10 Nov 2021
Several highlights in TasWater's eighth year
Winning the Best Municipal Water in the World for 2021 and the significant acceleration of the capital works program are just some of the key highlights from TasWater’s 2020/2021 Annual Report.
Released today, the report acknowledges many achievements the organisation has reached since its formation in 2013 and reflected on some of the challenges it continues to face.
TasWater CEO Michael Brewster said overall the report was pleasing.
“In its eighth year of operations, TasWater celebrated several major achievements that will provide the foundation for sustained success over coming years as the business continues to deliver towards its vision – to be trusted, respected and making a positive difference in Tasmania,” Mr Brewster said.
“A significant highlight was when water from our Rossarden Water Treatment Plant (WTP) won the 2021 award for the Best Municipal Water in the World back in June.
“This was the first-time water from Australia won this prestigious international title, which was awarded just over three years after the town had its Do Not Consume public health notice removed.”
In the last 12 months, several projects have also been started or successfully completed which will all lead to improved water and sewerage infrastructure across the state.
“We have officially completed the Latrobe Sewerage Network upgrade and augmentation, the Wellington Street Sewage Pump Station (SPS) upgrade in George Town and the Prince of Wales Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) primary digester roof replacement in Hobart,” Mr Brewster said.
“Great progress has also been made at our Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant upgrade which is an important capacity improvement for the greater Hobart area.”
“Our financial results were better than expected due to the forecast impacts of COVID-19 not materialising to the extent expected. As a result, our adjusted net profit after tax was just over $45.7 million, which is $30.7 million higher than the prior year. The higher-than-expected profitability meant that we were also able to pay dividends of $10 million to our Owner councils."
“We have managed the challenges of COVID-19 successfully to date, part of our response was standing up a Business Recovery Team with a focus on continuity of services for our customers during changing circumstances of the pandemic.”
While there are many positives, fluoride compliance performance remained well below target for 2020-21 due to ongoing issues at several dosing stations. This does not pose a risk to public safety, and options continue to be explored to improve our performance in this area.
“But pleasingly we have had improvements in health and safety results over the last year following a disappointing result the prior year. We have also seen a 21 per cent reduction in total complaints and improvements in customer satisfaction,” Mr Brewster said.
“We acknowledge there is more work to do in a number of areas across our business, but
TasWater is already well placed to respond as a result of the progress that has been made in recent years.”