Conference Papers | 2004 Victorian Conference Papers

WIOA President's Message 2004

Welcome to the 67th Annual Victorian Water Industry Engineers and Operators Conference.

The organisation of an event such as this requires the input, time and dedication of many people. Thank you firstly to North East Regional Water Authority for acting as host and major sponsor for this conference, and also for the ongoing support of WIOA. The assistance of the City of Wodonga is also appreciated.

Work commenced on this event even before the 2003 conference finished and we are already well on the way of organising 2005. The conference as you see it today is the culmination of 12 months of effort and planning, and each year it seems to get bigger and better. This is all thanks to these very devoted people who work diligently away in the background with many of their efforts probably going unnoticed to the majority of conference delegates. The WIOA Committee Members, and in particular our Secretary, George Wall, are deserving of a huge pat on the back for the excellent job that they do.

Ron and Cheryl Bergmeier and staff from Australian Pollution Engineering deserve special praise for their continued efforts in organising the trade exhibition. This is the 16th consecutive year they have done this job and believe me, the workload is enormous. The first formal trade exhibition was staged at the Shepparton conference in 1989 with 19 exhibitors present. This year we had enough room for 137 exhibitors and the fact that more than 80 booths had been filled at the time of producing this report is testament to the esteem placed on attending this conference. It is clear that under Ron and Cheryl's dedicated guidance, this trade exhibition has developed into one of the premier Australian water industry events for companies to showcase their products and services, and is now a key element of the conference program.

Although there was a modest increase this year, the registration fees for this conference are able to be kept low due to the support and generosity of a number of Major and Associate sponsors. To all our sponsors we say a big thank you and we encourage all delegates to keep the products or services of these companies in mind when undertaking your respective jobs.

Without wishing to offend any of our other valued sponsors, it is important to recognise the contribution of some long standing supporters of this event. The Water Sector Services Branch of DSE has contributed to the printing of this conference manuscript for many years and allows the production of what we see as a valuable water industry resource. The Victorian Branch of AWA has assisted with the distribution of information and publicises this event extensively on our behalf. In addition, the AWA sponsored Water Industry Operator of the Year, Wal Whiteside Award, has been presented at the conference annually since the award's inception in 1980.

Actizyme has sponsored the prizes for Best Papers by WIOA members for the past 12 years and the Water Industry Training Centre is sponsoring the 'Poster Paper' section for operators for the seventh consecutive year. These awards have been provided as an encouragement for operators to document the great work they do on a day to day basis, and then to communicate this to the delegates at the conference. Doing the job comes easy, it is the communication part that is a daunting prospect to a number of operators.

I would like take this opportunity to thank all the companies who have come along to be part of the Trade Exhibition and I encourage all delegates to support them by introducing yourselves and having a look at what is on display at their sites.

In conjunction with the trade exhibition will be the "Conference Competition" ably organised by Peter Tolsher. The way the competition works is that teams of three people must visit a set number of trade sites. At each site, the team will be asked to perform some sort of a challenge and the team will receive a score depending on how well they do. At the end of the conference, the points will be tallied and a number of fantastic prizes will be distributed to the winners. The competition has created a lot of interest in the last couple of years with a number of teams and trade exhibitors participating so make sure you get involved.

It is appropriate to also give a plug to the Annual Water Industry Charity Golf day. The 2003 event was held at the Trafalgar Golf Club in November on Melbourne cup weekend, with a large contingent of players teeing up. A big thank you is extended to the corporate sponsors of the day, many of whom are also exhibiting at this conference, as a sizeable sum has been raised for charity. The winner of the Tradies Cup played for by the event sponsors was Ray Wiseman representing Thiess Services. The next golf day will be held at Trafalgar GC on Sunday 31st of October 2004. Put this date in your diary right now, get out your clubs and brush off the cobwebs, and we'll see you all there.

To the WIOA Committee I give my unreserved praise for the manner in which you have all gone about your tasks and contributed to the continued success of the Association. Committee members give much of their own time to attend meetings and functions, and to carry out their duties. In praising the Committee, I would like to also thank their employers and families for supporting their efforts.

As usual, thank you to all the people from the industry who have come along as delegates. We thank you for your support and request that you pass on our gratitude to your employer for allowing your participation. Please make the most of this opportunity to network with your fellow water industry colleagues, listen to the papers and check out the posters, browse through the trade displays, and make sure you increase your overall level of knowledge. These are the main aims we have for the conference and we hope that you will take the opportunity to achieve them.

The 2005 conference will be held in Bendigo, enjoy the conference in Wodonga this year, and hopefully we'll see you all again next year.

John Harris
WIOA President