WaterRA Members' Meeting

Viridis is a new member of WaterRA and were pleased to attend our first members' meeting in February. This was a fantastic experience, to be in a room with so many people passionate about water quality and the research that they were doing.

Students from the WaterRA Education Program presented the findings from their research in one of the first sessions. Every presentation was engaging and there was some really interesting work being done. I now have a new appreciation for algal floc!

The last session of the day was on some of the challenges and opportunities facing rural and remote Australia. We started with an interesting comparison between electricity and water supply and if the innovation and new technology in the energy sector could be be replicated in water. Photovoltaic cells and batteries are changing the power supply model from central generation and distribution to a web of micro generators and storage. However, the main difference between power and water is not everyone has access to a reliable source of water, whereas wind and solar energy are free and universally available.

We heard how NSW Health are working to assist regional and remote utilities manage drinking water quality through the implementation of drinking water quality management plans. Viridis is proud to have assisted NSW Health in this project and has seen how it has provided vital support to utilities. We also heard about the South Austrialian experience. In contrast to NSW where there are many utilities, SA only has one. So although they have similar issues with remoteness, they don't experience some of the capacity issues.

It was an excellent introduction to WaterRA and I'd like to thank the other members and participants in making me feel so welcome.

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