TECHNICAL ADVISORY
PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Explore our project experience across Australia and the Pacific.
Improving Water Security in South Australian Self-Supplied Remote Communities and Aboriginal Homelands
South Australian Government
SA Department for Environment and Water (2023– current)
Under the South Australian Government’s 2022 Water Security Statement and following its Stocktake and Water Security Assessment for Self-Supplied Remote Communities, the department aims to establish approaches to ensure remote self-supplied communities and Aboriginal homelands have appropriate access to drinking water security. This includes developing a standard for a basic level of safe and reliable drinking water for self-supplied remote communities. Aquanex provides expert technical advice and expertise to formulate approaches and strategies for drinking water security and the development of levels of service. Our work encompasses: - Developing an assessment framework and identifying appropriate standards/levels of service for water security in remote and Aboriginal self-supplied communities, including minimum acceptable level of service and reliability. - Developing project funding proposals to the federal government (National Water Grid Authority) to secure financial support for remote water infrastructure projects in self-supplied Aboriginal communities (homelands). - Developing operational and maintenance manuals for community residents, including the groundwater and rainwater harvesting systems, risk identification and improvement plans to manage safe drinking water associated with self-supplied water schemes. Our work involves conducting project formulation and objective setting, gap analysis and review, policy framework development, sector-related research, literature review, infrastructure assessment, project planning and scoping, cost estimation, cash flow, and funding proposal development.
Inspecting a chlorinator in Looma, West Kimberley, Western Australia (2024)
Disinfection Reference Guidelines for Aboriginal Communities
Western Australian Government
Water Corporation (2023 – 2024)
In July 2023, the responsibility for providing water and wastewater services to 141 Aboriginal communities was transferred from the Department of Communities to the Water Corporation. Following the transfer, Water Corporation needed a greater understanding of these units' performance and capabilities to provide reliable and consistent disinfection of drinking water. The majority of these 137 water schemes needed to be more compliant with many aspects of the ADWG. To upgrade these water schemes, Water Corporation sought to establish a Future State Reference Design on disinfection that would drive consistency, reliability, practicality, and value for money across all ACWS systems while meeting its requirements. Disinfection reference guidelines were developed to establish Water Corporation’s Disinfection Reference Design for all Aboriginal Community Water Services. Aquanex wrote the reference guidelines and provided strategic and technical expertise to establish the Future State Reference Design on chlorination. Our work involved project formulation and objective setting, gap analysis and review, analytical research, strategy development, roadmap implementation, risk assessment, stakeholder consultation and workshop facilitation to foster understanding and alignment on the reference guidelines.
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Water quality review and treatment technology framework for Remote Community Water Supply
CSIRO | Water (2023)
In 2023, CSIRO was commissioned by the National Water Grid Authority to conduct a desktop review of current and emerging water purification technologies: ‘Water quality review and treatment technology framework for remote community water supply’. The review aimed to support federal initiatives addressing the pressing issues of water quality and contamination in water supplies serving remote communities, including First Nations communities. The report offers the National Water Grid Authority a foundational framework for assessing various alternative and cutting-edge water treatment technologies. It seeks to support the provision of safe and reliable water supplies in remote areas and guide the prioritisation of investments in water infrastructure. Aquanex provided expert advice and guidance to the CSIRO team to review the desktop synthesis, support the assessment of alternative and emerging water treatment technologies, guide the development of a knowledge framework to group technologies based on criteria. Our work encompassed technical review, gap analysis, water treatment technology assessment and assessment criteria formulation.
Assessing EDR water treatment technology at Kintore, Central Australia, Northern Territory (2024)
Engaging with Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council in the Cape York, Queensland (2024)
Development of a funding proposal for the establishment of National Water and Wastewater Design Guidelines and Codes of Practice for First Nations and non-Indigenous Remote Communities
Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) (2023)
The project involved developing a project funding proposal to the federal government (National Water Grid Authority) to secure financial support to establish National Water and Wastewater Design Guidelines and Codes of Practice for First Nations and non-Indigenous Remote Communities. To drive industry performance and good practices and ensure significant investments from the federal, state, and territory governments are delivered for the long-term benefit of communities, WSAA's Human and Business-Centred Programs included the development of National Water and Wastewater Design Guidelines and Codes of Practice. This initiative aims to provide industry best practices for designing, constructing, and maintaining water infrastructure in remote settings and foster collaboration and knowledge transfer between leading organisations and smaller water service providers. Our work encompassed writing the project funding proposal to the National Water Grid Authority on behalf of WSAA. Our responsibilities included research, stakeholder engagement, project needs assessment, scope definition, budget allocation, and timeline creation. Additionally, we established partnerships with key organisations such as Water Corporation, Power and Water Corporation, and SA Water, as well as the governments of Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland to seek support and endorsement across jurisdictions.