South Australian Water Corporation

The Australian Water Quality Centre (AWQC) is a business unit of the South Australian Water Corporation (SA Water), a South Australian Government enterprise. Established over 80 years ago, AWQC has extensive experience in supporting the national and international water industry through analytical testing, leading edge research, training, consultancies and advice to manage water supply and wastewater systems. Services are tailored to cover all aspects of the water cycle from catchment, source, treatment, distribution, wastewater, reuse and alternative sources such as desalination.

Organisational Capability

• Training of water sector employees and trainers for water cycle management (catchment to tap, sewer to
supply)
• Water quality risk assessments: To undertake/review/advice on risk assessments of water systems (including
catchments and recycled water supplies) against relevant standards
• Water sampling advice: To guide a water utility in designing and implementing monitoring programs that
deliver temporally and spatially relevant data of appropriate quality
• Water testing: Advice on test selection, testing according to relevant standards and interpretation of results in
the context of water utility planning and operations
• Product testing: To assist overseas suppliers gain access to the Australian market or develop a system to
ensure products entering their country are safe/fit for purpose.
• Test method development: To develop new tests especially those appropriate to local water quality challenges
and testing capability (people/equipment)
• Quality systems for water laboratories: To enable new or existing water quality labs to operate at a high
standard of quality and customer service.
• Research / Investigations: To assist water sector participants to scope research/investigations relating to all
aspects of the water cycle from catchment to tap and sewer to supply, and undertake this research alone or in
partnership with other research/technical institutions
• Peer review / technical review : To provide reputable scientific/professional advice on the quality and content of
scientific and technical papers and reports
• Advice / Trouble shooting: Access to experienced utility and research personnel to assist water sector
participants (especially utilities) address planning and operational challenges

Projects

Business Development: China
The AWQC has relationships with the water sector in China developed primarily through a joint research arrangement the Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences in Beijing, which is an Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). This relationship is governed by a MoU established in 2007 and has included numerous joint projects, exchanges and visits over the last 8 years. Through this long term relationship the AWQC has been working with the Water Industry Alliance (SA) and Austrade to develop a MoU for joint research with the Beijing Water Authority (BWA). The MoU would initially relate to joint research but may provide a platform for South Australian water industry companies to access business development opportunities in China via the relationship. This MoU is likely to be signed in early 2016
Water Quality Training
AWQC Staff have a global reputation for research into the management of algae and cyanobacteria in drinking water supplies. This has led to the development of an Algal Management Training course tailored and delivered to water utilities. This has been delivered in several international forums including as a supplementary course for the water industry in South America at the International Conference on Toxic Cyanobacteria in Brazil in 2007; and twice as a workshop at the IWA Lake and Reservoir Management Specialist Group meeting in Granada, Spain in 2011; and Virginia, USA in 2015
International Water Quality Advice and Training: China, 2009
In 2009 SA Water provided a sub-contract consultancy as part of the Lake Tai Water Pollution Treatment Project. This project was part of the ‘Australian China Environmental Development Partnership (ACEDP)’, which was a five-year, $25m Australian Government, AusAID initiative managed by GHD with the objective of supporting and improving policy development in China. SA Water jointly delivered a plan on “Sampling, Management and Early Warning of Algal Blooms” for a range of Chinese local government agencies. The activity involved Mike Burch (AWQC) and Justin Brookes (University of Adelaide) running a 2-day training workshop in the city of Suzhou, which is near Shanghai. As part of this course our partners in National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan provided translation of plans and management guides into Mandarin. The project also involved delivering a reciprocal workshop and study tour on Algal management for a Chinese Delegation from Wuxi, Suzhou and Huizhou who travelled to Australia in 2010.