage.

Renewable and distributed energy generation technologies

will also play an integral part in the program, including co-

generation, which is the generation of both electricity and heat

at the location where they are required, solar and wind energy,

geothermal resources and bio-energy.

Passive building design will help the Smart Energy Zones to

reach their targets, through ensuring that mechanical heating

and cooling is not required for the site. This involves

consideration of such aspects of building design as orientation,

shading, passive cooling, natural ventilation and insulation, and

many more factors, to ensure that the potential for natural

heating and cooling is fully realised.

The Smart Energy Zones program has been influenced by

worldwide case studies of eco-cities, from China to Sweden, the

UK and Canada. The hope is that soon entire communities will

be largely self-sufficient when it comes to energy, and will take

responsibility for and ownership of human contribution to

greenhouse gas emissions.

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environment


Thousands of facilities throughoutthe world rely on TraceTek leakdetection systems to protect data

and telecommunications centres,commercial buildings of all kinds, librariesand archives, and museums.

DISTRIBUTED VS.POINT SENSING With the point sensing approach to leakdetection, liquid must reach the locationof a probe to trigger an alarm. Dependingon the circumstances, a leak may grow orspread considerably before it reaches anindividual probe. With TraceTek’sdistributed sensing, liquid is detected if itmakes contact anywhere along the lengthof sensing cable that monitors an entirearea. Routing the cable near likely sourcesof leaks and spills ensures early detection.

A locating module even displays thedistance to the leak, enabling quick andeffective response.

UNDETECTED LEAKS – EVENSMALL ONES – CAN BEDEVASTATING What happens if the plumbing above abuilding’s network equipment springs aleak? Or a bathroom sink next to a dataprocessing centre backs up? The amountof business disruption that’s possible isstaggering — particularly if the leak goesunnoticed for any length of time.

CATCH IT EARLY, STOP IT FAST As soon as even a little water touches thesensor cable, the TraceTek systemtriggers an alarm. Because TraceTek cablesenses water along its entire length —

Find leaks beforethey find youEven small leaks – in the wrong places – causedowntime, disruption, and costly damage. And theaftermath ties up resources in clean-up and repair.Why suffer these costs when reliable, distributedleak detection is available? TraceTek technology lets you detect leaks at their source – even pinpointtheir location – so you can stop damage before it starts.

Leak Detection andLocation SystemsPROBLEM AREAS: 3 Heating/cooling pipes 3 Air conditioning units 3 Condensate drains 3 Fire sprinkler systems 3 Aged water supply pipes 3 Plumbing -toilets, drains, etc3 Backflow preventors 3 Janitorial maintenance areas3 Chemical storage areas 3 Roofs & Basements 3 Cracks in substructure3 Coffee and vending machines 3 Overhead or underground pipes3 Fuel pipes & storage3 Boilers 3 Standby diesel generators3 Building Services Risers3 Mechanical & Electrical areas

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES: 3 Business disruption 3 Data & Communication outage 3 Irreplaceable loss:

3 Data & business records 3 Artwork & historic archives

3 Equipment damage 3 Disruption & downtime3 Facility closures 3 No budgeted expense

3 Cleanup costs3 Restoration cost3 Replacement of equipment3 Loss of revenue

APPLICATION AREA: 3 Data & communication facilities 3 Emergency & control centres3 Museums, historic buildings 3 Archival storage 3 Hospitals 3 Office buildings3 Computer & PABX rooms3 Plant & equipment rooms 3 Fuel storage areas

environment


not just certain isolated points — you can rely on earlydetection.

FLEXIBLE TO FIT ANY APPLICATION The design flexibility of the TraceTek system allows you to selectthe monitoring approach and layout you need — no matter howsimple or complex your requirements. And the TraceTek systemis easily integrated into a building management system.

NO DOWNTIME TraceTek water sensing cable is designed to dry almost instantly,making it easy to quickly get the system up and running againafter an alarm. As soon as moisture is cleared away from thecable, you can restore the system to operation.

DOWNTIME SPELLS DISASTER If you design or manage a computer network, a multi-tenantserver facility, or telecommunications facility, you know theimportance of keeping systems continually on-line. Servicereliability is a key element of your value proposition. To avoiddowntime and disruption, consider installing a system that canfind a leak at its source, when it occurs – and can pinpoint itslocation.

LOCATE THE LEAK – FAST For hidden or unmonitored areas, the TraceTek system not onlyprovides early detection, but also a digital readout of thedistance to the leak. The TraceTek system map (supplied as partof a TraceTek locating system) leads you to the leak, so you canlocate the source, solve the problem, and keep your equipmentup and running.

MODULAR NETWORK, DISTRIBUTED SENSING As modern data and network facilities have grown incomplexity, the TraceTek system has added design andintegration flexibility. Single TraceTek alarm panels can nowmonitor up to 32 individual circuits or inexpensive SensorInterface Modules can provide leak detection data directly toBuilding Management Systems.

SIMPLE, RELIABLE, FLEXIBLEThe flexibility of the TraceTek system allows you to design themonitoring and cable layout required – no matter how simple orcomplex. Whether you require a simple alarm system for asingle room or a multiple circuit sensor network for a largefacility, there is a TraceTek system to fit your needs. Reliability isproven by tens of thousands of installations world wide invirtually every type of environment.

WATER, ACID, PETROCHEMICALSWhether your concerns are water, contaminated water or otherhazardous liquids, acids, petrol, diesel, oil, organic solvents orother hydrocarbon based liquids, TraceTek can provide a leakdetection system tailored to your needs

TRACETEK LEAK DETECTION SYSTEMSystems consists of radiation cross linked fluoro polymer sensorcables, probes, sensor interface modules and alarm panelsdesigned and supported by technical specialists.

TYCO THERMAL CONTROLSPart of Tyco International Ltd. Tyco Thermal Controls has morethan 2,500 employees in 56 countries around the world andprovides innovative solutions to the most challenging heat-tracing, wiring, sensing leak detection, specialty heating,temperature measurement and floor-heating applications.

For more information on TraceTek contact:Tyco Thermal Controls268 Milperra Road Milperra NSWPhone: (02) 9792 0279



Making our cities more sustainable is an important

component of that response. Cities are the primary

source of global consumption that is rapidly

exhausting the Earth’s natural capital.

As the number and scale of cities grows to accommodate (a

predicted) 60% of the global population by 2030, this situation

has the prospect of only getting worse.

Clearly, we must begin to substantially transform our cities,

responding to immediate challenges like drought, while also

achieving major improvements in sustainability. As ‘hotspots’ of

consumption, production and waste generation, cities possess

an unparalleled potential to increase the energy efficiency and

sustainability of society as a whole.

While the principles of sustainable cities have often been

articulated either in their form, function or governance, less

emphasis to date has examined how to overcome the basic

barriers to realising sustainable outcomes.

Planning forSustainable InfrastructureResponding to the challenge of sustainable development will require dedicated,collective action at many levels.



CITIES FACE COMPLEX CHALLENGES

Developed cities around the world face a similar set of

challenges. Not only are the basic needs of housing, transport,

water supply, sanitation and energy under strain, but demands

for effective communication make the supply of broadband

services (for example) an important part of infrastructure

provision. And while climate change has emerged as a major

threat to society, it is important to recognise that it is still only

one of a spectrum of significant and inter-related sustainability

issues.

Failure to recognise the complex emerging mega-trends that

will shape our cities threatens to undermine the robustness of

public and private investment and is a significant planning risk.

Consequently there is real potential to invest precious public

funds in infrastructure that will have limited future adaptability,

usefulness and hence sustainability. Conversely, successfully

navigating the landscape of emerging trends is central to

‘cracking the code’ of sustainable urban development.

CAN CITIES BE SUSTAINABLE?

Cities can certainly be much more sustainable than their current

state.

Ultimately the design, function and sustainability of cities are

a function of aspiration, imagination and choice, which is why

sustainability is more a socio-political than environmental issue.

We will get what we choose as a society, whether through

passive inaction or proactive design.

Just as city planners must think systemically about the issues

and trends that are faced by cities, so too must they recognise

the systemic nature of cities. Cities are organisms that respond

(dynamically and sometimes unpredictably) to external stimuli

over which there is little direct control. It is not only

governments that shape cities but the industries, businesses and

citizens that inhabit them through an ongoing interplay of

choices, actions and investments.

Yet city planners and government agencies generally assume

the role of ‘managers’ seeking to control and optimise the

operation of the city features and functions over which they

have authority. Indeed, planners and engineers have

traditionally based the design and operation of cities on the

(often unstated and unrecognised) assumption that they can be

planned and operated according to the rules of mechanics and

hierarchy.

Quite simply, these assumptions are false. The problem is

that accepting this reality presents a major challenge to the

status quo. The question is “what’s the alternative?”

The alternative is to recognise and deal with cities as

dynamic systems, where the objective is to sustain the human

and ecological systems, and the physical, financial, ecological

and human assets (or capital) they contain.

But here’s the crunch – how do you shape and effectively

manage cities as dynamic organisms that foster sustainability?

THE WAY FORWARD

The answer lies in maintaining the attributes of the social,

economic and environmental systems that sustain cities’ health

and continuity, and thus the capacity of these systems to

provide services and resources into the future.

Some people may reasonably question “Aren’t we already

doing enough to sustain our cities by securing water supplies

and reducing the carbon footprint of our energy use?”

Certainly these are useful and important steps, but hardly

sufficient. There are many important social and economic

reasons to act, including:

3 Supporting the changing needs of a city’s citizens (such

as an ageing population and one requiring global

connectivity).

3 Dramatically reducing resource use per capita while

improving people’s quality of life.

3 Meeting growing demands for investment in public

infrastructure and services when the revenue (tax) base

is declining.

3 Improving the health outcomes available through good

urban design.

3 Ensuring cities are economically productive and

competitively attractive to business and to the financial

and human capital they require.

3 Developing transferable (exportable) knowledge to assist

developing countries that lack effective governance and

skills.

There are many compelling reasons why business and the

community should be holding governments to account for their

role in shaping and investing in the sustainability of their city.

Locally and globally, cities continue to be developed in ways

that are unsustainable. Only a handful of cities exist (or are in

planning) that could potentially carry the tag of ‘sustainable’,

such as Curitiba in Brazil, Dongtan in China, and Masdar in the

United Arab Emirates.

It’s not so much that there’s a lack of plans to enhance the

sustainability of cities, but a lack of political will, inspiration,

funding and delivery skills.

Now is the time for decisive action to deliver an improved

quality of life and amenity that communities will embrace

because time is the ultimate non-renewable resource.

environment – case study


The Port of Townsville is unique by

comparison to many of the

world’s ports in that it is located

within the Great Barrier Reef World

Heritage Area, adjacent to the Great

Barrier Reef Marine Park. The Port is

situated in a growing city and in close

proximity to sensitive natural habitat

including the seagrass beds, coral reef,

mangrove forests and protected area of

the dugong.

Located in tropical north Queensland

the city is subject to an average rainfall of

955mm in the wet season, from

December to April, that also poses

environmental challenges for

containment of diesel leaks.

Port of Townsville Limited embraces

a responsible and proactive approach to

environmental protection by ensuring

sustainable environmental management

as a core component of their operation

and Port development.

THE RISK

At small oil ports around the world,

tankers often unload their cargo of crude

oil or refined fuels into small pipe

systems that traverse or encroach on

ecologically sensitive areas. Where

operation is intermittent and pipeline

lengths relatively short, traditional

SCADA-based leak detection systems

which rely on predictable constant flow

rates are rendered ineffective. In fact

even large leaks during off-loading may

go completely undetected,

compromising operator’s environmental

responsibility and devastating the local

ecology.

TOWNSVILLE WHARF SIDE

DIESEL FUEL PIPING

PRESENTS A VARIETY OF

LEAK DETECTION

CHALLENGES

The diesel transfer piping system at the

Port of Townsville is a classic mix of

different pipe installation modes.

Portions of the 1km pipeline are above

ground on trestle road crossings or low

level pipe stands, buried underground,

and under berth on the wharf.

The challenge for the TraceTek® leak

detection team was to design a

complete, integrated system solution that

can effectively monitor the fuel piping

regardless of the style of installation and

transitions from above ground, to below

ground, to wharf. A customised

integrated system solution for all three

modes of pipe installation had not been

offered on the same project before in

Australia. The diesel transfer piping

system comprises approximately 556

metres of below ground pipe, 310

metres of above ground pipe and 275 m

of double contained pipe on the wharf.

THE DESIGN

Sustainability is a core ethic of AECOM

(formerly Maunsell). With the large

number of stakeholders affected by this

pipeline, the TraceTek leak detection

system was extremely important in

minimising risk to the environment with

this design.

THE SOLUTION

For critical environmentally sensitive

areas the key is quick detection and

Responsible EnvironmentalManagement at the Port of TownsvilleHigh standards for environmental policy, management and monitoring led toTraceTek® engineers designing a complete and integrated leak detectionsolution to monitor the diesel transfer piping at the Port of Townsville,Queensland, Australia.

Don’t let an undetectedleak or spill ruinthe environment.

environment – case study


accurate location at the source of the

leak. The TraceTek® sensor cable and

monitoring system allows this as it offers,

reliable and accurate fluid leak detection

that directly pinpoints the source of the

leak, to assist with the decisive action that

is needed long before the spill can create

damage.

The entire length of the TraceTek®

TT5000 sensor cable, with its conductive

polymer technology, is sensitive to liquid

hydrocarbons such as gasoline, jet fuel

diesel and fuel oils. Once installed, with

as many individual 1 km circuits as

necessary, the system can monitor the

entire pipeline detecting and pinpointing

the location of a leak to +/- 1 metre.

BELOW GROUND PIPING

For the buried portion of the pipeline, a

slotted PVC conduit is placed in the pipe

trench on the same layer of sand that the

single wall fuel pipeline rests upon. After

the heavy pipeline work is completed the

TT5000 sensor cable with an over braid

of polyethylene rope is drawn into the

conduit system while it is being

assembled prior to burial.

ABOVE GROUND PIPING

The TT5000 sensor cable with an external

black polyester rope layer is strapped to

the bottom side of the above ground

single wall fuel pipeline. The densely

braided polyester yarn exterior covering

provides a very effective ultra violet (UV)

shield protection for the sensor cable

within. Installation provides allowances

for supports, mechanical abrasion and

thermal expansion of the fuel pipe.

WHARF UNDER BERTH

The most common solution for long runs

of double wall / containment pipeline

under a large wharf is to install the

TT5000 sensor cable into and along the

interstitial space between the inner and

outer pipe. As the minimum clearance

space was not available, due to

specification, an alternative solution of

low point detection was proposed. This

could be facilitated by installing a fast fuel

sensor probe at the low point as the

pipeline on the wharf slopped back to the

shoreline. Double wall pipe system is

used as an effective means of leak

containment for an over-the-water

installation.

MONITORING

All of the sensor cables and fast fuel

probe are monitored from a single alarm

panel with the installation providing an

intrinsically safe monitoring circuit rated

for the appropriate hazardous area

classification. The alarm panel provides

capacity for up to 127 circuits, far

exceeding any plans for the future

pipeline expansion. The TraceTek® system

not only provides early detection but

leads you to the leak, by providing a

digital readout of the distance to the leak,

so you can locate the source and solve

the problem.

ISSUED FORCONSTRUCTION



Green trainees for QueenslandcouncilsLocal councils across Queensland—from the Cape to Coolangatta—will beginrecruiting members of Queensland’s Green Army following the announcement of262 Green Traineeships.

Minister for Employment and Economic DevelopmentAndrew Fraser announced the positions when hevisited participants for the start of a Green Army

project running at William Duncan State School on the GoldCoast.

Mr Fraser said the Green Trainees would be employed at 48councils and council bodies the length and breadth ofQueensland. (see list opposite)

“Despite some recent positive signs in the economy, we’renot out of the woods yet,” Mr Fraser said.

“The Government remains firm in our resolve to save andcreate Queensland jobs to bring us through these difficult timeseven stronger than before.

“Queensland’s Green Army is a $57 million initiative toenhance our natural assets, strengthen our tourism industry andpromote increased environmental awareness for allQueenslanders.

“More importantly, it will create 3,000 jobs through 2300paid work placements and 700 Green Traineeships.”

Mr Fraser said the current round of traineeship fundingwould mean 262 jobseekers will receive 12-months paid workand skills to increase their employment options for the future.

“The trainees will be working across the state—gainingvaluable skills and providing a greener environment for all ofus,” she said.

“They will be working on a range of environmental projectswhich will include rehabilitating our natural areas andrevitalising our green spaces.

“Green Traineeships are primarily designed for youngpeople who don’t have post-school qualifications and need anationally accredited qualification and experience to get theirfirst start in the workforce.

“Councils have a year to fill these positions and we expectmany to start recruiting immediately.”

Queensland’s Green Army is part of the SkillingQueenslanders for Work initiative. During 2009-10, theQueensland Government will invest $101 million in SkillingQueenslanders for Work to provide more than 21,000 long-term unemployed and underemployed people job-relatedassistance and skills training.

Twelve months after receiving assistance 71 per cent ofparticipants are in employment or further training.

Traineeship location No of trainees

Balonne Shire Council 1

Banana Shire Council 3

Barcaldine Regional Council 3

Brisbane City Council 24

Bulloo Shire Council 1

Bundaberg Regional Council 9

Cairns Regional Council 5

Carpentaria Shire Council 2

Cassowary Coast Regional Council 9

Central Highlands Regional Council 7

Central Qld Local Government Association 1

Charters Towers Regional Council 9

Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council 4

Cloncurry Shire Council 1

Cook Shire Council 2

Croydon Shire Council 1

Diamantina Shire Council 2

Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council 1

Etheridge Shire Council 2

Flinders Shire Council 3

Gladstone Regional Council 2

Gold Coast City Council 15

Goondiwindi Regional Council 1

Gympie Regional Council 3

Ipswich City Council 4

Isaac Regional Council 10

Lockyer Valley Regional Council 4

Logan City Council 8

Mackay Regional Council 12

Maranoa Regional Council 7

McKinlay Shire Council 2

Moreton Bay Regional Council 5

Mount Isa City Council 2

Paroo Shire Council 1

Quilpie Shire Council 1

Redland City Council 25

Rockhampton Regional Council 3

South Burnett Regional Council 2

Sunshine Coast Regional Council 10

Tablelands Regional Council 5

Torres Shire Council 1

Toowoomba Regional Council 16

Townsville City Council 20

Western Downs Regional Council 4

Whitsunday Regional Council 4

Wide Bay Water Corporation 2

Winton Shire Council 2

Woorabinda Aboriginal Council 1

pipes


Lightness and colour the key topipe successWith body stressing accounting for more than 40 per cent of all serious workerscompensation claims, employers (including Councils) must take carefulconsideration in their choice of materials used for building and maintenance tasks.

And as momentum gathers towards materials that are

not only light but recyclable, companies such as Calair

pipe systems are finding increasing demand nationally

and internationally for their lightweight polymer pipe systems

for compressed air, gases and liquids.

The Calair product is among the toughest and lightest

available anywhere, being eight times lighter than equivalent

steel product and 30 per cent lighter again than equivalent PVC.

It’s also permanently colour-coded for safety.

The company’s clean, easily installed and recyclable liquid,

gas and compressed air systems have already been proven in

more than 10,000 applications worldwide ranging from the

Australian Outback to frozen territories of Canada.

“Calair Pipe Systems are also being exported globally to

places such as Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North

America, having won selection for the Australian Government’s

Technology Showcase. This identified the product as being

capable of achieving world markets with concepts offering 21st

century alternatives to metal reticulation systems fundamentally

unchanged since the Industrial Revolution,” says Calair

Managing Director John McNab.

“The latest figures from Safe Work Australia*—which reflect

international trends—show that body stressing (also referred to

as manual handling) account for 41 per cent of all serious

workers compensation claims. Additionally, slip, fall and trip

accidents accounted for more than 25,000 new workers

John McNab with his light, permanently colour-coded piping.

pipes


compensation cases annually and many of these could probablybe related to carrying or handling heavy objects,” he said.

“Calair systems are light, won’t rust and feature permanentcolour-coding of contents for optimum safety as increasinglyrequired by OHS regulations globally. Permanent colour-codingof pipelines is of increasing importance to sophisticatedmanufacturing and processing plants, which want operationaland maintenance staff to be able to immediately identify what isbeing carried by the pipelines they are working around. This ishighly important both for time-saving efficiency and for safety,”he says.

“One of the last things a hard-pressed maintenance workerwants to worry about is what is in the pipes he’s working on asanother production deadline approaches.

“Apart from needing to know quickly where to find theconduits to pneumatic, chemical, waste, water and otherservices, there’s the safety concern involved if the worker opensor cuts into the wrong pipe.

“In service, polymer won’t rust and drop flakes into thepipes, or clog them so air or other fluids have to fight to getthrough. Also, because polymer insulates better than metalpiping, it isn’t as prone to condensation in the first place as hotair meets cold pipes,” says Mr McNab.

The reticulation system—available in sizes from 12.5mm-100mm (Half-inch to four-inch nominal bore)—is a verycomplete system, with a comprehensive range of joints, cross-pieces, elbows, fasteners and fittings.

The energy-saving, low-friction Calair pressure pipingsystems are far easier and faster to erect and reconfigure thanmetal systems of copper, stainless steel and galvanized iron. Noexpensive skilled labour is needed—just simple ring wrenchesused by normal factory labour. The system has been provenover more than 20 years with customer satisfaction exceeding99.8 per cent,” says John McNab.

Calair has designed all its products to be totally recyclable—virtually an entire installation can be picked up from one plantand moved to the next. Calair reticulation systems are designedto be simple, versatile and very flexible to use without requiringany expensive specialist trades such as welding. Unlike metalwelded systems—which frequently have to be junked whenproduction facilities change location—Calair has founded itsbusiness on systems that can be dismantled, cleanly packedaway and reconverted to a new use.

All of Calair’s lightweight piping systems that arepermanently colour-coded to conform with the requirements ofinternational standards relating to content identification ofpipes, conduits and ducts, including AS1345 (1995) and ISOR508.

Guaranteed for 10 years and with typical expected lifespansof 50 years depending on applications, Calair’s entire Pro Pipe IIrange is permanently colour-coded in accordance with AS 1345-1995, including AQUA for compressed air, BEIGE for gas,GREEN for water, RED for fire services, VIOLET for acids and

alkalines, BROWN for oil and BLACK for waste.John McNab backs calls from safety groups for greater

industry awareness and observance of standards governingcolour identification of the contents of pipes, conduits andducts.

“Observance of the standards contained in AS 1345-1995 isparticularly critical where they relate to employers’ duty of careas outlined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” he says.

“Clearly there is a compelling case for the clearest possibleidentification of pipes to avoid mixups of liquids, gases orhazardous materials, especially in emergency situations.However, we believe that industry generally is not always fullyaware of its obligations. In some situations, where installers oremployers are not fully conversant with the standards, it ispossible at present that pipe contents could be confused,” hesaid.

John McNab says that while Australia and other nationsoften have excellent existing standards covering colour codingof pipelines (derived originally from the international ISOR 508standard) there had been insufficient educational promotion ofthe standard.

“It is self-evident that in an emergency people have to beable to quickly identify pipes such as “Red” coloured pipes forfire services. But it is equally important that people knowimmediately which pipes are carrying oil, for example, orhazardous chemicals, so they can shut them down.

“If, through lack of awareness of the standards required, allthe pipes are black or randomly coloured or poorly identified,then employers may find they have an accident waiting tohappen,” said Mr McNab.

“Despite the fact that typically it costs no more to complywith the standard than not to comply with it, we still find manypeople contemplating industrial and building installations thatfall short of ideal colour-coding or ID tagging.

“We all need to wake up to the fact that in the 21st centurysafety and the environment are major concerns, and thatmaterials which are light and highly visible are the way to go.”

CalAir clients include architects, builders, contractors andengineers involved in projects for clients ranging from small andmedium-sized businesses to international enterprises includingAlcoa, Australian Defence Industries, Arnotts Biscuits, AtlasCopco, Australia Post, BHP Billiton, Boral, Caltex, Caroma, CSR,Containers Packaging, Australia’s Dept of Corrective Services,Email, Fluor Daniel, Ford, Fritolay, Gerrard Industries, HPM,Hoechst, James Hardy, John Holland, Nestle, Oceanic Coal,Panasonic, Readymix Concrete, the Roads and Traffic Authorityof NSW, State Rail Authority of NSW, SEW Eurodrive,Southcorp Packaging, Subaru Australia, Telecom Australia,Toyota, Visy Paper and Weston Milling.


CalAir Pipe Systems

Tel: 1 300 304 246

Web: www.calair.net.au

technology


3D visualisation – adding valueto infrastructure deliveryBy: Andrew Milford & Stewart SmithBased in SKM’s Sydney office, Andrew Milford is an MX Designer, while Stewart Smith is an Application Engineer based inthe firm’s Melbourne office. Stewart has particular expertise in road geometry, systems administration and is a Review PanelMember for CAD Infrastructure and CAD – 3D.

3D visualisation – as its name suggests – is a type of

computer animation. It has two main applications – for

presentations of a project, including the highlighting of

its features and impacts, and as a planning and design tool.

It can be used for developing masterplan and concept

designs, community consultation displays, presenting to

approval authorities or to accompany sales and marketing

presentations.

An excellent communication tool, it enables people to more

easily understand technical scenarios, can be applied to ‘safety

in design’ methodologies, recruitment strategies and above all,

is a visually exciting, value-adding way to convey information.

By showing simplified, attractive and informative visuals to

community members, stakeholders, investors and project

teams, 3D Visualisation is proving to be a valuable, cost

effective tool in stakeholder engagement. It can be used when

leadership teams are considering different aesthetic options forroad furniture, such as noise walls. Or, it can be used to showalignment options, help avoid property conflict and providesupport for road safety audits.

For example, the Hume Highway Southern Alliance projectin southern New South Wales, Australia used the power ofvisualisation to determine whether a proposed earthworksmound was of sufficient height to remove headlight glare fromoncoming vehicles. This work was conducted primarily as asafety-in-design exercise, and was mostly used in-house as averification tool. The positive feedback helped verify the designby removing any doubt over the issue of headlight glare.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The animation process involves modelling, animating, texturing,lighting and special effects. Once a visualisation is produced, thefinal product goes to post production and can be exported via

technology


print mediums or an “avi” file suitable for computer playback orDVD. This is developed using software such as MX / 12D,AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Dynamite, Adobe Premiere Pro and AdobePhotoShop.

There are three levels of 3D visualisation in the marketplace.The low end (A$0-5/10K) has fairly basic graphics and limitedobjects; the second (A$10-30K) is more advanced; and the third(A$30K+) – is usually sent to 3D specialists.

Using the Geelong Bypass in Victoria, Australia as anexample, the 3D visualisation works included:

3 A new four-lane divided freeway, with provision in thedesign and construction for a six-lane cross-section,widening into the central median;

3 Construction of six bridges, including a highwayinterchange bridge;

3 Construction of highway ramps and a signalled highwayintersection, with provision in the design for an ultimatehigh-speed freeway link and future ramps;

3 Signalled diamond intersections, with provision in thedesign for an interchange;

3 Reconstruction and widening of several roads and ahighway;

3 Road realignments; and3 Truncation on each side of a freeway reserve and

associated roads.

DATA PREPARATION

Employing 3D visualisation tools, SKM created design

triangulation mesh models of all major, minor and intersectionroads. Then, using MX seeding wizard, grouped them intosurface materials and exported them as MX Genio files.

Using MX, they modelled all bridge structures, line-marking,wire rope, noise walls and trees and exported strings toseparate Genio files.

Signs were created using official Victorian State Governmentroads’ signs program in Microsoft J and exported as jpg files.

Dynamite VSP was used to create all surface mesh, swept,placed and rail objects from the imported MX Genio files,creating detail gantry signs, bridge abutments and barriers,vehicles, cameras and sunlight. This combined to form a renderview animation at camera eye height, along the 7.5 km dualcarriageway freeway.

The render views were achieved by creating a jpg of eachframe and an avi file (about 3000 frames combined into singlefile).

Camera images were also created at specific locations alongthe 7.5 km route and included in the final animation.

To date, SKM has used 3D visualisation for roads and railprojects, but this technology can be applied to projects acrossall markets and industries.

Using this technology allows clients to be involved in makingdecisions at the early stage of tender through to detail design.They can then use it for public consultation, involve third partyconsultants, review visual aspects of concern to key people andpromote company profile on major projects.

Article reproduced courtesy of Sinclair Knight Merz

technology


Software for the inspectionand condition assessmentof water mainsBy Barry Holloway, Senior Technical Consultant, Water Corporation, and

Paul Taylor, Senior Technical Consultant, Affordable Technology

INTRODUCTION

The topic of this paper deals with improvements to the assetmanagement practices of the Water Corporation brought aboutby new inspection and condition assessment software.

Cost reduction and better condition assessment contributesto sound asset management which benefits everyone and theecology.

In 1994 the Water Corporation undertook a programme ofremedial work on the 600 km Perth to Kalgoorlie trunk mainusing selective refurbishment methods of pipe renewal. A rangeof specialised remedial equipment was developed enablingsignificant cost reductions to be achieved. The planning for thiswork required internal inspections of the main to be undertakenusing multi-camera inspection equipment recorded onto a bankof four VHS video recorders.

Challenger Digital Inspection System is a softwareapplication used to capture multicamera inspection images and

data, manage the condition assessment process and produce acomprehensive electronic report.

This paper describes the software developed for this project(Challenger Digital Inspection System) and discussesopportunities for collaboration and further development.

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

The Digital Inspection System was developed for use with theChallenger long-range inspection ROV (remotely operatedvehicle) which was designed for fully submerged travel withinlarge-diameter trunk mains for distances exceeding 3kilometres. The Challenger can be fitted with an array of up to 8cameras, sonar, manipulator and NDT instruments andperforms inspection work in large diameter trunk mains withoutthe need to empty the pipeline.

Deployment of the Challenger ROV

Recent enhancements to the software have enabled it to beused to perform external pipeline surveys using multiplecameras and GPS input. This allows a comprehensive survey ofthe external features of the pipeline (tracks, vegetation,damage) to be recorded.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

In the past, a typical pipeline internal survey would be recordedusing one or more VCRs with defects noted on log sheets.Surveys conducted in this manner were slow, inefficient andoften incomplete. The final report produced from this type ofsurvey usually consisted of a list of defects and some imagestaken from the video tapes.

As remote inspection equipment became more complex,the use of VCRs as a means of recording pipeline surveysPhoto 1: Remotely operated remedial equipment c1997

technology


became problematic. Multiple cameras, NDT instruments andthe need to be able to quickly access any part of the surveymade the development of a computer based system necessary.

The basic requirements of the digital inspection systemrequired by the Water Corporation were:

3 Record images from multiple digital or video cameras3 Record time, date, distance travelled and various other

data associated with the images3 Record data from other instruments and sensors such as

sonar3 Simple operation to the asset owner in the form of a

compact mass-storage device or even a small USBthumb drive. This electronic report includes all imagesand the details of defects and can be viewed using anintuitive browsing application. This removes the tediumassociated with viewing multiple videotapes or DVDsand allows the asset condition to be reviewed by theasset manager at his or her work station.

DIGITAL INSPECTION SYSTEM

The Challenger digital inspection system consists of a number ofseparate software applications designed to handle the variousaspects of the asset condition assessment process. Theseapplications are:

3 Data Capture3 Post-processing3 Client Browser3 Maintenance Toolbox

DATA CAPTURE

The data capture application is a computer program runningunder Windows gathering images and data from the ChallengerROV’s camera array and sensors. The data capture applicationhandles sustained real-time capture, manipulation and storagein a multitasking environment at rates exceeding 230Mb/s.

Rather than using traditional methods of storing MPEGmotion files, the video streams are broken into individualimages and stored using the JPEG image format. Although largerdata file sizes result, there are a number of advantages gained inusing this approach:

3 Any image aspect ratio can be accommodated3 The resolution of the image can be varied

3 Image capture rate can be varied3 The JPEG format is ubiquitous and easy to manipulate3 Metadata can be stored within the individual imagesAs no existing software could meet the throughput

requirements of the digital inspection system, a purpose builtdatabase engine that could cater for inevitable futuretechnology improvements was developed.

POST PROCESSING

The digital inspection system includes post-processing softwarewhich enables a detailed and accurate assessment of the assetto be made after completion of the field survey work. Thepurpose of the post processing software is to identify allobservable features (known as events) and to describe andcategorise all these events.

The traditional approach to pipeline surveys encouraged thefield inspection operators to sacrifice accuracy due to the timeconstraints involved. The coverage obtained using multiplecameras and sensors enables the assessment task to beperformed in an office environment by skilled specialists, freefrom the pressures associated with keeping a large trunk mainoff-line.

The assessment process is simplified by the use of pre-loaded descriptors built into the software. Table 1 details thedescriptors used for the assessment of mild-steel cementlined(MSCL) pipes.

Photo 2 (below) was taken from a typical post-processingdata entry screen showing the menu driven event descriptionprocess.

Photo 2: Challenger Digital Inspection System – post processing screen

Event Type Event Description Event Severity Event Location Event SignificanceJoint Bare Steel Neligible O’clock range 0. Not at all

Locking Bar Corrosion Stain Minor Start location 1. SlightlyBarrel Corrosion Nodules Moderate Duration 2. VeryDebris Crack Significant Size 3. Important

Manhole De-lamination Severe Text fieldScour Point Spalling OtherAir Valve Other UnknownOff-take NoneOther Unknown

Unknown

Table 1 details the descriptors used for the assessment of mild-steel cementlined (MSCL) pipes

technology


CLIENT BROWSER

After processing, the data file represents a comprehensiveelectronic report with range of data export functions available.Any aspect of the dataset can be quickly located and displayedusing the Client Browser application.

The condition assessment data logged in the ChallengerDigital Inspection System can be utilised in a number of waysdepending upon the requirements of the asset manager. Thedata can be exported in the following formats:

3 Raw event data (CSV file)3 JPEG image files3 Processed event data (CSV file)3 Full electronic report (CDID file)CSV files (comma separated values) contain the following

data:3 Type (event type)3 Severity (defect severity)3 Fault (defect type)3 Longitude (external surveys only)3 Latitude (external surveys only)3 Quadrant (camera number)3 Length (longitudinal length of defect)3 Clock (o’clock position of the event)3 Date (event time-stamp)3 Time (event time-stamp)3 Payout (distance from ROV entry point)3 Frame No. (ID of event images)3 Notes (assessment engineers notes)All images can be exported as individual JPEG files with a

unique file name structure for use in reports and publications.The full electronic report containing the entire inspection data-set can be viewed with a copy of the client browser provided tothe asset manager with the data files.

Photo 3: Internal survey of a flooded DN1400mm pipeline—client browserscreen

OTHER APPLICATIONS AND RECENT

DEVELOPMENT

The capabilities of the software have been enhanced by theinclusion of a GPS input to the capture application. Work is inprogress to enable the export of the inspection data to GISapplications such as ArcGIS.

Photo 4: External pipeline survey—client browser screen

CONCLUSION

The Challenger Digital Inspection System has proven to be aneffective data management tool for assessing trunk pipelinesinternally. The capability to also record spatial informationextends the usefulness of this software to the externalinspection of pipelines and other linear assets.

Although the Challenger Digital Inspection System wasdeveloped for a limited application within the water industry,there are many applications where linear assets such as roads,fences, power-lines and pipelines require regular surveys.

For this reason the developers of this system invitecollaboration from other interested asset managers to themutual benefit of all.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The primary components of the Challenger Digital InspectionSystem were developed using Borland Delphi, an efficient,Pascal based object oriented language.

Currently Windows 2000, XP and NT operating systems aresupported with Unix / Linux platform support to be available inthe near future.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Inspection Services Operations Manager Shaun Brennan, WaterCorporation – [email protected]

lighting


For over 30 years, Musco Sports Lighting has specialisedin the design and manufacture of athletic field lighting.Musco has pioneered dramatic improvements in energy

efficiency and affordable ways to control spill light and glare. Musco Lighting’s newest innovation, Light-Structure

Green™, is the same complete foundation-to-poletop lightingsystem, we have provided for years, but provides significantadvantages for your budget and the environment. Operatingcosts are cut by up to half when compared to conventionallighting systems. Maintenance costs are eliminated for 10 years,including lamp replacements. Off-site spill lighting and glare arereduced by 50% and constant light levels are guaranteed for 10years/5,000 hours.

Light-Structure Green provides unequaled performancesupported with Musco’s Constant 10™ product assurance andwarranty program, assuring 10 years of carefree lightingequipment operation.

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lighting


Innovation in landscape lightingto benefit councilsBy Joel Norenberg

Every industry benefits from innovation, and landscape lighting is no exception.

Recent advances in the efficientimplementation and delivery oflandscape lighting is delivering

benefits to large scale users such as localcouncils.

There has been significant innovationas designers and installers improveproducts and methods that result inincreased value to the end user. Thatvalue can be in the form of enhancedeffects, system longevity or, moreimportantly, cost savings. Innovation canbe directed toward any of a lightingsystem’s components including fixtures,transformers, mounting systems or evenconnectors, and is often the result ofmatching demand with availabletechnologies, emerging markets, or evenproduction capabilities that historicallymay not have been feasible.

Often, end users may not be aware ofmany product innovations becauseimprovements can be subtle, like animproved thread or the addition of an O-ring. However, the benefits in productquality, or efficiencies gained from theseadvancements, are undeniable. Fixturequality has advanced substantially overthe last several years as new metalalternatives have been introduced andfixture design has evolved, the result ofwhich has been the designer’s ability tomore accurately enhance architecturaldistinctions or unique attributes within alandscape. Lamp quality has alsoincreased greatly with the introduction ofhalogen and more recently, xenon basedlamps, resulting in extended lamp life andmore available variations in color,intensity and beam angles. Transformershave improved with the addition ofmagnetic breakers, stainless steel casesand multi-tap voltage options for bettermanagement of the power source.Mounting systems are going through aminor revolution with the addition ofbetter stake designs and available

technologies which are resulting inflexible mounting systems ideal for high-traffic areas.

Something as basic as wire can haveinnovative features that are hidden to theend user, but can be valuable to theinstaller and designer. Strand count,sheath thickness and composition, as wellas footage markings, are all properties oflow voltage wire that have improved overrecent years. Though less visible, thesefeatures become extremely valuablewhen technicians can now appreciateease of stripping along with greaterflexibility and durability, and wire usage isnow accurate when invoicing iscompleted.

And let’s not forget about installationmethods and techniques. Up untilrecently, large scale power equipmenthas been utilised to install lightingsystems. However, in many cases, use ofthis equipment simply did not justify theadditional manpower, clean-up expenseand overall cost to councils. Sometimessimplifying can be innovative.

Looking forward to the next wave oftechnology and innovation, LEDs (lightemitting diodes) appear to have greatappeal as a replacement for conventionallamps for a number of reasons. Very lowpower consumption, extremely long lamplife, and no generation of heat, are all

potentially attractive aspects of thistechnology, provided it is applied in theappropriate situations. For instance, LEDsare not necessarily well-suited forlandscape lighting in frost or snow proneareas because this technology producesno heat and therefore cannot meltthemselves clear in the winter. They canhowever, provide an excellent lightingalternative where the thermal issue is notimportant, but a bright, efficient markingdevice is.

Solar power is another innovationthat has been lurking around our industryfor some time, but because of itshistorically marginal performance, has notuntil recently gained much acceptance asa viable power source. Significantadvancements over the last few yearshowever, in both solar cells and batteries,have greatly improved the performanceof solar powered lights and thesecontinue to advance the value of solarpower in a landscape settings.

With increasing emphasis on being“Green” conscious, the combination ofsolar power and LEDs may be a perfectmatch. Functional and efficient, alongwith zero operating costs, meets theconservative criteria often confrontingCouncil decisions and these can beexpected to gain momentum in thefuture.

urban planning


The plan has been composed to help the South Australiangovernment to achieve its aims of balancing populationand economic growth, while understanding the need to

protect the environment and preserve the heritage of the City ofGreater Adelaide.

The 30-year plan for Greater Adelaide is built around threemain objectives:

3 to maintain and improve liveability

3 to increase competitiveness

3 to drive sustainability and resilience to climate change12 overarching principles underpin the plan. These are:

3 A compact and carbon-efficient city

3 Housing diversity and choice

3 Accessibility

3 A transit-focused and connected city

3 World-class design and vibrancy

3 Social inclusion and fairness

3 Heritage and character

3 Healthy, safe and connected communities

3 Affordable living

3 Economic growth and competitiveness

3 Climate change resilience

3 Environmental protectionPremier of South Australia, Mike Rann, in his introduction to

the Plan, stated that ‘it will inform our transport andinfrastructure priorities, it will help drive our future budgetsettings and service planning, and it will aid us in furtherprotecting our environment. It will also emphasise the value weplace on Adelaide’s heritage and special character.’

The community is being asked for feedback regarding theplan, as public opinion is vitally important for the development,implementation and success of the final version of the plan.

Mr Holloway said of the plan that it ‘will give SouthAustralia one of the most competitive planning systems inAustralia, while ensuring it remains one of the most liveable,competitive and sustainable cities in the world.’

The plan acts to address many challenges and opportunitiesin South Australia. The first opportunity outlined in the plan is tobuild on Adelaide’s strengths, which are outlined as ‘richcultural diversity, world-class creative arts, competitive house

30-year plan for agreater AdelaideThe City of Greater Adelaide is soon to be overhauled, with the revelation of a draft30-year plan for the city. The plan, unveiled by Minister for Urban Planning andDevelopment, Paul Holloway, will tackle the economic and environmental challengesthat South Australians face.

urban planning


prices, a growing and diversifying economy, and a vibrantlabour market.’

Another focus will be the global economic downturn, andways that the City of Greater Adelaide can create a competitiveadvantage by building more flexible industry and invigoratingthe city’s economy through employment and housing.

Important in the list of challenges are such considerations aspopulation growth, population change, housing affordability anda growing and changing economy.

Mr Holloway asserts that ‘during the next three decades,our city is expected to grow by 560,000 people, add 258,000

new homes and create282,000 jobs.

‘By planning aheadto 2039, we can ensurethat this job-generatinggrowth can be achievedin a way that preservesour wonderful planningheritage and leaves 80percent of metropolitanAdelaide largelyunchanged.’

With that moderatepopulation growth willcome a change in thedemographic of thepopulation. There willbe a greater proportionof residents over theage of 65, as well as arise in the number ofsingle-personhouseholds and coupleswithout children.Provisions for Adelaideresidents will need to bechanged to ensure thatthe needs of theresidents are adequatelymet. This includesensuring that there isenough well-locatedland for housing, as wellas a sufficient supply ofvaried types of housing,to ensure affordabilityand accessibility for allmembers of thecommunity.

The growing andchanging nationaleconomy contributes to

the plan’s considerations. In order to increase and maintain the

employment rate in Adelaide, it is listed as essential that

sufficient land is provided for jobs of the future, and that people

are easily able to access employment close to home to balance

work and home life.

This citywide accessibility is to be tackled in relation to

transport and infrastructure, where the growth of population

and economy will place great demands. The plan shows the

intention to redesign the City of Greater Adelaide to reduce

reliance on cars, and to create a more compact and efficient

urban form. This reduction of the number of cars on the roads

will also help with the environmental concerns of the state

government by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The new urban form will include the design of new suburbs,

touted by Holloway as ‘walkable, connected and safe precincts

that allow people to work, shop and access services near their

homes, and which are located near parklands, waterways and

vibrant cultural centres.’

‘The plan aims to ensure that the future retains the best of

the State’s past,’ says Holloway. ‘To this end, existing

neighbourhoods and their intrinsic character will remain largely

unchanged. ‘

Environment and biodiversity are key challenges to be dealt

with via the 30-year plan, including protecting and enhancing

the environmental assets of the area. The plan recognises that

the natural resources in and around the City of Greater Adelaide

have come under great pressure, and that in order for the city

to remain an attractive and liveable city, this threat to the

biodiversity of the region must be addressed right away.

The immediate reduction of Adelaide’s contribution to

climate change is a main focus of the city’s plan, including using

land in a way that supports the emergence of new technologies,

such as renewable and clean energy. Water supplies are also a

concern, and the government is determined to secure water for

the growing population. A separate plan entitled ‘Water for

Good – A Plan to Ensure Our Water Future to 2050’ has been

released independently of the 30-year plan for Greater

Adelaide. This includes increasing the capacity of the existing

desalination plant, as well as interventions such as constraints

on water use.

The plan’s comprehensive objectives and the community-

wide approach should see the city undergo a positive

transformation for the city, ensuring a secure and prosperous

future for its residents.

Holloway is optimistic about the plan’s ability to retain

Adelaide’s current charm, and to further enhance it and build

upon it.

‘Adelaide has been described by the New York Times as

possibly the last well-planned and contented metropolis on

earth. The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide will ensure that it

stays that way.’

HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

By: David Willoughby Format: Hardback, 400 pages ISBN: 007145473X /

9780071454735

An essential resource for anyone working in the trenchless industry, this authoritative guideprovides complete technical information on the design, permitting, construction bid documents,specifications, and construction of HDD applications. Horizontal Directional Drilling featuresmany examples and HDD calculations as well as detailed illustrations. Coverage of the HDDModel Footage Contract — guidelines for HDD projects, example specifications, and informationon risk reduction—is also included.

Details on HDD implementations including: 3 Steel pipelines 3 Fiber optic and electrical conduits 3 Municipal applications for natural gas, water, and wastewater pipelines

books


BURIED PIPE DESIGN

By: A. P. Moser, Steve Folkman

Format: Hardback, 601 pages

ISBN: 007147689X / 9780071476898

Price: $69.95

Buried Pipe Design, Third Edition,identifies and explains everything youneed to know to confidently design,install, replace, and rehabilitate buriedpiping systems. Written by an industryexpert, this trusted resource presentsevery aspect of buried pipe design, frombasic principles, to material selection, tokey safety factors. Plus, new material andupdated codes and standards make thisedition a must-have for all pipingprofessionals. The handbook features:

3 Trenchless technology methods3 Updated references to ASTM,

AASHTO, AWWA standards3 The latest data on PVC pressure

pipe3 The facts you need on flexible

steel, plastic, and ductile iron pipeand more.

MOVING THE EARTH

By: Herbert L. Nichols, David A. Day


ISBN: 007143058X / 9780071430586

Price: $90

Updated to reflect methods usedaccording to current requirements andregulations. The first 11 chapters discussthe work itself and the basic ways to doit, the machines and operationtechniques, the problems that arise, theapplication of different types ofequipment, and costs and management.The next 10 chapters focus on themachines themselves and operatingtechniques. From site preparation toblasting and tunneling, pneumatic drillsto the largest power shovels, it coversevery step of every kind of excavatingproject and all the practical aspects ofusing the machines and vehicles involved.The 5th edition is being directed toinclude the latest in equipment andoperating techniques and safety methods.

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY

By: Mohammad Najafi


ISBN: 0071422668 / 9780071422666

Price: $206.95

Trenchless technology allows for theinstallation or renewal of undergroundutility systems with minimum disruptionof the surface. As water and wastewatersystems age or must be redesigned inorder to comply with environmentalregulations, the demand for thistechnology has dramatically increased.This is a detailed reference coveringconstruction details, design guidelines,environmental concerns, and the latestadvances in equipment, methods, andmaterials.

3 Design and analysis procedures3 Design equations3 Risk assessment3 Soil compatibility and more.

books


MECHANICS OF ASPHALT

By: Linbing Wang


ISBN: 0071498540 / 9780071498548

Price: $115.00

A state-of-the-art sourcebook for solvingengineering problems in the mix design,construction, and evaluation of asphaltpavements

Written by an internationallyrenowned expert on asphalt mechanics,this authoritative guide equips you withthe latest tools for solving a wide range ofengineering problems in the mix design,construction methods, and performanceevaluation of today’s asphalt pavements.

Using 150 illustrations andinternational units throughout, Mechanicsof Asphalt fully enables readers to designand analyse flexible pavements andperform forensic studies, use simulationtechniques to adjust and controlconstruction quality, achieve the bestpossible mix designs, and accessinnovative approaches in research anddevelopment. The book covers thefundamentals of asphalt properties andcharacterisation, constitutive modeling &model calibration, computationaltechniques, multiscale and coupledphenomena, and applications ofadvanced modeling and simulation.

INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING

HANDBOOK

By: Alvin S. Goodman, Makarand

Hastak


ISBN: 0071474943 / 9780071474948

Price: $150.00

With expert content needed to maintainour infrastructure, this book is valuable asboth a classroom text as well as a self-study guide. This comprehensivereference presents all the essentialconcepts and methodologies ofinfrastructure planning. The authorsprovide all the tools, analysis techniques,and case studies required to upgrade andmaintain infrastructure in the USA as wellas rest of the world.

Contents include:3 Planning and Appraisal of Major

Infrastructure Projects 3 Screening Projects and Master

Planning 3 Municipal Infrastructure

Systems—Performance andPrioritisation Measures

3 Comparisons of InfrastructureAlternatives

3 Financial and Economic Analyses 3 Environmental and Social

Impact—Concepts,Requirements, Procedures andAssessment

3 Public Involvement 3 Legal and Institutional Aspects 3 Planning for Uncertainty and Risk 3 Operations Research Methods for

Planning and Analysis

LAND DEVELOPMENT

HANDBOOK

By: Dewberry & Davis


ISBN: 0071494375 / 9780071494373

Price: $150.00

Land Development Handbook provides astep-by-step approach to any type ofproject, from rural greenfielddevelopment to suburban infill to urbanredevelopment. With the latestinformation regarding green technologiesand design, the book offers you acomprehensive look at the land-development process as a whole, as wellas a thorough view of individualdisciplines. Plus, a bonus color insertreveals the extent to which landdevelopment projects are transformingour communities!

This all-in-one guide provides in-depth coverage of:

3 Environmental issues from erosionand sediment control andstormwater management

3 Comprehensive planning andzoning including newdevelopment models for mixed-use, transit-oriented, andconservation developments

3 Technical design procedures3 Surveying tools and techniques3 Plan preparation, submission, and

processing

COMPRESSIBILITY OF

ULTRASOFT SOIL

By: Myint Win Bo (DST Consulting

Engineers Inc., Canada)

Format: Hardback 332pp

ISBN: 978-981-277-188-9

Price: $110

This book describes the compressionbehavior of ultra-soft soil upon additionalload application. Various types oflaboratory compression tests suitable forthis type of soil are discussed, such astests using small- and large-scaleconsolidometers, hydraulic Rowe cellsunder different drainage conditions,constant rate of loading and constant rateof strain tests. It also explains how todetermine the transition point, whichdifferentiates the two distinct behaviorsbetween slurry state and soil statedeformation. Methods to determine thecompression indices and coefficients ofconsolidation at different stress ranges,which are required for the prediction ofmagnitude of settlement and time rate ofsettlement, are developed. An equationfor predicting settlement of ultra-soft soilin both the slurry and soil stages iselaborated upon. These proposedmethods of characterisation or analyses—which are validated against publisheddata, laboratory measurements and acase study—serve as useful tools fordesigning and constructing embankmentsand for carrying out land reclamation onultra-soft soil.

books


STORM WATER POLLUTION

CONTROL

MUNICIPAL, INDUSTRIAL AND

CONSTRUCTION COMPLIANCE

By: Roy D. Dodson


ISBN: 0070173885 / 9780070173880

Price: $105.00

Municipal employees, industrialmanagers and construction professionalsknow they must comply with newEnvironmental Protection Agency andstate storm water regulations—or riskheavy fines and even jail time. Thiscompletely updated book gives thosewho must meet new federal and localstandards the tools necessary to satisfythe new requirements fully, efficiently,and economically. It’s your best and mostcomplete source of information on actualEPA field enforcement practices; theentire EPA Phase II standard; state-by-state storm water pollution regulations;and more. It’s your one-stop source foreasy, cost-effective, and fully compliantstorm water management—and a volumethat will pay for itself many times over

UPGRADING AND

RETROFITTING WATER AND

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

PLANTS

By: Water Environment Federation


ISBN: 0071453032 / 9780071453035

Price: $85.00

This detailed manual outlines proceduresthat will help water and wastewatertreatment plant upgrading and retrofittingprojects proceed smoothly and costefficiently—from initial assessment tofinal commissioning.

Contributed by international expertscharged with developing current practicemethods, this resource offers guidanceon the intricacies involved in avoidingprocess interruptions and meetingpermitting requirements whileimprovement projects move forward.Upgrading and Retrofitting Water andWastewater Treatment Plants alsoincludes a list of pitfalls to avoid andadvice on preventing cost overruns.

For those involved with the singlelargest investment that a public or privateutility may ever make, this manual willprove to be an essential tool.

Essential upgrading and retrofittingcoverage:

3 Operational continuity 3 Avoiding permit violations 3 Planning that works 3 Project delivery systems 3 Key tips for evading cost overruns 3 Expert cautions on pitfalls 3 Sage advice for every step

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CY123-900

On road to a cleaner future.

On road to a cleaner future.

Century Batteries has launched a National Battery Recycling Program designed to assist local councils with the management and reduction of costs associated with the handling of used lead acid batteries.

The program is supported with a dedicated website, national phone number and range of materials available for use by councils to help reduce the impact of scrap batteries in the local environment.

To help create a cleaner future and understand how Century can assist your recycling and environmental programs, contact a Century Battery Recycling specialist on 1300 362 287 or visit the dedicated website.

CY123-900

m mn

australian local government infrastructure yearbook 2009

Documents