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Tēnā koutou katoa

How's your Te Reo use going in this Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week)?

In this week's Pipeline update: find out how to translate your job title using te Reo Māori with our Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2021 – Ngā momo Kaimahi Whakapai Wai poster; register for our lunchtime webinar on understanding the importance of your water networks; read about the power of wastewater testing and save the dates in your calendar for next year's Modelling Symposium, 16-17 March 2022, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington)

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Latest Updates

Māori Language Week 2021 – Ngā momo Kaimahi Whakapai Wai

Waiora Aotearoa (Water New Zealand) is proud to once again tautoko (to support) Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week). This year we have produced a poster to encourage you to learn and share your te Reo Māori job title.

Join the conversation and have a go at translating your job title using te Reo Māori - take a look at our poster and job title resource.


Understanding the performance of your water networks webinar

21 September | Online 

Join us for this free lunchtime webinar with our in-house water geeks Noel Roberts and Lesley Smith. They will talk you through critical questions to understand how well your council's water networks perform, and more importantly, where to find answers.

  • How safe is your drinking water?
  • How much sewage leaks into the environment?
  • What levels of service are customers being provided?

This is a great opportunity to go beyond the three waters reform resources and to track your council's performance with data going back as far as 2008.  This webinar is suitable for a non-technical audience.
 
Register now 


National Performance Review (NPR)

A reminder that our National Performance Review is a great resource to help equip service providers and their stakeholders with accessible and comparable data to identify improvement opportunities. The National Performance Review (NPR) collates and compares water, wastewater and stormwater service provision across Aotearoa New Zealand. 

View National Performance Review 


What's the state of environmental training in your world?

At the 2021 Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference Clare Feeney (Stormwater Professional of the Year 2020) ran an impromptu poll about how the audience saw the state of their environmental training. Every question got raised hands, showing us all the sizeable gaps between what we want and what we’ve got.

Clare is now running the survey for a wider audience. Want to take part? Just click here.


Water is out now

Have you seen the latest edition of Water? Our September/October issue is out now.  Meet the new Taumata Arowai Māori advisory group and read more about three waters reform, treating stormwater in a new Auckland housing development, as well as using rainwater tanks to increase resilience, plus plenty more.

Click here to read 


New flushability standard to help reduce blockages caused by wipes

New draft standards aimed at reducing the costs and environmental damage caused by wet wipes have been released.

Water New Zealand technical manager, Noel Roberts says the release of this proposed standard could not come at a better time - COVID alert levels have increased the use and inappropriate flushing of wipes. In Hamilton, for instance, workers at the Pukete wastewater treatment plant have reported an increase in blockages caused by wipes and other non-flushables.

The proposed new standards follow several years of collaboration between Water New Zealand and Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA), along with water utilities, manufacturers and consumer groups.

Standards Australia/New Zealand is now seeking consultation on the draft standard DR AS/NZS 5328, Flushable Products by 1 November.

See our media release. Read the draft standard and provide feedback


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Waikato 50: Completed in record time.

Watch Video 

Two digital badge learning opportunities

Wastewater 101 -  Digital badge 

We've recently launched our latest Three Waters digital badge - Wastewater 101. Wastewater 101 is a fully online course designed to give those interested in the water sector a basic understanding of how our wastewater systems work. 

For more information and to find out dates for this new course, go to our website or contact Mumtaz Parker training@waternz.org.nz

Drinking-Water 101 - Digital Badge 

We have now put online the rest of this year's Drinking Water 101 - Digital Badge course dates. If you want to complete this fully online course designed to assist you with a basic understanding of drinking water then head to our website and register. 

View module dates

Water New Zealand AGM

22 September | Online 

The 2021 Water New Zealand Annual General Meeting will now be held via Zoom at 10 AM on Wednesday, 22 of September 2021, due to the new rescheduled Water New Zealand Conference and Expo dates. 

If you are a Water New Zealand member and would like to attend please login and register here.  


Virtual Coffee Catch-up 

6 October | Online 

Our next Water New Zealand Virtual Coffee Catch-up is on Wednesday, 6 of October 2021 at 10 AM. This is an opportunity for members to keep up to date with the latest happenings. They’re also an opportunity for members to ask questions and tell us what they think.

Find out more 

Industry News

Wastewater testing for Covid-19

ESR has produced the following documents to help educate the nation on how COVID wastewater testing is conducted. 

ESR Fact Sheet – Wastewater Testing

Covid-19 response Wastewater FAQs

Water system safety in reoccupied buildings

As COVID-19 Alert levels drop, it is important to ensure that the water systems in your building are safe for when people return, especially in the Auckland area as a number of buildings will have been vacant for over a month. When water is not drawn through a building's water system over an extended period, the water becomes stagnant making it potentially harmful to people. 

Click here to find out how to flush a buildings water supply system. 


Mahuta says opposition to Three Waters reform is 'curious'

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has defended the Three Waters reform saying the reforms will allow for jobs in local communities as well as provide for growth and greater cost-efficiency.  

See the interview on TVNZ's Q+A


Wetlands could combat nitrates

The Waimakariri Water Zone Committee in Canterbury is considering a pilot wetlands project which would aim to reduce nitrate, phosphorus, sedimentation and E. coli levels in local waterways, while improving biodiversity in the district.

Read Dairy News article


Consultation on natural wetland provisions

Consultation has started on proposed changes to natural wetland provisions and will run until Wednesday, 13 October. Following stakeholder feedback, the Ministry for the Environment is proposing to make amendments to wetland provisions in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater 2020.

Read more

Your responsibilities for staff working from home 

It is a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU’s) duty to ensure the health and safety of workers, including when they work remotely, WorkSafe warns. Since the Covid pandemic, it has become more common for people to work from home. At home, workers can be exposed to different health and safety risks, including risks to their mental health.

Read Safety News article


Two recently released documents from the Ministry of Environment

National works in waterways guideline

The guideline aims to set the bar for best practice for works in and adjacent to waterways. It provides a clear and consistent approach for councils, government agencies, and construction firms.The guideline will assist decision makers, applicants, contractors and/or persons undertaking the work, making the consenting process more streamlined, consistent and transparent and ultimately providing for better environmental and ecological outcomes.

Read guidelines

Wetland delineation hydrology tool for Aotearoa New Zealand

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 requires regional councils to use wetland delineation protocols to establish the existence or extent of a natural wetland in cases of uncertainty or dispute. The Wetland delineation hydrology tool for Aotearoa New Zealand is the final component of these protocols and has been adapted to New Zealand conditions from the US system used for regulatory purposes. 

Read document

View all news >

Upcoming Events

Water Asset Management Forum 

17 - 18 Nov | Wellington 

With the three waters reform well underway, we will focus on the technical expertise and leadership needed to ensure success, rather than the governance structures and organisations that are currently being developed. We will seek to discuss what we need to be thinking about to ensure Aotearoa New Zealand can deliver safe, sustainable and environmentally appropriate drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.

This conference is a joint Water New Zealand and IPWEA NZ event and the first time we have combined to offer a conference.

Find out more 

Carbon Accounting Guidelines for Wastewater Treatment: CH4 and N2O

23 September | Online 

The Water New Zealand Climate Change group is hosting a webinar on the new Carbon Accounting Guidelines for Wastewater Treatment: CH4 and N20. 

In this webinar, you will hear lead authors, Evie Wallace and John Andrews discuss where wastewater emissions are generated and why they matter, as well as what the guide contains and how it can be applied. You'll get answers to your questions and find out about the next steps. 

    Find out more 




    Water New Zealand Conference & Expo 

    19-21 October | Hamilton 

    The 2021 Water New Zealand Conference & Expo is now scheduled for Tuesday 19 – Thursday 21 October. This year’s three waters reform pre-conference workshop is now scheduled for Monday 18 October. We are excited to bring you two and a half days of keynote and invited speakers, thought leadership and technical streams and a major trade exhibition with more than 180 exhibitor stands. 

    Find out more 


    The Cultural Significance and Importance of Water Module

    28 October | Christchurch 

    This module includes a half-day in-person session in Christchurch on 28 October, followed by five online sessions with presenters and guests speaking on topics such as Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Te Mana o te Wai, decision frameworks and empowering organisations.

    Register online 

    2021 Waterways Postgraduate Student Conference

    3 November | University of Canterbury

    Registration is now open for the 2021 Waterways Postgraduate Student Conference to be held Wednesday 3 November, 9-5 pm, Tī Kōuka, Haere-Roa, at the University of Canterbury. The Conference highlights postgraduate student freshwater-related research underway at both the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University. 

    If you are a postgraduate student wishing to present, abstracts are due SEPTEMBER 30th and can be found here.

    Find out more 


    Workshop: Commercial Vermicomposting of Organic Waste 

    16-17 November  | Taupō

    This interactive workshop is designed to both inform and demonstrate all aspects of how commercial Vermicomposting (Worm farming) can successfully reduce the Organic Waste volume dumped into landfills in New Zealand.

    The workshop will have a range of presentations with case studies from food and fibre processing industries, councils, tourism operations, office buildings, resthomes and more. 

    Find out more 


    Modeling Symposium 2022 

    16-17 March 2022 | Wellington

    We are excited to announce that next year's Modelling Symposium will be held in Wellington on 16-17 March 2022. More information is to come in the next few months. 


    Stormwater 2022

    18-20 May 2022 | Christchurch 

    Save the dates - Stormwater 2022 will be held at Te Pae, Christchurch Convention Centre on 18 - 20 May 2022. This is the largest stormwater conference in New Zealand, run annually by Water New Zealand. Over the years, the Stormwater Conference has evolved to include a three-day conference programme and an exhibition. 

    More information is to come in the next few months.

    View all events >

    Job Vacancies

    Environment Southland

    River Management Analyst

    We have a truly unique opportunity to be a part of that and make a difference for Murihiku as a River Management Analyst, applying new and cutting edge approaches to the way in which Environment Southland manages the region's rivers.

    Find out more 


    Otago Regional Council 

    Team Lead - River Management 

    If you’re looking for job interest and challenge and would enjoy the outdoors lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with the Otago environment of rugged coastlines, spectacular mountains and alpine lakes, this position could be right for you.

    Find out more 

    River Engineer 

    Apply your specialist river engineering knowledge to provide technical input into asset and river activity management planning, consenting and compliance, project delivery, maintenance and operations.

    Find out more 

    Wellington Water 

    Chief Advisor 

    This position will be the key expert in stormwater and climate change resilience and adaptation and will bring technical leadership across the organisation. You will provide sound strategic advice and innovative thought leadership to respond to critical issues and risks.

    Applications close 27 September 2021

    Find out more 

    Customer Planning Engineer 

    In this role, you will be responsible for the investigation of more complex issues and project management the resolution process. You will lead or support reactive maintenance or critical response.

    Find out more 



    Napier City Council 

    Three Waters Programme Engineer

    The 3 Waters Program Manager is responsible for programming the delivery of an ambitious capital works program over the next three to five years, delivering major transformations in our water, wastewater and stormwater networks.

    Find out more 

    View all Jobs >