Australians recognised at the IWA World Water Congress

The International Water Association (IWA) held its World Water Congress last week, with several Australians receiving awards and global recognition for their impressive work.  

The IWA is the largest international network of water professionals, with members from 140 countries. The Australian Water Association is the Governing Member for Australia for the body and supported a delegation of Australians who attended the Congress in Copenhagen. 

Two Australians received recognition at the IWA Fellows Dinner, Dr Annalisa Contos and Professor Jennifer McKay received IWA Fellowships.  

 IWA Fellows are recognised professionals who have made outstanding contributions to the national and regional water sector and to IWA. This peer recognition is done through a rigorous review of the past contributions to the sector and IWA, and for the nominee's commitment to continued significant professional assistance in the future, by actively participating in IWA activities at international, regional and national levels. The IWA Fellows recognition is for five years, after which the individual can renew the fellowship. 

Dr Contos is currently the Chair of the IWA Australia committee and a principal at Atom Consulting, an organisation she founded in 2009. She has over 20 years of experience in the water sector and founded Atom Consulting to provide water industry expertise to their clients.   

Professor McKay is a Professor of Business Law at the University of South Australia, skilled in water governance, sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and environmental law. She has received the SA Premier's Award for water research and advised Commonwealth and State Governments on waste reduction strategies and best practices. 

Former AWA Director, Professor Jurg Keller, received an Outstanding Service Award, presented at the President's Dinner. Professor Keller was the co-chair of the World Water Congress 2022, served for 10 years on the Congress Program Committee, and is a Distinguished IWA Fellow. He is Emeritus Professor at Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology at UQ. 

Elsewhere, several Australian projects received recognition at the 13th IWA Project Innovation Awards, including: 

• City of Sydney's Green Square – Enabling Urban Renewal Through Effective Flood Risk Management and Stormwater Harvesting (Climate Change), which received a silver medal in the Performance Improvement and Operational Solutions category 
• Logan City's Australia's First Biosolids Gasification Facility, which received a bronze medal in the Breakthroughs in Research and Development category 
• Water Corporation's Groundwater Replenishment Scheme, which received a bronze medal in the Exceptional Project Execution and Delivery category; and 
• Monash Sustainable Development Institution's Perth Water Sensitive Transition Network, which received a bronze medal in the Governance, Institutions and Social Enterprise category. 

AWA congratulates all the award winners for their incredible and hard-earned achievements.