Victoria's South East Water inaugurated as one of the Leading Utilities of the World

Victorian water utility South East Water has been inaugurated into the Leading Utilities of the World (LUOW) network at the recent Global Water Summit in Madrid, a celebration of outstanding utility innovation.

This was the first meeting of the LUOW, in which six new members were inaugurated into the network. The LUOW is a group of public sector utilities who, having been scrutinised by an advisory board, are acknowledged as some of the most innovative utilities in the world. Initiated by the Global Water Leaders Group (GWLG), the LUOW aims to promote innovation within utilities and communication between utilities.

Each prospective new utility member presented their innovations and future plans for innovation to the advisory board and an audience of global water leaders. The advisory board provided structured feedback on the new members’ future plans at roundtables, and then the advisory board members and the new members of the LUOW were presented with the ‘Golden Tap’ trophy at the 2017 Global Water Awards.

“The launch event in Madrid has truly started a ripple effect throughout the water utilities sector,” said Samantha Yates, secretary general of the GWLG. “It is a space where utilities doing remarkable and innovative things can shine a light on their achievements, share their experiences and get involved in an ongoing conversation about how to do things even better — because we always perform better when we work together.”

Advisory Board to the Leading Utilities of the World:

• Chair of the Advisory Board: Howard Neukrug, Senior Advisor, Global Water Leaders Group
• DC Water, USA (represented in Madrid by Biju George, Chief Operating Officer)
• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, USA (represented in Madrid by Kevin Shafer, Executive Director)
• Waterworks Bureau of City of Kitakyushu, Japan (represented in Madrid by Kiyama Satoshi, Executive Director, Water Service Department)
• Water Corporation, Australia (represented in Madrid by Sue Murphy, Chief Executive Officer)
• Public Utilities Board, Singapore (represented in Madrid by Peter Ng, Chief Executive)
• Waternet, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

New members inaugurated in Madrid:

• South East Water, Australia (represented in Madrid by Lucia Cade, Chair)
• Budapest Waterworks, Hungary (represented in Madrid by Csaba Haranghy, Head)
• Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, USA (represented in Madrid by Kishia Powell, Commissioner)
• VCS Denmark (represented in Madrid by Mads Leth, Chief Executive Officer)
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), USA (represented in Madrid by Martin Adams, Chief Operating Officer)
• K-water, Republic of Korea (represented in Madrid by Won Choel Park, Vice President of Overseas Business)