Celebrating the winners of the NSW Water Awards 2024

The winners of the Australian Water Association’s New South Wales Water Awards have been announced at the NSW Heads of Water Gala & Awards Dinner on Friday, 1 March at the Four Seasons Sydney. 

Australian Water Association CEO Corinne Cheeseman congratulated all finalists and winners for their hard work and outstanding achievements. 
 
“The finalists and winners of the NSW Water Awards are testament to the resilience and innovation of our industry and our members as they continue to provide essential services for the community,” Cheeseman said.   

“From opening natural swimming sites across Sydney to a record-breaking rehabilitation of a watermain and an innovative new technology for removing emerging contaminants from Wastewater Treatment Systems, the people and projects we are celebrating demonstrate the excellent work being done across New South Wales.”
  
This year's NSW Water Award winners, will represent the state in the national Australian Water Awards, which will be presented at the Association's annual water conference and exhibition, Ozwater'24, in Melbourne.   

Congratulations to our winners!

Organisational Excellence Award (sponsored by Fulton Hogan):   
Sydney Water – Urban Plunge

The Urban Plunge program shifts traditional expectations of the role water utilities play in protecting waterway health. Sydney Water is now considered the “go-to” authority in opening natural swimming sites across the city and has accelerated the opening of swimming sites along the Parramatta River for community to enjoy.
  
R&D Excellence Award (sponsored by Water Research Australia):   
WaterNSW and UNSW Water Research Laboratory – Upland Peat Swamps of the Woronora Plateau – Hydrological Monitoring and Water Balance Modelling   

WaterNSW along with UNSW Water Research Laboratory developed a water balance model to determine how water moves through an upland swamp, before and after underground coal mining. The results of which has shown how much water can be stored in a swamp, but also how much water is lost after mining impacts. 
  
Infrastructure Project Innovation Award (REGIONAL):   
Interflow and Hunter Water – Record-Breaking Rehabilitation of a DN500 Watermain in Rutherford 
  
When a watermain running under a high-traffic industrial commercial area in Rutherford needed rehabilitation, a bold trenchless solution was required to minimise the impact on the community. The project tested the limits of die-reduction lining by installing a record-breaking 560m HDPE pipe in a single pull. 

Infrastructure Project Innovation Award (METRO):   
Sydney Water and Confluence Water – a joint venture comprising Downer Utilities, Jacobs, and Ventia  – Sydney Water’s Purified Recycled Water Discovery Centre 
  
Sydney Water’s Purified Recycled Water (PRW) Discovery Centre plays a vital role in helping to secure Greater Sydney’s water supply for the future. The first of its kind in NSW, the facility demonstrates the performance and reliability of some PRW treatment technology and helps to build community understanding and acceptance.
  
Student Water Prize (sponsored by Eurofins):   
Ting Zhou, University of Technology Sydney – An Innovative Green Technology for Removing Emerging Contaminants and Maximizing Bioenergy Recovery from Wastewater Treatment Systems 
  
Ting Zhou is a PhD student in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Technology Sydney. She is working on new technology for emerging contaminants remediation, sustainable wastewater treatment, sludge treatment, energy recovery from waste. Ting published 24 peer-reviewed journal papers, including Nature Communications and Water Research. 

Young Water Professional of the Year (sponsored by Xylem):   
Steve Adamthwaite, Associate | NSW/ACT Water Business Leader, Arup

Steve is passionately committed to the engineering profession. He represents the next generation of leaders and innovators driving change, leading projects and growing skills which will underpin a sustainable future for the profession, the people within it and the communities that rely upon it.  
    
Water Professional of the Year (sponsored by KSB):   
Prof. Leslie (Phil) Duncan, Galambany Professorial Fellow

Phil has over 40 years’ experience working with communities and the government to improve the lives of Aboriginal people through his employment and active volunteer community work. 
Phil is extremely passionate about promoting greater partnerships and collaboration using two way knowledge exchanges and enhancing the voices of Traditional Owners in land and water management. 

Roger Pettitt Award*:   
Leonie Huxedurp 

*State based award only 
   
The Association congratulates all the award finalists and winners and thanks our sponsors, Water NSW, ARUP, BMD, Eurofins, Fulton Hogan, KSB, Xylem and Water Research Australia for supporting this event and these important industry awards.