The following awards are presented annually at the NSW conference. WIOA welcomes all members to nominate themselves for the awards below.
This is the most prestigious award presented at WIOA NSW conference annually. The award is presented to operators of water or wastewater treatment facilities to recognise excellent performance, initiative and all-round attention to detail.
The criteria of the winner is that nominees should be employed in New South Wales and should have direct responsibility for operational decisions at community water and wastewater treatment plants, industrial water or wastewater plants.
The following features are taken into account in considering worthy recipients:
- Continuing education/training achievement.
- Overall plant or system management and condition.
- Demonstrated attention to Occupational Health and Safety and other regulatory responsibilities.
- Initiative and innovation, demonstrating improved treatment and efficiency
The completed applications are judged by an independent panel and the winner of the WIOA NSW Operator of the Year Award is announced at the WIOA NSW Conference and Exhibition Gala Awards Dinner annually.
The winner receives a perpetual trophy for their organisation to keep for 12 months plus a personal trophy to keep permanently. The winner also receives a trip to New Zealand to join a study tour and participate in the WIOG NZ conference.
NSW Young Operator of the Year – Bernie Barnes Award
Sponsored by the NSW Department of Planning & Environment
This award, generously sponsored by the Department of Environment & Planning is designed to provide encouragement to young water industry employees by recognising excellent performance, initiative and all round attention to detail.
We invite all employers of operators within NSW/ACT to consider putting in a nomination for one of their “operations staff” to be considered for this Award.
To be eligible for consideration the nominees:
- Must be employed in the NSW/ACT water industry and be aged under 30 years
- Must have been employed in the water industry for less than 5 years
Nominations are judged on submissions from employers covering:
- Commitment to and demonstrating a strong OHS ethic in all work performed
- Commitment to undertaking training and then implementation of skills learned into the workplace
- Commitment to teamwork and following enterprise SOP’s etc
- Commitment to meeting Corporation and regulatory requirements in the course of all work
- Demonstrated use of initiative or suggestions leading to efficiency or safety improvements
- Any other relevant industry-based achievements.
Please provide the following with your nomination:
- One headshot image of the nominee (jpg or similar format)
- One image of the nominee at work (jpg or similar format)
The completed applications are judged by an independent panel and the winner receives a perpetual trophy for his or her organisation to keep for 12 months plus a personal trophy to keep permanently. The winner also receives a trip to New Zealand to join a study tour and participate in the WIOG NZ conference.
The awards are offered as an incentive to encourage “grass roots” operational staff to share their knowledge and experience. To be eligible to win the award for Best paper by an Operator, all authors must be WIOA members, with the Primary Author employed in any sector of the water industry and identify themselves as working in an operational role.
WIOA selects a number of judges at each conference who watch all the presentations made over the two days. They score each of the papers based on:
- The content and layout of the written paper;
- The originality of the ideas portrayed;
- The use of visual aids during the presentation;
- The verbal presentation and whether or not the author sticks to the allotted time; and
- The demeanor of the presenter including how well they answer any questions.
Prizes
At the completion of the paper sessions, the scores are tallied and the winners determined. The prizes are:
- 1st Place: Travel, accommodation and a full delegate registration to attend another WIOA conference in Australia to deliver the paper again (to the value of $1,750)
- 2nd Place: Complimentary delegate registration (non-transferrable) to a WIOA conference of their choice within the next 12 months (valued at $750)
- 3rd Place: Complimentary delegate registration (non-transferrable) to a WIOA conference of their choice within the next 12 months (valued at $750)
This prize is an Open category award with all Platform paper presenters eligible to win, including the winner of the Best Paper by an Operator.
By using the votes from the platform paper judges, the presenter with the highest number of votes will receive the Prize for the Best Paper Overall at the conference.
The prize for the winner is a an all expenses paid opportunity to attend an Interstate WIOA Conference to deliver the paper again (to the value of $1,750)
Best Poster by an Operator
Sponsored by IWES – The University of Queensland
It was recognised some time ago that not all “operations” staff feel comfortable with the idea of standing up in front of their peers and delivering a platform presentation. Others have an idea or a project they have completed which does not provide sufficient information to allow for a written paper and a 20 minute presentation. For these reasons, a Poster Paper section was introduced into the program for the various WIOA conferences.
The Posters use the same qualifying rules as the Papers (non-Bachelor qualified). Each poster author is required to do a short (5 minute) description of their poster in a more relaxed atmosphere on Thursday afternoon. They must also answer any questions about the poster.
Bachelor qualified water professionals are also invited to enter a poster for information sharing however, they will not be eligible to win the prizes.
To be eligible to win the award for Best Poster by an Operator, all authors must be WIOA members, with the Primary Author employed in any sector of the water industry and identify themselves as working in an operational role.
At the completion of the poster judging session, the winners are determined and the winners of the Best Poster Papers will be awarded:
1st Place: All expenses paid opportunity to attend an Interstate WIOA conference (to the value of $1,750)
The Ixom Best Tasting Tap Water in NSW/ACT competition is a fun and exciting way to raise awareness of the quality of NSW’s drinking water and to recognise the efforts of local water service providers in delivering valuable water services to their communities.
The award for the Best Tasting Tap Water will be judged and presented as part of the WIOA NSW Water Operations Conference & Exhibition with the winner announced as having the Best Tasting Tap Water in the State.
All entries must not have incurred a “serious” water quality incident includes protracted periods of poor water quality or boiled water alerts, an event leading to immediate potential public health risks or other break-down of risk-management protocols.
For entrants
- All water providers/councils in the relevant state are invited to participate in the Ixom Best Tasting Tap Water competition.
- All entries must have incurred no serious state or federal drinking water violations during the past 12 months. A serious water quality incident includes protracted periods of poor water quality or boiled water alerts, an event leading to immediate potential public health risks or other break-down of risk-management protocols.
- Entrants must have at least one person attending the Water Taste Tests. This person may be required to provide further information about the sample
and accept certificates or trophies on behalf of the water providers/council if successful.It is hoped that a spokesperson can speak on behalf of the winning sample.
For more information, please contact WIOA on 03 5821 6744, or email [email protected]