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HEADLINE: 8 outstanding YVW innovations

LEAD: A look at the many ways we’ve shaken up the water industry over the past decade.

BODY COPY:

Most people don’t think of the water industry as particular innovative. After all – we basically just pump water into buildings and pump sewerage out, right?

Wrong! Here at YVW, we’ve got 600 of the best and brightest workers in Victoria, and we don’t want any of that lovely brainpower going to waste. That’s why we work hard to create a culture that encourages and rewards innovation and out-of-the-box thinking.

And you know what? It works. Here are just some of the innovative ideas our organisation has developed over the past few years:

Tariff Choice

A world-first trial that rewards water-conscious customers with a 100% volume-based tariff. There are no fixed charges, so the less water you use, the less you pay.

Choose Tap

Our much-loved campaign promoting the health, environmental and financial benefits of choosing tap water over bottled.

Encompassing sports and corporate partnerships, school programs, cafes, community events, public refill stations and a smartphone app, this highly successful initiative has been shared with water utilities all over the world.

Ice Pigging

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Possibly our best innovation ever: we place an adorable piglet on a frozen footpath and watch it slide down.

OK, so actual ice pigging isn’t that cute, but it is still extremely cool. Introduced during the Millennium Drought, the Australian-first technique uses crushed ice to flush sediment out of water mains. Not only does it use half the water of traditional methods, it removes 17 times more sediment.

Waste-to-energy Facility

Our Wollert plant will convert organic waste into energy, reducing emissions, energy costs and the amount of rubbish in landfill. And it turns a profit!

Kalkallo Stormwater Treatment Plant

Kalkallo will be the first treatment plant in the country to produce drinking water from urban stormwater runoff, saving approximately 365 million litres of water a year.

EasyACCESS

EasyACCESS is a self-service knowledge hub for plumbers, developers and DIYers. Packed with all the water-related information you need to build or develop a property, the portal has cut turnaround times to just a few minutes.

Digital Metering

The subject of an ongoing trial in Craigieburn, digital metering helps households understand their water usage patterns and any behaviours driving up the cost of their bill.

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Spray lining

We currently renew about 50 km of water mains every year using a tried and true method: laying new pipes. But that’s generally a big job, which is why we’re working to introduce spray lining to Australia.

This cutting-edge technology quickly and easily forms a new pipe inside an old one, reducing the amount of excavation required and its impact on customers.

What’s your innovation?

Heard about a new technology or process that would help our business? Got a brilliant idea bubbling around in the back of your head that you think might save us money?

Don’t be shy! Bring it up with your team or manager – it could become our next game-changing innovation.