Major water conference fills accommodation, 'showcases city'

Some 220 delegates are attending the three-day Local Government NSW water management conference at the Veolia Arena. Goulburn Mulwaree Council won hosting rights in an expression of interest process.

The gathering united council representatives from all over NSW, other managers of water utilities, industry experts and consultants. On Wednesday, July 24, state water minister addressed the conference and her shadow counterpart, Steph Cooke spoke to delegates the following day. Federal environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, addressed the forum on Tuesday via video-link.

Mayor Peter Walker said the conference was a chance to showcase Goulburn.

"We can show people what we've done to manage drought and floods, our upgraded wastewater treatment plant and our water re-use scheme," he said.

The latter will irrigate treated effluent on the city's sporting fields and the racing track.

Cr Walker said he and CEO, Aaron Johannson had arranged to meet Ms Jackson in two weeks at the Country Mayors meeting in Sydney. In part, they will discuss weed and debris clearance from the rivers around Goulburn.

The mayor, utilities director, Marina Hollands and planning director, Scott Martin participated in a panel discussion on Thursday, July 25.

The former two spoke about water management during the millennium and other droughts, construction of the 81km Highland Source pipeline in 2011 to shore up water security, community compliance with water restrictions, the wastewater treatment plant's upgrade and the re-use scheme.

Cr Walker said in his former career as a club CEO, one of his hardest jobs was to convince a television interviewer in the mid 2000s that Goulburn hadn't run out of water.

"The perception was you couldn't do anything...The economic hit on falsehoods destroyed our community for quite some time," he said.

The mayor said droughts were scary things and water was "the most precious commodity." He praised staff for the work they'd done since to secure water supply and pointed to the city's growth in more recent years.

However Cr Walker told the crowd that state's methodology to project regional growth were "wrong" and this in turn posed infrastructure funding challenges. State government

"It's unfair on our communities. If you're not using the right growth figures, it gives the opportunity to who ever is in power to set an amount of money (for infrastructure)," he said.

"At Country Mayors and Regional Cities (meetings) we are continually going back to the state government and asking for a better way."

Cr Walker argued that everyone wanted housing and growth but it placed pressure on water. He said Goulburn was starting to "skyrocket," a position of which he was proud.

Ms Hollands said the council had learnt from past regarding necessary water management strategies, and described the Highland Source as an integral part of the system.

She referred to past, costly measures that didn't necessarily achieve the desired outcome.

"Water security is always at the back of our mind...It frustrates some that we don't sell water outside the (council area) but we've learnt from the hard times," she said.

Earlier, Ms Hollands told The Post that Goulburn Mulwaree was placed well in terms of water security. Data presented at the conference showed it was not among the 50 water utilities severely affected by the 2017/18 drought.

"We were very careful in the way we managed our water and we did well during that drought. It really set us up well to services our community."

Ms Hollands said the conference was a good opportunity to learn about other councils' strategic planning and "where to from here."

The forum was also a chance to advocate on issues like disaster assistance for water and sewerage infrastructure damaged during storms. Currently they aren't covered.

Mr Martin spoke about Goulburn Mulwaree's 2020 housing strategy and the Highland Source's impact on growth.

While Goulburn's population had been declining, the "wheels on growth began to turn" with a secure water supply."

The housing strategy is a blueprint for how development is serviced and managed.

"Our experience recently tells us we may be only one or two large industrial proposals away from reaching our capacity with our water and sewer, depending on what's planned and where," he said.

"That's why it's important to complete our strategic framework and understand where we're headed in the future."

Local Government NSW president, Darriea Turley, said the conference was one of the most important forums.

"It's an opportunity to share new and emerging science, information about better management, a sustainable future and future planning around water utilities," she said.

She cited workforce shortages, better preparation for drought, infrastructure funding and government lobbying as key challenges.

On another note, Ms Turley, a self-confessed 'history buff,' praised Goulburn for its heritage management, particularly facade retention. She described the city's Performing Arts Centre, which hosted a welcome reception on Tuesday, as one of the region's "secrets."

"I'm planning to spend time walking around and looking at these buildings because they're just magnificent," she said.

The conference also included a dinner on Wednesday night at the Goulburn District Racing Club and site visits.