SA Technical Event October 2024 - Desalination and a circular water future

This unique and important event will be in two parts

• Part 1 - ‘Live’ Member Circle event &
• Part 2 - In-person SA Technical Event

Neil Palmer will MC both parts of the day’s proceedings

PART 1

AWA Desalination Specialist Network – ‘Live’ Members Circle via Zoom around the country and ‘live’ in the SA Water venue for those attending in-person

Matt Hardy, Chief Executive of the office for Northern Water Delivery will present on the Northern Water Project, a 260ML sea water desalination plant and 600km pipeline to deliver climate-independent water to industry in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, Upper Spencer Gulf and Far North.  If approved, Northern Water will enable industry growth including hydrogen, renewable energy, mining, and Defence. Traditionally, lack of climate-independent water has slowed industry’s ability to take full advantage of South Australia’s rich natural assets including strategic and critical minerals, and renewable energy generated by coincident sun and wind resources. 

Then

Delia Pastorelli will present on the latest trends in desalination innovation, focusing on circular desalination plants, especially SUEZ’s Brine-to-Value innovation.

 PART 2

AWA SA Branch Technical Event

Leon van der Linden from SA Water, will provide an owner's perspective of having the Desal Plant, the role of desalination in SA, use of desalination via "Water for Fodder" programme, and will talk about how SA Water use and optimise water resources for the greater Adelaide region etc.

Javier Artal, from Acciona, operators of the Adelaide Desalination Plant (ADP) will provide an overview of operating the ADP, South Australia’s largest Desalination plant

Following light refreshments and a brief networking session,

Peter Reeve of the Adelaide University will guide us through the installation of a demonstration desalination plant in Loxton at Century Orchards, comprising a sustainable desalination brine management process for an agricultural setting.

NOTE:- During the in-person event SA Branch Committee members will take registrations for tours of the Adelaide Desalination Plant, to occur at a later date.

Speaker Profiles:

Matt Hardy, Chief Executive of the Office for Northern Water Delivery.

A passionate advocate for the water industry and the role that water infrastructure plays in ensuring healthy and liveable communities, Matt has recently moved to South Australia with his young family to deliver the Northern Water project for the State Government.

Northern Water comprises a 260 megalitre per day desalination plant and a 600km pipeline to deliver climate-independent water to industrial water users in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, Upper Spencer Gulf and Far North. If approved, the project will enable the growth of critical industries including hydrogen, renewable energy, mining, and defence.

During his career, Matt has led several major infrastructure portfolios, including a trans-tasman major projects role for Downer’s water business, leading the maintenance division at Urban Utilities, and heading up Fortescue Metals’ capital infrastructure portfolio.  Matt is a people person at heart and cares deeply about the role that leaders play in creating a culture that is fun, high-performing, and psychologically safe.

When he’s not at work or with his family, you’ll most likely find Matt riding his bike in the Adelaide Hills, playing the bagpipes, or trying out the local craft breweries.

Delia Pastorelli, Technical Director, SUEZ Engineering and Construction, Australia and New Zealand

Delia Pastorelli is a technical expert in water treatment and desalination with more than 23 years’ experience working in the water industry, bringing innovative solutions to the forefront of projects. Delia has recently moved to Australia with her family and is looking forward to sharing her expertise and learning from new colleagues in the water industry.

As the SUEZ group’s Desalination Lead Expert, Delia is involved in innovative designs from conception to building of prototypes and technologies upscaling. This includes a range of specific equipment such as Intake, Dual Media Filter, DAF, UF and RO membranes, limestone filters, energy recovery and brine recovery.

Leon van der Linden, Senior Engineer in Water Security Planning, SA Water.

Leon has more than 15 years of experience. He is dedicated to ensuring the security of water supplies for SA Water’s customers. Leon holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide and has conducted postdoctoral research at Denmark's Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy. He specialises in future planning through advanced modelling and analysis. He is the custodian of the Headworks Optimisation Model for Adelaide to help build our water supply systems for an uncertain future.

Javier Artal Gonzalez, Adelaide Desalination Plant Manager, Acciona, Trility Joint Venture.

Javier has over 20 years of experience in the desalination sector. Javier was initially involved as Process Design Manager during the construction of the 300ML/d Adelaide Desalination plant and then continued onto the management of the plant, so he has a thorough knowledge of the Adelaide Desal Plant operations. Javier is a chemical engineering graduate from the Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain.

Peter Reeve, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Adelaide.

Peter is a passionate environmental scientist who is keen to better understand interactions between water, human health and the environment through the use of applied research.

His PhD study used experimental approaches to investigate water quality changes during managed aquifer recharge. He is currently working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the One Basin CRC on the project entitled ‘opportunities and risks associated with identifying, sourcing and treating brackish groundwater’.

Neil Palmer, Chief Technical Officer, Osmoflo.

Neil is very well known throughout the global water and desalination industry sectors. He brings with him more than 40 years’ experience in the water industry in Australia covering both public and private sectors and working in design, construction, operations, project development, regulation, research and executive management. In 2015, in acknowledgement of his enormous contribution to the global desalination and water  sectors, Neil was voted No.1 in World Water International Magazine’s survey of the top 25 influential water industry leaders of the world.

Neil’s appointment as Osmoflo’s CTO in 2020 follows a long and successful association with Osmoflo.  Between 2008 and 2010, he was Osmoflo’s National Operations and Technical Manager; a role in which he was responsible for technical development of desalination processes, as well as oversight of the company’s operational obligations and management systems.

 Agenda (all times are ACST)

11:15am – Arrival

11:30am – 12.30pm Part 1; Desalination Specialist Network Member Circle national & in SA Water venue

12.20 - 12.45pm Short Break

12.45 - 2.30pm Part 2; Technical event

2.30 - 3.00pm Networking

Event Details

.Fore more information please contact: 
Mark Jones, Member Engagement Manager 
Email mjones@awa.asn.au | Tel (02) 9467 8413

 Registration Details