Sydney Water’s

Research & Innovation Strategy

Towards 2020 and beyond

Navigating this StrategyMD Preface 3

Research & Innovation (R&I) Overview

• Strategy Roadmap 4

• Overview of R&I Themes 5

Context setting

• Drivers of Change 6

• Enabling Technologies to Drive Innovation 7

Defining Research and Innovation 8

• Scales of Innovation 9

Creating an Innovation Ecosystem 10

• Fostering Innovation 11

▪ Technology Evaluation and Adoption 12

▪ Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing 13

▪ Building Capability 14

• Enterprise Wide Initiatives

▪ Customer Experience 15

▪ Digital Disruptors and Enablers 16

▪ Data Analytics and Intelligence 17

• Strategic Partnerships 18

2

R&I Governance

• Fit for Purpose Governance 19

• R&I Governance Framework 20

• Intellectual Property Management 21

• Benefits Realisation 22

• Measuring Our Success 23

Detailed R&I Themes (challenge areas, priorities and case studies)

• Delivering Safe and Reliable Water 24

• Enhancing Assets and Operations 26

• Protecting and Enriching Natural Waterways 28

• Improving Treatment and Resource Recovery 30

• Enabling Resilient and Liveable Cities 32

Figures

1. Technologies that will shape future innovation 7

2. Indicative investment distribution 8

3. Turning ‘Challenges into Changes’ – Scales of Innovation 9

4. An enterprise wide innovation ecosystem 10

5. Three keys elements of fostering innovation 11

6. Strategic research partners 18

7. Governance Framework 20

What would the perfect water utility look like? Would water pipes never corrode,

break or leak? Might every ounce of useful material in wastewater be recovered

and reused? Perhaps that utility would be self-sufficient in energy and generate

no greenhouse emissions? Or do we seek the ideal balance between this

technical excellence and our affordability, delivering the optimum value for

customers and stakeholders? Whatever our vision of ‘perfect’, investment in

research and innovation is vital to unlocking the potential of Sydney Water’s

vision of being ‘the Lifestream of Sydney for generations to come’.

In this document, Sydney Water’s Research and Innovation Strategy 2018 sets

out a vision and roadmap supporting Sydney Water’s journey to 2020 and

beyond. We are proud of our past achievements in research and innovation, but

realise we can’t stand still. We must continue to change, adapt and embrace new

technologies and a culture of innovation.

Our R&I program is our insurance policy against future risks and as our path to

taking advantage of the opportunities of the future. With this approach, investing

in research and innovation enables us to take control of our own destiny and

build our brand as a world class utility, delivering essential services to our

customers and our communities.

We are continually exploring innovative ways of doings things, monitoring

emerging technologies and global megatrends so we know what’s ahead. Some

great examples of research areas we are already exploring include: energy self-

sufficiency, resource recovery from waste water, city cooling to mitigate urban

heat, smart asset networks and sensors to optimise operations, smart pipes that

tell us about breaks and blockages before they happen, and new materials for

nano-filtration and self-healing pipes.

The future is coming, ready or not. Investment in research, and a commitment to

innovation, will give Sydney Water its best chance of being ready.

Kevin Young

Managing Director

3

Draft R&I Strategy _Exec MoS 12 July, 2018 4

Overview of Research & Innovation Themes

1. DELIVERING SAFE AND

RELIABLE DRINKING WATER

2. ENHANCING ASSETS &

OPERATIONS

3. PROTECTING AND ENRICHING

NATURAL WATERWAYS

5. ENABLING RESILIENT &

LIVEABLE CITIES

4. IMPROVING TREATMENT AND

RESOURCE RECOVERY

We are constantly improving our water

quality management and monitoring

systems to ensure we continue to

provide high quality, safe and reliable

water to today’s 4.9 million customers

now and in the future.

To build our resilience, we will need to

understand the long-term challenges

that face our growing city and the

contribution of water to delivering

improved liveability outcomes for our

current and future customers.

We will look for sustainable treatment

solutions, incorporating the recovery of

valuable material from our wastewater,

managing the impact of our waste

products, and reducing our carbon

footprint.

We will contribute to healthy waterways

and clean beaches that our

communities can continue to enjoy. To

achieve this in a dynamic and rapidly

growing city will require new and

innovative ways of operating in a

holistic catchment approach.

To meet customer expectations, we

are striving to improve the performance

and extend the life cycle of our assets,

as well as increase the efficiency of our

operations using advanced analytics

and intelligent technologies.

and the

• Understand the long-term

impacts on raw water quality to

ensure treatment capacity

• Optimise treatment and

disinfection practices to minimise

disinfection by-products and

ensure protection of public health

• Identify and understand emerging

contaminants of concerns in

drinking water

• Optimise and identify laboratory

techniques, for microbial source

tracking

• Develop alternative water

supplies.

• Enhance current and future

service standards to improve and

extend asset life

• Improve workplace health and

safety

• Optimise lifecycle investment

decision making to enhance

reliability of services

• Improve smart monitoring,

sensing and proactive

maintenance to improve

customer service.

• Understand emerging

contaminants of concern to

protect the receiving environment

• Implement smarter monitoring

processes to understand the

impact of wastewater on the

environment

• Incorporate a whole of

catchment approach to protect

our waterways and improve

liveability for our customers

• Optimise decision support tools to

predict environmental impacts

from our operations.

• Identify energy generation and

reuse opportunities to produce

new value added products and

services

• Identify and trial new emerging

technologies, processes and

novel chemicals to optimise

water and wastewater treatment

• Identify resource recovery

opportunities to contribute to the

circular economy.

• Support the creation of climate

resilient assets to meet future

servicing and liveability

• Explore new technologies,

materials and design to achieve

urban cooling

• Test and evaluate scenarios to

explore new approaches for

future servicing

• Improve energy efficiency and

investigate alternative energy

sources options

• Explore new technologies for

water efficiency and water

sources to conserve water.

Transforming the way we do business through Research and Innovation and inspiring our people to create a better future with our customers

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Industry recognition from our R&I program: we strive to influence and

help shape the industry’s direction, while gaining industry recognition.

Leveraging our investment: we share the risk and cost of research with our

partners so that for each $1 we spend, $5 worth of research occurs.Implementation of R&I outcomes: we aim to see completed research projects result in

adoption and practice change.

Innovation Effectiveness Index: we will identify the key elements of effective

innovation and collaboration and assess our performance against these elements.

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Drivers of Change

Technology and disruption

We have all seen many advances in other

industries where technological disruption

has taken place – the rise of the internet,

advanced robotics, automation and artificial

intelligence. As new technology emerges

and challenges the way we do things, we

will need to be ready for future disruption

and agile in the adoption of new

technology.

Value for money

We must run our business skilfully to meet

the affordability expectations of both our

customers and regulators.

This means we must better manage our

networks and facilities, even as our assets

get older and our city grows. We will need

to work with our stakeholders to balance

future service offerings with our

customers’ willingness to pay.

Policy, regulation and

competition

Potential changes to government policy

on competition, asset recycling,

privatisation, pricing and property

development increasingly challenge our

business. We must continue to work with

our regulators to inform new policy and

regulation which benefits our customers.

Customer expectations

We have a broader community duty to

protect the water supply and ensure our

services are reliable for generations to

come. We must think differently about

how we operate and deliver services, if

we are to meet the expectations of our

customers, which may include greater

access to our land and waterways.

Population growth

By 2056, Sydney’s population will have

increased by 70% to nearly 8 million. This

will transform the city and its need for water

services in supporting liveable cities. We

will need innovative approaches for both

water quality and quantity management to

meet future demand.

Climate change

With the likelihood of increased intensity,

frequency and duration of fire, storm,

heatwave and flood events, we must be

able to adapt our infrastructure and

operations. This will include managing our

future water supply and quality of the raw

water available. This will challenge our

treatment processes and our reliance on

less expensive surface waters as our

primary water supply.

Energy transformation

We are likely to see a worldwide transition

to renewable energy in the near future, so

we must prepare now by pursuing energy

efficiency, reducing carbon emissions,

adopting new energy technologies, and

generating our own renewable energy.

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Changes in urban form

Changes in the urban form and land use

will have a significant impact on the

planning of water services and the role of

water in delivering broader environment

and community benefits. This will drive the

need for more integrated urban planning

and understanding the role of water,

energy, transport and other services in

future development.

Enabling Technologies

to Drive Innovation

Technology is an integral and essential part of driving change in the

way we do things. As technology becomes more accessible, more

reliable and progressively cheaper, the future world will be shaped by

advances in both physical and digital technologies at an accelerating

rate.

Technological advancements offer considerable benefits to Sydney

Water and can revolutionise the way we design, build and operate

our water and wastewater networks.

Technology can also provide the basis for faster, more efficient and

better-informed decision making. It can produce significant

improvements to standards of customer service and create new and

better ways for us to interact with our customers. The success of its

uptake will also be dependent on the social acceptance of new

technologies by our customers and our people.

Sydney Water is embracing research into technologies to take

advantage of the opportunities of the future. Some examples of the

technologies we will explore through this strategy are shown in Figure 1.

We will explore game-changing and disruptive technologies like

artificial intelligence and advanced robotics to improve services to our

customers and transform our business. We will collaborate with

manufacturers, universities, other research agencies as well as across

our own organisation and the wider water industry to develop, trial and

implement the most promising technologies. Figure 1. Technologies that will shape future innovation

Artificial Intelligence

Advanced Robotics

Advanced

Materials

Autonomous Systems and

Vehicles

Renewable Energy

Next Generation Genomics

Cloud Technology

Internet of Things (IOT)

4D Printing

Blockchain

Automation Energy

Storage

Wearable technology

Intelligent Sensors and

Instrumentation

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Defining Research and InnovationWhat is Research and Innovation (R&I)?

Research and Innovation is the end to end process of creating new knowledge

and its implementation into the business

▪ Research is the application of the scientific method of systematic experiment, observation

and deduction to discover new knowledge and/or new uses for existing knowledge, and to

inform evidence-based decision making.

▪ Development involves exploring the ways in which new knowledge can be applied in the

form of new products, services or approaches.

▪ Innovation is doing things in new and different ways that creates value for our

customers and the business.

Through this Strategy we are deliberately shifting from our historical focus on research and

development towards a broader enterprise perspective of innovation and change.

How will we go about delivering R&I?

We need to invest in R&I over three horizons, as described below and shown in Figure 2:

Horizon 1: the short term, where we are looking for “what’s broken now’. This is a 1-5 years

timeframe and will represent 60% of our investment.

Horizon 2: the medium term, where we ask ‘how can we extend our core business and meet

emerging opportunities’. This is a 5-10 year timeframe and will represent 25% of our

investment.

Horizon 3: the long term, where we ask ‘what are the longer-term business challenges and

explore those that will disrupt our business’. This is a 10 year + timeframe and will represent

15% of our investment.

Scales of Innovation

Similarly innovation, and its companion disruption, may be expressed in terms of

three scales of magnitude and complexity (Figure 3 illustrates the concept):

Little ‘i’: continuous or incremental improvement programs often leads to little ‘d’

disruption: improvements to how we do things we already do.

Medium ‘I’: evaluate, implement or adapt existing and available solutions to

current and emerging challenges, may lead to medium ‘D’ Disruption: entirely

new ways of doing things we already do.

Big ‘I’: Research to invent or develop new knowledge and/or solutions that do

not exist at the present time can lead to Big ‘D’ Disruption: major changes to

what we do, even redefining or undermining our existing business paradigm.

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*As recommended by Snape report, 2016

Horizon 1Short term

60%

Horizon 2Medium term

25%

Horizon 3Long term15%

Figure 2. Indicative investment distribution*

Organisational and Business Drivers

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e.g. research or new

knowledge required,

development of novel tools,

methods or solutions

Challenge, Opportunity, Idea, Problem to Solve

Small ‘i’ innovation

Continuous Improvement,

Incremental Innovation

Desktop identification and

evaluation of candidates Research, development,

refinement of potential solution

Executive Direction Strategic/Regulatory Customer Need Industry Trends New Idea/Discovery Business/Uni Partner

Medium ‘I’ Innovation

Solution exists and can be

bought/licensed in

Big ‘I’ Innovation

No solution exists – a new

solution must be created

e.g. process simplification,

minor adjustments to improve

efficiency

e.g. license new or bespoke

software, buy new hardware or

process technology

Trial and evaluate solution at

small scale

Adoption and Practice Change, Implementation at full scale, Evaluation of Benefits

Trial and evaluate solution at

small scale

Trial and evaluate solution at

small scale

Turning ‘Challenges into Changes’ – Scales of InnovationFigure 3.

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Innovation Ecosystem

At the heart of the Research and Innovation Strategy is the ‘why’ we must innovate. Sydney Water must create

new value in its business, for our customers and the community, now and into the future. This includes

operating and capital efficiencies, new products and services and building our internal and external brand. Each

of these help build our organisational resilience to challenges that we will face in the future.

We will also need to contribute to shaping our city and explore potentially radical and disruptive business

models and technologies that will be commonplace in a future world. These naturally come with a higher degree

of risk and reward, but are key to making some of the biggest breakthroughs in the future delivery of services for

our customers. Executive commitment to a culture of innovation and the creation of a ‘safe-to-fail’ environment,

are necessary to overcome our naturally risk averse mindset and organisational inertia.

In this context, the Science, Research and Innovation (SRI) team scientifically assesses the new knowledge

that exists outside Sydney Water and matches it with the research needs to create knowledge and better ways

of doing things for Sydney Water to use.

We have already developed a track record of innovation in our science research program that has seen

‘game changing’ outcomes for the business. Examples include new materials that can be used to improve

water treatment, the use of satellite inspection of the water quality of our catchments, new sensors that can

survive in aggressive sewer environments and treatment technologies which will greatly reduce our carbon

footprint, while improving our effluent quality.

It is important that we continue to drive innovation through our research and build ‘one culture’ that enables

innovation. This will be a journey over a number of years and one that we need to take together with leadership

and support from the top down. It must remain integral to our Corporate Strategy, so that it becomes our

business–as-usual way of doing things. This will include establishing closer connections across our business

in the customer, digital and data analytics spaces to build a stronger innovation ecosystem, as shown in Figure 4.Figure 4. An enterprise-wide innovation ecosystem

Sydney Water is an innovative utility that has been recognised globally for its leading edge programs in research. Innovation has been, and will always need

to be, an important part of how we do things.

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Customer experience

Science Research & Innovation

Data Analytics and Intelligence

Digital Disruptors and Enablers

Fostering Innovation

Collaboration & knowledge

sharing

Building capability

Technology evaluation &

adoption

Fostering innovation means, as an organisation, we need to be agile and responsive to changing demands

and emerging risks and opportunities. We must build our resilience to future shocks and take full advantage of

new ways of doing things, while making timely and targeted investments along the way. The business needs to

encourage and promote new research initiatives that could be potential ‘game changers’ for the organisation.

Fostering innovation will be achieved through three key areas as shown in Figure 5:

1. Collaboration and knowledge sharing: multi-disciplinary collaboration and partnering arrangements with

research, industry and government providers. Sydney Water has a strong track record of delivering large

collaborative research projects with state, national and international partners, where we effectively leverage

our investment and knowledge to deliver benefits for the broader water industry. We will expand our internal

and external communications about research and innovation, both to build public awareness and corporate

reputation, and to attract the best and brightest staff and collaboration partners.

2. Technology evaluation and adoption: horizon scanning and evaluating emerging technologies through

desktop reviews, site visits and pilot trials is an integral part of discovering novel approaches to our treatment

and network challenges. It also ensures that we have a more complete understanding of the implications for

the business, including any pitfalls, costs and maintenance requirements before the organisation commits to

full implementation.

3. Building capability: within and outside the organisation is also essential to creating an innovative workplace.

We have a strong history of supporting university student development through involvement in our research

projects. Internally, we also want to promote and support the development of new research ideas, wherever

they may come from within the organisation and create ‘intrapreneur’ groups to generate and assess

opportunities.

Reward and recognition will be used to encourage engagement in innovation activities, with a commitment to

keeping ‘idea originators’ involved and informed as their ideas progress.Figure 5. Three keys elements of fostering innovation

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Technology Evaluation and Adoption

Technology Evaluation

Sydney Water faces many challenges, but also has many opportunities to enhance our performance in areas such as energy

efficiency, resource recovery, asset management, analytics and automation. While we should continue to conduct research

and development projects to develop new knowledge, resolve unanswered questions, and manage risks, many solutions to

our current challenges already exist and can be bought or licensed.

Our approach to technology evaluation starts with clearly defining the problem or challenge that a solution needs to address.

We then aim to identify, evaluate, trial, and implement the most suitable existing solutions, in collaboration with key end-

users and project sponsors.

In consultation with all relevant stakeholders, we will continue to evaluate emerging technologies through desktop reviews

and technology platforms, facilitating pilot trials of promising technologies which meet our needs, and exploring their potential

application within Sydney Water. Key elements of our technology screening program are delivered through our membership

of the Technology Approval Group (TAG) and Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) programs.

Applying our methodical research mindset, we will steer scientifically sound trial design and ask the right questions at the

outset. By gathering the right data, and analysing trial results, we will ensure new technologies are robustly validated,

giving the business confidence to implement innovative technologies at full scale.

Adoption and Practice Change

In the past, adoption of new technology and research outputs has represented a challenge in our highly traditional and

regulated, risk averse utility, often limiting or delaying the realisation of the benefits of innovation.

By taking a new approach to the implementation of project outputs, we intend to reduce and overcome such barriers to

adoption of new technology and research findings and, in the process, amplify the benefits of our research and technology

evaluation programs.

Through deeper engagement with project sponsors and end-users, from project initiation to close, and by extending the role

of project managers into the adoption stage of research and evaluation projects, we will increase the proportion of research

and evaluation projects that result in real change in our business operations. This will also allow us to gather more

substantial data on the before and after state, and the benefits arising from our investment in research and technology

evaluation, closing the loop on the business case by demonstrating the real business value of research and innovation.

Case Study – Trialling wearable technology

Hindsite is a visual intelligence technology platform which

facilitates the use of wearable camera/screen devices to

bring hands-free augmented reality technology into the

workplace. Other potential uses include live see-what-I-see

calls, incident management, environmental reporting, training

and fatigue monitoring.

Evaluation and Adoption – The SRI team engaged with

senior managers in Civil Delivery to assess the potential

applications for the platform using digital eyewear. The

‘smart’ glasses enable staff in the field to transmit what they

see to a control centre or another technical specialist at a

separate location, making it possible for a group of specialists

to see and advise on a field issue without getting them all on

site. Information can also be fed back to the field team

through the eyewear. Several field supervisors, maintenance

staff and technicians were engaged to explore this

application and to consider other potential applications for

this technology. Full scale implementation would entail

access to cloud and internal data services as well as

integration with our suite of mobile phones.

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Case Study – CRC-P Smart linings for pipes and

infrastructure

One of the largest research collaborations in Australia

Sydney Water is partnering with the Water Services Association of

Australia who are leading this international project, investigating

innovation into smart lining for pipes and infrastructure.

The Australian Government, through the Cooperative Research

Centre, has funded $3M of this project valued at $24.1M over three

years. It brings together the crucial national and international

partners in the innovation supply-chain, to develop and

commercialise smart lining products for the water industry.

The partnership comprising 30 project partners, including a team of

manufacturers and applicators, 11 Australian water utilities, three

universities (Sydney University, Monash University and University of

Technology, Sydney) and two international research bodies (US

Water Environment and Reuse Foundation and UK Water Industry

Research).

Sydney Water plays a key role in governing the program of works

and is contributing significantly to the project investment. The project

has the potential to create new revenue streams and could

conservatively contribute over $4B to the Australian economy over

the next five years. Strategically, it’s expected the initiative will

position Australia as a global leader in smart water infrastructure

design, engineering, testing and management.

Collaboration and Knowledge

SharingWhy we collaborate

Fostering innovation will be achieved through multi-disciplinary collaboration and partnering arrangements

with research, industry and government providers. We have a strong track record of delivering large

collaborative research projects with state, national and international partners, where we effectively leverage

our investment and knowledge to deliver benefits for the broader water industry.

We have collaborative research agreements in place with a number of industry associations and centres of

excellence across the world. This investment gives us access to external research capabilities and important

links to national and international R&D. Several projects within the R&D portfolio attract significant external

co-funding and leveraging from industry partners, universities, centres of excellence and state and federal

government sources.

Our collaborations also include data and information sharing arrangements, the provision of water and

wastewater samples to support external research projects, joint presentations and papers and nominations for

state, national and international awards.

We are also looking to further extend our collaborations outside the water industry, such as oil and gas,

mining, aerospace and automotive, to leverage knowledge and technologies that have potential application to

the water industry.

The benefits of collaboration

Collaboration enables us to be smarter, more effective and more efficient by:

• Delivering solutions to problems or challenges which are common to all of us

• Connecting us with relevant expertise and building our networks

• Building relationships and leveraging more from our investment

• Enabling us to do more with less ($ and resources)

• Enabling us to attract government funded research grants

• Building knowledge and capability for the water sector and other sectors

• Engaging with a diversity of views and knowhow to drive innovation.13

Building Capability

Developing capability within and outside the organisation is essential in creating an innovative workplace.

We have a long history of supporting student development through involvement in our research projects. An

example is final year university engineering students working on a range of both strategic and operational

projects. A number of these students have become applicants for Sydney Water’s Graduate Program,

continuing the innovation journey and ensuring the next generation of the workforce is both equipped and

committed to pursuing leading edge research.

We currently interact with seventeen local and international universities and have initially developed a

Memorandum of Understanding with four key universities, University of Sydney, University of NSW, Western

Sydney University and the University of Technology, Sydney. The purpose is to have a long-term strategic

collaboration based on shared values and challenges and agree to work together for mutual benefit to:

• build industry and university capabilities

• improve the partners operational and business performance

• improve university student outcomes and opportunities

• facilitate staff talent and capability development opportunities.

We are also developing a university engagement framework so we can have a more strategic relationship

with universities, with good governance and consistency in approach, that builds trust and advocacy

between both parties and an effective two-way working relationship.

Internally we engage and share knowledge, enhancing the capability of Sydney Water teams. This engagement

has demonstrated how the culture has changed to adapt to innovative approaches engaged with the wider

world. We have developed our teams to be more outward looking to learn, adapt and innovate to meet our

needs. We are collaborating with our teams in the West Ryde laboratories to develop new methodologies and

tools for water quality monitoring in our catchments and waterways (partnering internally and externally).

We are transferring skills, knowledge and tools that have been developed from research projects across into

the different businesses, creating value and adding business insights. An example of this is the

collaboration with Data61 who are providing data analytics research and development expertise, while Sydney

Water is providing data and industry knowledge (see highlighted case study).

Case Study – Success in data analytics

Working with CSIRO Data61

Sydney Water is taking an enterprise wide approach to building an

analytics capability within the organisation. This approach enables

predicting the likelihood of certain scenarios or events, such as a pipe

failure and supports a pro-active response to these situations as

quickly and efficiently as possible. Implementing analytics can help to

identify and interpret contributing factors in these scenarios or events.

Once these factors are investigated and comprehended, it is possible

to mitigate them if they lead to detrimental or disruptive events or

enhance them if they result in positive situations.

There are currently six collaborative research initiatives being

undertaken with CSIRO Data61 that use advanced data analytics and

have developed tools for; improving pipe failure prediction of water

mains; customer segmentation and demand analysis; predicting critical

factors related to preventing corrosion in sewers; intelligent network

optimisation; predicting sewer chokes and prioritising active leakage

detection areas.

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Customer

ExperienceAt the core of our customer experience strategy is our customer promises:

• Every day – we promise to be a reliable part of our customers’ every day by

delivering great water and wastewater services.

• Every time – We promise to make it easy for our customers every time we

interact; no matter how, when or why we come in contact.

• Everyone – we promise to make every one of our customers proud by giving

them a voice in what we do, and playing our role in creating liveable

communities.

We build the trust and loyalty essential for us to meet our future challenges by

keeping our customer promises. Although we provide a reliable service that

meets our customers’ “every day” needs, we are making significant changes to

consistently keep all our customer promises including:

• a new customer management system that will modernise our customers’

digital experience

• the development of the Customer Hub, a state of the art operational centre

for managing our response to customer service outages

• a new platform for listening to and actioning customer feedback across our

customers’ journeys

• engagement with customers to better understand their values and

preferences so we can make customer-centred decisions

• applying new ways of working such as human centred design, lean and agile

to develop innovative solutions that address customer pain points and unmet

needs through the CX Lab.

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The digital disruptors events are all-day affairs

hosted in the main foyer of our Head office to

create a disruptive and creative space for staff to

develop new and disruptive ideas.

Teams known as disruptive tribes and tackle key

business challenges presented on the day.

Disruptive ideas are subsequently presented to

the “Tribal Council”.

Digital Disruption – In Motion

Digital disruption is a movement aimed at

changing the way people think, to be disruptive

and challenge the norms of business processes

to drive positive changes.

Digital Disruption – A Movement

Creating a lasting movement and cultural mind

shift in delivering disruptive and innovative results

to drive Sydney Water into the digital future.

Key Outcomes

Disruptive Thinking

The digital disruption movement aims to not only

empower our people, foster workplace innovation

and promote disruptive thinking but to create a

lasting movement and cultural mind shift that will

take Sydney Water to be the Lifestream of Sydney

for generations to come.

Digital Disruptors

and EnablersSydney Water’s resilience in the digital age will be heavily predicated on the

disruptive environment we create today to foster innovation and drive the

delivery of new digital capabilities to enable the business now and in the future.

Digital Disruptors will not only create this environment but drive a cultural

movement to shift the mindsets of employees across the business to be

disruptive in day to day work. This disruptive movement will create new and

effective ways of conducting business to improve our overall efficiency and

deliver delightful customer experience.

Through disruption and digital enablement Sydney Water has already

developed cutting edge tools and operating model platforms such as the spatial

hub engine driving the innovation-laden Customer Hub, and are developing the

valuable customer insights that empower our customers to have greater positive

experience.

We will continue to excel together with our business through digital disruption

and enablement so our people have the right technologies and capabilities to

work smarter and allowing our customers, people and assets to be more

digitally connected.

Our current developments on Internet of Things, analytics, cyber protection,

cloud and Integrated Systems Platform, are delivering greater business

opportunities as we can better manage our performance including customer

insights, asset utilisation and peoples’ safety and wellbeing. We are able to

seize new opportunities, better manage our risks, and beneficially prepare our

organisation for the digitalisation of Sydney Water in years to come.

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Data Analytics

and IntelligenceWe are combining our scientific expertise, operational knowledge and customer

understanding, with data to deliver evidence based decisions - from operations

to policy to plans to strategy. We’ll use analytical methods to generate foresight

to support a growing, productive, liveable, sustainable and resilient city.

Analytics enables the business to learn from the past, understand causes and

effects, and generate foresights of the future. We strive to understand what

drives change, and how they impact our business. Analytics ranges from

standard reporting to predictive modelling and forecasting to optimisation. It

relies on data, systems, and knowledge. We’ll collect the right data, in the right

way and analyse it using the most appropriate analytical methodologies. We’ll

work to embed analytics into all phases of decision making in the organisation.

We are working with the Greater Sydney Commission and other planning

agencies to advocate for the interests of our customers - both current and future

- so that it becomes part of Government service provision and infrastructure

planning. Critical to this is the sharing of insights and projections to support

interagency planning. We will be working with stakeholders to ensure

consideration is made of the links between global and city trends with water

demand and supply, waterway health, wastewater discharges, and the way we

operate in the future. Key focus areas include the delivery of analytics to:

• inform decisions and policies to support the long-term water supply-demand

balance and infrastructure planning for the Greater Sydney region

• improve our understanding of our customers to provide better services now

and in the future

• underpin science research across the five program areas

• enable proactive, targeted management of our networks and operations

• better understand weather and climate related impacts.

Everyday, weather plays a role in the way we operate our systems and serve our customers.

Understanding what the weather could be next week, next month, next year and beyond, and

what it means for our services and customers, helps us to be more prepared for future risks.

We are working with experts from the Bureau of Meteorology and the University of New

South Wales to improve the incorporation of weather and climate data, forecasts and

projections into the business. Key work includes:

• building in up-to-date weather observations and forecasts into operational systems

• filling gaps in weather forecasts to enable proactive planning

• understanding the impact of climate change on water demand.

Weather and climate program

Industry and

Government

Strategic

PartnershipsWe partner with the government and private

sector, universities and water industry both

nationally and internationally (Figure 6). Our

partnerships are based on shared values,

challenges and mutual understanding of

desired outcomes from that collaborative effort.

We leverage our investment many-fold and

accelerate our business capability and capacity

through access to global innovation. We are

members of the Australian water industry body,

Water Services Association (WSAA) which

connects the urban water sector through a

structure of Committees and Networks.

We also have strong links to many Australian

water utilities through collaborative research

projects which address utility challenges.

Through our build-own-operate (BOO)

partnerships with Suez, Veolia and Trility, we

access leading edge research and innovation both

locally and internationally for mutual benefit. BOO

Fellowships improve our understanding of

emerging technologies and approaches to

enhance plant operations and build business

capability.

Australian Water Utilities

BOO PartnersUniversities

Figure 6. Strategic research partners18

‘Fit for Purpose’ Governance

Sydney Water has a fit for purpose governance approach to the research and innovation pipeline, ensuring effective end-to-end management from ideation to value

capture. Our governance objective is to be only as firm as necessary to ensure prudent expenditure, and as ‘light touch’ as possible in order to avoid stifling creativity. In this

context, ‘end to end’ refers to a streamlined process where teams form early and remain vested until the transfer, adoption, and benefits phase is complete. The research and

innovation pipeline comprises a pre-concept stage and six stage gates along an innovation continuum. Stage gates are a necessary part of the governance process to ensure

strategic investment of time and money is managed without affecting the flow of ideas through the pipeline and into the business. Technology transfer occurs throughout

the project as key milestones are met.

The six phases (as shown in Figure 7) are concept, feasibility, design & planning, evaluate & monitor and control, close, and transfer, adoption and benefits. There is also the

pre-concept stage where new ideas are generated in a top-down (strategic) and bottom-up (continuous improvement) approach.

1. Concept - An idea is proposed, that must align with the R&I strategy, while delivering benefits and balancing the level of risk.

2. Feasibility - Once the concept brief has been endorsed, the project may progress to the feasibility stage. Here, a feasibility brief must be drawn up, while also assigning

sponsors and end-users to the project. Ideas are formulated into initiatives that are prioritised on the basis of the risks to project delivery, the size of the customer and

enterprise reward, and the level of investment required. A panel determine whether a concept progresses to the next stage. Concepts that do not progress may be

Recycled (looked at again later), Refined (improved for later consideration) or Retired.

3. Design and Planning - A project proposal is completed, along with confirmation of procurement, legal and budget. A project is created, and approval documentation is

completed.

4. Execute, Monitor and Control - Contracts are created, executed and managed. The project is planned according to budget, scope and timeline. There is regular

engagement with the sponsor/end user. The project is monitored and reported on, and the benefits realisation plan is executed.

5. Close - The contract closes, and an adoption plan is executed. A post implementation review is completed.

6. Transfer and Adoption - The implementation is ongoing until outcomes are embedded into business-as-usual processes and or benefits are fully realised.

The project team and sponsor work with the end user or business to transfer the knowledge, outputs and outcomes to realise the benefits for adoption.

19

R&I Governance FrameworkMeasurement

and Reporting

Business Planning Process

Research and

Innovation

Governance Group

Strategic Partnerships and Delivery Partners

Figure 7. Governance Framework

BOO partners

Technology

providers

SWC internal

External

research &

industry

partners

Water utilities

Peak bodies

1. Concept 2. Feasibility3. Design &

Planning

4. Execute, Monitor & Control

5. Research

Close

6. Transfer &

Adoption

Research program

areas

20

Recycle, Refine, Retire

Intellectual Property Management

Sydney Water has, and will continue to, create and use a wide range of intellectual property (IP) resources. Like all IP created and used by Sydney Water, this IP is managed in

accordance with our Intellectual Property and Commercialisation Policy, and the NSW Government Guidelines on Managing Intellectual Property. Our objectives are to:

• Ensure we have the IP rights to conduct our business (Freedom to Operate)

• Avoid infringing third party IP rights

• Maximise the benefits of our IP assets for the people of NSW.

During the term of this R&I strategy, we will continue to develop and use new IP, ensuring that the three objectives are met. Where we collaborate with universities and companies, we

will continue to take a firm but fair approach to IP ownership and usage rights. And where possible, we will seek to maximise our reputational and commercial benefits from new IP

through a balance of publication and commercialisation of our IP.

Through our approach to evaluating third party technology, we will also gain access to IP developed by other companies and universities in Australia and overseas, and will support

inward licensing of IP that will enhance the quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of the services we provide to our customers.

Case Study – Commercialisation of inventions

In the past, Sydney Water has patented a number of

inventions, which have gone on to be sold or licensed

for financial return. Sydney Water’s Pochodyla Plug

generated tens of thousands of dollars in royalties,

while a monoclonal antibody, developed with

Macquarie University for detecting cryptosporidium

oocysts, has earned nearly a million dollars in royalties.

Current inventions that have or will yield a royalty

return include the Portable Disinfection System (a.k.a.

the ozone trailer) and its associated ozone detection

system, and the AdaptWaterTM climate risk analysis

software.

Case Study – SCADA systems

We already operate an advanced and complex SCADA

Network (IICATS) comprising specialised telemetry

and software systems. We are also engaged in the

development and implementation of constant upgrades

and improvements. In the course of this process, we

have shared our own code libraries with a software

developer, allowing them to deliver on our needs, but

also enabling their own product development. To

achieve a fair ‘exchange of value’, Sydney Water

consented to the use of our libraries for product

development in exchange for favourable commercial

terms and recognition of our contribution, achieving

both financial and reputation benefit for Sydney Water.

Case Study – Wet well pumping

Some ideas and inventions are not practical for SW to

patent, but are useful enough that we wish to ensure

no one else does either. In 2016, Sydney Water

network technicians developed an approach to filling

and emptying wet wells which markedly reduced wet

well cleaning costs. Rather than seeking to protect or

retain this IP, we decided to publish the results and

offered to share the details of the method, adding to

our reputation for innovation around the world while

eliminating the risk that patent trolls could impede our

freedom to use this method in the future.21

Benefits realisationA complexity noted by Australian universities and governments, and which remains true for Sydney Water, is that the outcomes

and benefits of research and innovation activities may only become apparent some years after a specific project has been

completed. Technology transfer, adoption of innovation, and practice change by the business are key hurdles to

realising the benefits of any research investment. It is also worth noting that research and innovation always carries an element

of risk, meaning that not every research and innovation project will be successful.

The benefits arising from a research and innovation program ultimately contribute to improved outcomes for the business

and the services we provide for our customers. Benefits can be grouped into three main categories:

• Financial (cost reduction, cost avoidance, or cost deferral)

• Risk management (understanding and avoiding / mitigating adverse events and their probable costs), and

• Reputational (enhancing the value and resilience of Sydney Water’s brand).

Estimating the exact contribution of the research investment to the above benefits is difficult to quantify as the improved business

outcomes may be the result of many contributing factors, However, as shown in the accompanying case study, estimates and

assumptions regarding the impact of research can be made.

A holistic program approach to measuring the benefits of investment in the research program is necessary, as well as an

understanding that risk avoidance and mitigation projects are best viewed as insurance against adverse outcomes.

This Strategy outlines three key steps to ensuring that benefits from our research investment are managed end-to end, from the

project concept stage right through to implementation and ongoing validation and adoption to business-as-usual practice. These

include:

1. Expected benefits identification - Identifying suitable value measures which reflect each project’s challenge, opportunity,

or risk, and using these to estimate expected benefits during project prioritisation phase.

2. Technology transfer throughout the project - Proactively managing technology transfer after the research phase of each

project is completed.

3. Actual benefits identification - Supporting and monitoring adoption over an extended period of time (months to years) in

order to observe changes and measure actual benefits arising from the completed project.

Reporting on realised benefits will be delivered on a (6 and 12 monthly) basis, with the aim of providing Sydney Water

management with confidence that our investment in research and innovation provides a measurable benefit well in excess of the

budgeted cost of the program.

Case study - The Advanced Condition Assessment

and Pipe Failure Prediction project

The Challenge - to improve the assessment and prediction of

why critical water mains fail. This has been a six year research

project in which Sydney Water has invested a total of $6M with

15 partners, with a total investment of $16M.

Outcomes and benefits – Project outcomes have contributed

to the deferring of capital investment from $40M/year over the

next five years. The level of confidence of decision making has

improved by 20%, contributing to this capital deferment.

A further investment of $4M over 3 years has been made to

further validate research outcomes within the business. The

estimated benefits from this further investment are:

• Reduce critical water main (CWM) renewal costs by 4%

($5M) within the 2016 - 2020 CWM renewal program and

inform the 2020-2024 CWM renewal program.

• Improve customer satisfaction and assurance of investment

decisions

• Provide a process platform for continuing improvement

through advancing knowledge of pipe failure

• Further benefits will come from a new project where

research to protect pipes with improved linings will enhance

infrastructure and operations with new materials.

22

Industry recognition for our R&I program

We have a strong track record of industry recognition in research and innovation. This

has occurred through our strong collaboration with other research and industry partners to

secure external research grants, such as Australian Research Council (ARC) grants and

Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) project funding. We have also received many state,

national and international awards for key research initiatives. Industry recognition has also

come from our journal publications and conference papers and industry-wide

presentations. Our industry recognition will be reported on an annual basis.

Measuring Our Success

Implementation of R&I outcomes

This strategy will continue addressing the need for end to end execution of research and

innovation within the business. This is likely to further formalise both investment and

resourcing to realising the benefits of research outcomes. We estimate that about 40% of

our R&I portfolio will be targeted to developing new knowledge that helps the business to

develop its medium and long term strategic needs. The remaining 60% will include new

technology assessment, developing and validating tools and approaches, and embedding

outcomes into business as usual practice.

Leveraging our investment

Our ability to lead is fundamental to leverage investment thus ensuring we can maximise

our research investment, share the risk and cost with our research partners and tackle

larger, more complex project challenges. Maximising our leveraged investment will be

continued through accessing external government funding programs, direct funding

arrangements with project partners, national subscription programs such as WSAA, Water

RF, Water Research Australia and other shared funding with our other research, industry and

technology partners. We share the risk and cost of research with our partners so that for

each $1 we spend, $5 worth of research occurs. We will also continue to extend the

reach of our R&D tax incentive program to ensure that we fully capture R&D efforts across

the business.

Innovation Effectiveness Index

Innovation is already a part of how we do things at Sydney Water, but it needs to grow

and develop at an enterprise-wide level. Through this strategy, Sydney Water aims to

better connect and embed innovation across the business and create an innovation

ecosystem that brings siloed innovation activities together into a collaborative and

progressive environment and culture. To measure our success, we will identify the key

elements of effective innovation and collaboration (e.g. ideas into projects, projects into

practice change, sponsor satisfaction, benefits measurement, staff, customer and

stakeholder feedback) and assess our performance against these elements, and combine

into an Innovation Effectiveness Index for Sydney Water.

We will continue to ensure that this strategy optimises Sydney Water’s investment in research and innovation and that our portfolio delivers on the key

business priorities outlined in our Corporate Strategy. The Strategy will have four major performance measures, reported annually, to assess its

implementation and ensure that our program is focussed on doing the right research in the right way, so that the business can realise the benefits.

23

Delivering Safe and Reliable WaterWe are constantly improving our water quality management and monitoring systems to ensure we continue to provide high quality, safe and reliable

water to today’s 4.9 million customers now and in the future.

What we are doing now

We are investigating the impact of climate change on raw water quality, specifically the nature of natural organic

matter (NOM) in raw water and the subsequent impact on water treatment processes, to ensure our treatment plants

can meet demand and quality requirements.

We are driving research to understand the impacts of our disinfection processes. With a focus on enhancing our

disinfection processes and managing an effective disinfection residual ensuring a balance between customer

aesthetic and public health requirements.

Understanding new and emerging contaminants of concern, and the potential risk to our customers from these

contaminants. We monitor and scan for emerging risks to identify risks to customers, determine early intervention

strategies and develop treatment requirements.

We are investigating automation and control to optimise water treatment processes and distribution system

management.

To enable the identification of the source of pathogen contamination events and further protect public health we are

progressing new techniques and tools such as microbial source tracking. Enabling the capabilities of the

laboratories to undertake these methods.

What we will need to do

We will need to maintain a watching brief on emerging contaminants, focussing on fully understanding impacts on

our product and services and the flow on effects to our customers.

We will need to investigate and characterise potential new water sources, including potable reuse of

wastewater and sewage to meet future demand, continue ensuring we have diversity of supply and deliver safe and

reliable water in the future. This will include identifying innovations in direct potable treatment processes.

These activities will ensure Sydney Water is able to contribute to the development of national drinking and

recycled water guidelines and fully participate in the discussion around use of alternative water sources.

Case Study – Improving raw water quality treatment

and capacity

Poor raw water quality and increased levels of coloured NOM

impacts the performance of our water filtration plants,

reducing the volume of safe drinking water that can be

provided by the plant. To maximise the plant’s capacity,

Sydney Water, in collaboration with UNSW and SME

Instrument Works have developed a world first instrument to

measure floc strength in our water treatment plants. It

enables the optimisation of treatment chemical use and

maximises water production at the plants, particularly after

heavy rain.

The instrument is designed to address water treatability but it

is also robust and easy to use, making it suitable for use by

our operators in the treatment plants. The instrument is

currently being used and validated at Nepean Water

Filtration plant.

Top view of floc strength instrument24

Deliv

eri

ng

Safe

an

d R

elia

ble

Wate

r

Research areas & key outcomes Short-term horizons 1-5 years Medium term horizons 5-10 years Longer-term horizons 10 years+

Understand the long-term

impacts on raw water quality to

ensure treatment capacity is

maintained

• Understand the impact of changes in NOM present in

source water to maximise the capacity of our treatment

plants and to ultimately develop early warning systems e.g.

ARC linkage project.

• As a first step in maximising treatment plant capacity

refinement and installation of floc strength instrument into

WFPs.

• Research new and novel treatment technologies such as

novel polyelectrolytes and graphene.

• Understand potential impacts of the release of carp virus

on water quality.

• Understand the contribution of climate change to

the formation of recalcitrant NOM.

• Understand the contribution of climate change to

emerging risks such as algal, macrophytes and

raw water quality.

• Predict and prevent water quality events

which impact on treatment processes.

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of

source water quality and Sydney Water’s

ability to respond rapidly to change.

Optimise treatment and

disinfection practices to ensure

balance between formation of

disinfection by-products and

protection of public health

• ARC linkage project on nitrification to better understand our

water chemistry and the role of microorganisms on our

disinfection processes.

• Develop a chlorine decay model specific to Sydney Water

networks.

• Facilitate the implementation of the chlorine decay

model, including automation and online control to

optimise disinfection.

• Investigate alternative water treatment processes

and practices to minimise the formation of

disinfection by-products.

• Treatment process, ensuring pathogen

removal, which do not result in the formation

of disinfection by-products.

Identify and understand

emerging contaminants of

concern in drinking water

• Engage with WSAA working groups to develop industry

position on contaminants of concern.

• Articulate Sydney Water’s position on opportunistic

pathogens, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS),

microplastics and nanoparticles in drinking water.

• Keep a watching brief on emerging contaminants.

• Develop treatment and management options for

high-risk contaminants.

• Investigate rapid online identification methods for

chemicals of concern.

• Drive industry and regulatory changes to help

identify and manage chemicals of concern.

• Robust practices to identify and manage

contaminants of concern and re-emerging

pathogens.

Optimise and identify laboratory

techniques, for microbial source

tracking and identification of

contamination events

• Investigate molecular techniques for source tracking of

microbial contamination.

• Understand the characteristic and contribution of non-

faecal derived Escherichia coli isolated from raw waters.

• Characterisation of microbial contamination risks in

Sydney Water’s source waters, using accurate

faecal derived indicators.

• Investigation of the development of on-line

monitoring for microbial contamination events,

based on molecular techniques.

• Robust, on-line detection of microbial

contamination events.

• Routine use of microbial source tracking

techniques to undertake risk assessments

reducing public health risks.

Develop alternative water

supplies

• Investigate potable reuse as an alternative water supply

option, identify research gaps and scientific barriers to

implementation.

• Investigate stormwater as an alternative water source.

• Identify the required treatment criteria for the full

range of recycling options, including stormwater

and potable reuse.

• Provide input to and influence the development of

guidelines and regulation for potable reuse.

• Comprehensive understanding of alternative

water sources into Sydney Water’s water

supply portfolio as required by the changing

supply and demand balance.

• Development of robust and reliable treatment

processes to use alternative water sources. 25

Enhancing Assets and Operations

What we are doing

We are using advanced condition assessment techniques and intelligent sensors to improve our ability to

monitor the performance of both our water and wastewater systems. The research areas include robotic inspections

and the use of novel sensors to monitor critical water mains and concrete sewers.

We are looking at ways to improve workplace health and safety for our workforce including using robotics for sewer

inspections, lighter materials for transport and handling, wearable technology coupled with virtual and augmented

reality for lone worker applications.

We are investigating and trialling new methods and materials such as smart linings and geopolymer concrete to

extend the life cycle of our existing assets and improve asset reliability to minimise service interruptions and

disruptions to our customers.

We are using better monitoring systems and techniques along with advanced data analytics to optimise the

operation of our networks, including main failure prediction and sewer choke modelling.

We are contributing to new standards and designs to promote the development of more innovative products and

services and facilitate their adoption.

What we will need to do

To allow better targeted preventative maintenance and renewals, reduce costs and enhance the reliability of our

services we will focus on further development of intelligent online monitoring capability to improve our ability to

accurately predict the condition of our assets and their performance.

We will work to develop intelligent automated online sensing integrated with improved systems learning to facilitate

timely operational decisions and corrective actions to improve the efficiency of our services.

We will investigate the use of innovative materials, including those with self-sensing and self-healing capabilities

built in during the design and manufacturing stages to improve asset performance/reliability and to reduce the need for

entry to assets.

Case Study – Using robotics to inspect critical

water mains

This project aims to build two sets of pipe condition

assessment tools: one for rapid internal deployment and

response in the event of a water main break, and the other

for planned internal condition assessments of water pipes.

Three prototype systems have been designed, built and

evaluated. These consist of two main components; a

driving cart and a sensor module. Traversing the cart along

the pipe, motion of sensor modules and data acquisition

are all controlled by the electronics placed inside a water

resistant on-board computer enclosure. Sensing is

accomplished by means of enhanced Pulsed Eddy Current

(PEC) technology capable of high speed measurements.

Prototypes have been deployed in the Strathfield pipe

testbed and another operational pipe in Hector Street,

Canterbury-Bankstown for preliminary field testing.

Prototype testing in an in-situ pipe test-bed and view of robot.

To meet customer expectations, we are striving to improve the performance and extend the life cycle of our assets, as well as increase the efficiency

of our operations using intelligent technologies and advanced analytics.

26

En

ha

nc

ing

As

se

ts a

nd

Op

era

tio

ns

Research areas & key

outcomesShort-term horizons 1-5 years Medium term horizons 5-10 years Longer-term horizons 10 years+

Enhance current and

future service

standards to improve

and extend asset life

• Collaborate with private industry to enhance innovation during design.

• Trial new lining materials for renewal techniques e.g. CRC-P Smart

linings for pipes and infrastructure.

• Trial alternative options to inhibit corrosion of sewers.

• Incorporate novel materials in the design and

manufacture of assets.

• Engage with stakeholders to modify trade waste

discharge standards to reduce corrosion and odours.

• Develop self-healing materials for critical

assets.

• Adopt next generation asset standards

and specifications and influence the

wider water industry.

Improve workplace

health and safety in

operations

• Use of robotics for sewer inspections to minimise the need for access

by workers.

• Use drones for sewer outfall and other asset inspections.

• Trial wearable technology for lone worker applications.

• Evaluate potential impacts of climate change on workplace practices.

• Investigate the use of new lightweight materials to

facilitate transport and handling.

• Test advances in technology and methods such as

augmented and virtual reality to improve worker

safety.

• Explore automated and remotely

operated technologies to minimise

worker exposure to hazardous

conditions.

• Next generation intelligent workplace

safety monitoring and management

technologies (people and assets).

Optimise lifecycle

investment decision

making to enhance

reliability of services

• Optimise parameters for managing water and wastewater networks

(e.g. disinfection, demand energy and chemical dosing)

• Improve critical asset failure prediction for water and wastewater

assets using data analytics to understand long term performance.

• Improve prioritisation of active leakage detection and small diameter

pipe renewal programs using data analytics.

• Review of asset redundancy to improve reliability.

• Investigate condition assessment methods for stormwater assets.

• Explore modular decentralised treatment plants.

• Consider novel climate change adaptation options.

• Explore disruption distribution technologies for pipes

and chemicals (in-pipe treatment)

• Use of next generation data analytic tools and

techniques to predict asset performance.

• Develop monitoring and mitigation strategies to

control the critical factors relating to asset reliability.

• Investigate measures to protect stormwater assets

against the impact of climate change.

• Better or fully remote silt removal for sewers.

• Data integration of critical infrastructure

data to facilitate urban planning.

• Research into innovative climate

resistant design of assets and

operational protocols.

• Develop new workplace procedures as

an adaptation to climate change risks.

Improve smart

monitoring, sensing

and proactive

maintenance to

improve customer

service

• Identify emerging sensor technologies for water and wastewater

networks.

• Intelligent monitoring of water and wastewater networks to improve

both network operation and product quality.

• Monitor diurnal flow variations in sewer networks to provide early

warning of chokes.

• Intelligent asset condition assessment and monitoring for better

targeting of maintenance and renewals.

• Build intelligence towards partial automation of treatment plants.

• Identify state of the art smart metering technologies including data

management and transmission options.

• Intelligent asset monitoring to provide efficient

maintenance and timely intervention for sewer

chokes.

• Develop smart monitoring devices for asset

performance and product quality.

• Use of emerging technology to automate a pilot

wastewater treatment plant.

• Investigate full automation and control of networks.

• IoT trialled and in practice.

• Intelligent monitoring and self-aware

systems that are potentially self-healing.

• Automated robotic driven sensing and

maintenance technology on sewer and

water mains.

• Artificial intelligence embodied in water

and wastewater systems.

• Full automation of water and wastewater

treatment plants.

27

Protecting and Enriching Natural Waterways We will contribute to healthy waterways and clean beaches that our communities can continue to enjoy. To achieve this in a dynamic and rapidly

growing city will require new and innovative ways of operating in a holistic catchment approach.

What we are doing now

We are supporting and driving research to understand the role of treated wastewater as a pathway for contaminants of

concern to enter the environment. We are keeping a watching brief as knowledge and experience grows around the use and

application of these contaminants, including but not limited to per fluorinated compounds (PFAS), microplastics,

nanoparticles, endocrine disruptors, fragrances and antibiotic resistance.

We are reviewing and refining our environmental monitoring programs to ensure they are based on the best available

science and deliver high quality data to drive targeted improvements to our operations. This includes trialling new methods

and technologies such as drones, stable isotopes, passive samplers and microbial DNA.

We are collaborating with our stakeholders to incorporate a whole of catchment approach into our planning and processes

to achieve the best environmental outcome. This approach will enable us to accommodate growth in Western Sydney, and

protect the health of our waterways.

Using our state of the art models to simulate hydrology and water quality across the Hawkesbury Nepean, Sydney Harbour

and Botany Bay catchments, we are providing quality science based support to inform our decisions.

The impact of climate change has the potential to detrimentally affect Sydney’s waterways by increasing the likelihood of

algal blooms and macrophyte growth. Using new technology and collaborations with experts, we are identifying the

source of the nutrients so we can better target management strategies.

What we need to do

We will invest in monitoring and modelling tools to predict environmental impacts, enabling us to be more proactive in

our management decisions.

We will continue to proactively scan for potential threats, scientific risks, emerging issues and new emerging treatment

technologies and materials, to ensure we are well positioned to address these risks and safeguard our natural assets.

Using a whole of catchment approach we will incorporate integrated water cycle management in our planning decisions to

accommodate growth and enhance liveability.

We will investigate new approaches to improve the resilience of Sydney’s waterways.

Case Study – Using drones to survey nearshore

outfall ecological communities

We have recently trialled using drones to survey the

ecological communities on rock platforms adjacent to

nearshore wastewater treatment plant discharge locations.

These sites are currently not surveyed due to inaccessibility

and/or safety concerns.

This new method involves collecting images using drones

equipped with both a high resolution 12 megapixel camera

and a multispectral camera, generating an orthomosaic by

automatically merging images by detecting common features,

automatically classifying the land use types and overlaying a

quadrat to determine the percent cover of algal growth using

specialised software. The surveys can be repeated at exactly

the same location to track the change in percent algal

coverage overtime.

This new method will improve staff safety and allow Sydney

Water to comply with our environmental protection licences,

using a repeatable cost-effective method.

28

Pro

tec

tin

g a

nd

En

rich

ing

N

atu

ral

Wate

rways

Research areas & key

outcomesShort-term horizon 1-5 years Medium term horizon 5-10 years Longer-term horizon 10 years+

Remain vigilant in our

understanding of

emerging

contaminants of

concern to protect the

receiving

environment

• Engage with our environmental regulators, the water industry and key

stakeholders to understand the risks and implications of emerging

contaminants in wastewater, biosolids and reuse, and the potential

impact on the environment.

• Map our catchments to understand the source of contaminants from

customer to catchment including trade waste.

• Explore new approaches to identify emerging contaminant risk.

• Support Sydney Water’s laboratories to develop new accredited

methods for emerging contaminants where economically viable.

• Develop cost effective technologies and approaches to

reduce key contaminants of concern to appropriate levels

during the wastewater treatment process.

• Understand and predict the long-term bioaccumulation and

impact of chemicals of concern.

• Investigate rapid online detection for high risk contaminants.

• Influence and support technical solutions for source control.

• Explore resource opportunities to capture and harness

chemicals that can be used beneficially.

• Continuous scanning for

identification of contaminant risk

in water, wastewater,

stormwater and biosolids.

• Develop source control

measures for high risk

chemicals.

• Improve monitoring technologies

to inform contaminant risk.

Implement smarter

monitoring processes

to understand the

impact of wastewater

on the environment

• Review and update our environmental monitoring programs to better

target the impact of wastewater discharge on the environment.

• Trial new technology to identify the source of nutrients under different

climate conditions.

• Investigate smarter ways to undertake environmental monitoring to

protect worker safety.

• Collaborate with all NSW state and local government stakeholders to

coordinate and maximise monitoring efficiency.

• Investigate the application of advanced automated monitoring

through use of unmanned aerial and underwater systems.

• Investigate and install rapid online monitoring sensors at

optimal locations as an early warning system.

• Investigate the impact of variable flow discharges and

concentrations to reduce our energy footprint.

• Support the development of an online water quality database

for our stakeholders and customers.

• Robotic inspections of our

receiving water environment.

• Maximise resource recovery and

reuse from our deepwater ocean

outfalls in conjunction with

higher quality discharge to the

ocean environment.

• Zero discharge to sensitive

waterways as appropriate

Incorporate a whole

of catchment

approach to protect

our waterways and

improve liveability

for our customers

• Develop clearly defined water quality objectives and sustainable loads

for key zones in all Sydney’s waterways that receive wastewater.

• Identify the role of diffuse versus point source nutrients in

eutrophication in key waterways during different climate cycles.

• Investigate instream processes to fully understand Sydney Water’s

influence on algal and macrophyte growth.

• Investigate the feasibility and application of wetlands and other natural

treatment systems to improve waterway health.

• Investigate and quantify the impact of both wet weather overflows and

stormwater on the receiving environment.

• Identify and integrate the greening and liveability of South Creek in line

with our customers values into the planning process.

• Explore new, innovative and cost-effective approaches for

enhanced nutrient removal and reuse.

• Use high quality wastewater discharge to contribute to a self-

sustaining healthy environment which includes a mixture of

wetlands, pools and riffles.

• Contribute to the greening and liveability of South Creek in

line with our customers values.

• Incorporate predicted climate change impacts in our planning

and operations.

• Deliver water quality outcomes

using a whole of catchment

approach to wastewater

management, including

stormwater.

Optimise decision

support tools to

predict environmental

impacts from our

operations

• Promote acceptance and understanding of our state of the art models.

• Develop a predictive ecological model to understand the impact of wet

weather overflows on the receiving waterways.

• Develop a leading edge hydrodynamic and water quality model for the

South Creek catchment.

• Enhance the ecological modelling component of the

Hawkesbury Nepean and South Creek models.

• Embed climate change predictions into our existing suite of

models for all future planning scenarios.

• Continue to develop and

improve the next generation of

modelling platforms.

29

Improving Treatment and Resource Recovery

What we are doing now

We are developing tools to predict co-digestion performance with different types of organic waste and to better understand

the impact on downstream process performance.

We are investigating renewable by-products such as methane in biogas for co-generation and we are looking for alternative

uses for extra biogas that will be produced if co-digestion is permanently implemented in applications such as production of

bioplastics and cleaner fuels for potential use in transport.

To reduce the impact of odour on customers and engage with the community, we are developing tools to predict and better

manage odour in our treatment plants and networks.

To meet population growth with minimal capital expenditure, we are trialling low cost, low energy, easy to retrofit wastewater

technologies. The central focus is nutrient removal to meet regulatory requirements, reduce biosolids, minimising transport costs

and disruption to customers.

What we will need to do

In line with the principles of the circular economy, we will embrace wastewater as a resource and continue our efforts to identify

potential markets for wastewater components that can be cost-effectively, sustainably recovered, providing value adding

opportunities for residuals (biosolids, grit). We will also explore the potential feasibility to recover and reuse high value carbon

products (e.g. biopolymers, volatile fatty acids, plasmids, bioplastic precursors, etc) and leverage extraction technologies for

possible commercial applications in other sectors such as pharmaceutical, veterinary, biotechnology and others.

We will investigate advances in process engineering on the development of self-managed intelligent processes with feedback

and feed forward control to achieve full automation of wastewater treatment plants and maximise performance.

To position Sydney Water for future foreseeable risks and defer capital expenditure on plant upgrades, we will identify and

assess the next generation of retrofittable treatment technologies and improved treatment chemicals.

Our research efforts will be expanded to develop graphene oxide and other new materials as cost effective alternatives to

existing technology to prepare for longer term needs such as effluents recycling (direct and indirect potable reuse)

We will expand studies to substantially reduce chemical costs during treatment by identifying more efficient chemicals such

as novel polymers and polyelectrolytes for wastewater and water respectively.

Case Study - Analytics to predict co-digestion

performance and downstream effects

Sydney Water is driving the $1M ARC linkage project to

predict anaerobic co-digestion and downstream process

performance. The project has a world first pilot plant at

Shellharbour wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) that

will enable Sydney Water to establish process

improvements to maximise biogas and electricity

generation. The uniqueness of the project is that the

downstream effects of co-digestion will be quantified. The

University of Wollongong and University of NSW are

partnering in this research project. Outcomes will inform

commercial decisions as to the technical feasibility of

introducing co digestion in other WWTPs.

Shellharbour Co-digestion Pilot Plant

We will look for sustainable treatment solutions, incorporating the recovery of valuable material from our wastewater, managing the impact of our

waste products, and reducing our carbon footprint.

30

Imp

rovin

g T

rea

tmen

t an

d R

es

ou

rce

Reco

very

Research areas & key

outcomesShort-term horizons 1-5 years Medium term horizons 5-10 years Longer-term horizons – 10 years +

Identify energy

generation and reuse

opportunities to

produce new value

added products and

services

• Develop data and predictive analytics based decision making tools to

minimise long and expensive experimental testing.

• Investigate novel techniques for in-situ cleaning biogas (biogas

enrichment).

• Optimise co-digestion through enhanced

automation and sensing capability.

• Exporting biogas for external uses such as

transport and fuel.

• Manufacture of value added

products such as bioplastics and

syngas from enriched biogas

Identify and trial new

emerging technologies,

processes and novel

chemicals to optimise

water and wastewater

treatment (including

energy efficiency and

odour management)

• Design and initiate development of a case study using intelligent

processes with feedback and feed forward control to maximise

performance (partial automation).

• Assess techniques to maximise energy recovery from wastewater (e.g.

anaerobic digestion, gasification etc.) and concurrently manage high

loads of nutrients.

• Increase interaction with technology platforms such as Water Research

Foundation LIFT and Isle Utilities to access information on new

retrofittable treatment technologies.

• Pilot plant trials of new materials and technologies (e.g. graphene

oxide membranes, microbial encapsulation techniques such as

Microvi) to develop more cost effective, lower energy and smaller

footprint solutions for water and wastewater. This includes new

polymers and polyelectrolytes for wastewater and water applications.

• Investigate novel processes for managing oil and grease.

• Investigate opportunities for wider beneficial use of biosolids and

potential for enhanced community engagement on odour.

• Identify and assess the next generation of

emerging technologies (high capacity novel

adsorbents) being developed to enrich biogas for

the water industry or being used in other industry

sectors.

• Design and carry out partial automation trial with

feedback and feed forward control to maximise

WWTP performance.

• Explore disruptive technologies combining novel

physico-chemical and microbiology processes to

dramatically reduce plant footprint whilst

increasing throughput to meet growth.

• Investigate source separation and reuse options

at point sources with industrial customers.

• Develop and implement energy best practice

benchmarks for planning, design and operation of

assets.

• Develop tools to tailor (and

optimise) the balance of energy

use, level of treatment and

biosolids recovery

• Design and plan for “fit for purpose’

treatment regimes for individual

plants

• Explore the potential of Artificial

Intelligence and autonomy in water

and wastewater treatment plants.

• Guiding the new materials research

to develop self regenerating

absorbents to remove chemicals of

concern and pharmaceuticals in

effluents and minimise impact on

the environment

Identify resource

recovery opportunities to

contribute to the circular

economy

• Adapt existing methods to identify target materials for recovery from

wastewater.

• Develop novel approaches to tackle intractable challenges in sludge

treatment reducing biosolids volume and odour.

• Carry out cross industry sector resource recovery

at demonstration scale.

• Adapting technologies from other sectors

(TRL≥5) to recover materials from wastewater.

• Install at least one prototype demonstration plant

to recover materials or produce bioplastics with

suitable manufacturers.

• Identify other materials of interest to other

industry sectors that can be recovered.

• Explore technological opportunities

to achieve zero net emission plants

by 2050.

• Sydney Water WWTP’s become

biorefineries for the recovery of

valuable materials for various

industry sectors.

31

Enabling Resilient and Liveable Cities

.

What we are doing

We are developing tools like AdaptWaterTM to better quantify climate change risks on our own infrastructure and

operations to better inform our capital investment planning. We have also begun to assess interdependency risks with energy,

telecommunications, transport and other supply chain providers.

We are evaluating the role of water in reducing urban heating in geographical locations in western Sydney to better

understand the impacts of a changing climate on future water supply requirements and broader social and environmental

impacts on public health and liveability.

We are integrating climate science projections from the NSW and ACT Regional Climate Modelling (NARCLiM) into supply

demand models and water quality models so we can better predict future impacts, rather than drawing on historical weather and

climate data to support these tools.

To increase our resilience and reduce our reliance on mains power we are looking at ways to improve energy generation and

storage, including novel battery technologies for back up. Explore alternative energy sources and energy recovery options.

What we will need to do

We need to work with other government agencies to monitor and update climate projections to ensure we use the best

available science in our business planning.

We need to investigate the integration of new materials, greening and water to reduce urban heating on city

infrastructure, enhancing the surrounding environment and improving liveability and health outcomes for communities, with a

focus on western Sydney.

To align with Sydney Water’s long-term strategy, we will look for opportunities to integrate emerging technologies and

approaches for both infill and greenfield sites.

We will look at ways to adapt to climate change risk and any shared adaptation responses with supply chain partners will

need to be considered where interdependencies are identified, to reduce costs and ensure continuity of services for customers.

We will scan and trial new sustainable technologies for water efficiency to inform future water security for our city and our

customers.

Case Study – Cooling Western Sydney

Sydney Water plays a key role in the future development

and shaping of a cooler western Sydney. Undertaken in

collaboration with the Low Carbon Living CRC and

University of New South Wales, leading-edge tools were

used and world-renowned expertise in microclimatic

research evaluated the cooling potential of the urban

heat mitigation technologies (greenery, water and cool

materials) and their impact on energy, peak electricity

demand, health, environment and thermal comfort.

The study showed that incorporating a multi-faceted

approach to reducing urban overheating will provide

more comfortable thermal conditions for residents in

western Sydney. The combining of cool materials and

water-based technologies was the most effective

strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of urban

overheating. This is a new way forward that focusses on

making western Sydney a more liveable and climate

resilient part of our city.

To build our resilience, we will need to understand the long-term challenges that face our growing city and the contribution of water to delivering

improved liveability outcomes for our current and future customers.

32

En

ab

lin

g R

esil

ien

t &

Liv

eab

le C

itie

s

Research areas & key

outcomesShort-term horizons 1-5 years Medium term horizons 5-10 years Longer-term horizons – 10 years +

Support the creation of

climate resilient assets to

meet future servicing and

liveability demands

• Embed quantification of climate change risks using AdaptWater

TM into capital investment planning.

• Understand interdependency risks with supply chain providers

e.g. energy, telecommunications and transport.

• Incorporating best practice science into Sydney Water’s water

quality, supply and demand models (e.g. NARCLiM outputs,

IPCC 2021).

• Partner with other government agencies to achieve better

clarity around the use of scenarios and datasets.

• Embed interdependency risks with supply

chain providers and including a cost

sharing model.

• Embed revised climate projections into

modelling and decision-support tools.

• Integration of finer resolution datasets

(e.g. 2km grids) into all climate dependent

models.

• Further develop adaptation options to reduce risk

and opportunities to share solutions with other utility

providers. Incorporate new technology development.

• Enhanced integration of longer term climate

projections into decision-making tools, e.g. IPCC

reviews and inter-agency downscaling.

• Integration of finer resolution datasets (e.g. 1km

grids) into all climate dependent models.

Explore new technologies

which integrate water,

design, and material

sciences to achieve urban

cooling

• Determine impacts of initial mitigation strategies (and role of

water) to reduce urban heating (Cooling Western Sydney

project).

• Pilot scale heat mitigation projects integrating water, the built

and natural environment to achieve urban cooling outcomes.

• Ongoing trials to optimise and validate a

suite of technologies.

• Supporting whole of city initiatives to integrate

water, wastewater and recycled water into the urban

landscape to optimise cooling and liveability.

• Materials that capture, treat and reuse water more

efficiently (e.g. biomimetic materials) at scale.

Test and evaluate scenarios

to explore new approaches

for future servicing

• Scan for new and or successful candidate technologies for

alternative servicing and source solutions e.g. novel

decentralised treatment, stormwater capture and reuse.

• Develop research roadmaps to guide technology trials under

the Long-term strategy, including inputs into the design,

monitoring and analysis.

• Ongoing support for the Lighthouse

technology trial program.

• Support adoption of successful

technologies.

• Explore the application of blockchain

technologies

• Develop a methodology for delivering an optimised

suite of technology solutions to meet the needs of

future developments.

Improve energy efficiency,

investigate alternative

energy sources and storage

options to increase our

resilience and minimise

costs

• Investigate ways to reduce energy usage and improve storage

to reduce our reliance on mains power by trialling novel

technologies e.g. sodium ion batteries.

• Improve energy efficiency through alternative sources such as

heat exchange.

• Identify and support trials to optimise

Sydney Water’s energy supply/demand

balance and responsiveness.

• Optimum suite of technologies to take Sydney

Water off-grid.

Explore new water efficient

technologies and tools to

promote water conservation

• Evaluate new technology and materials, and water conserving

design such as multifunction smart meters and water efficient

devices.

• Understanding human engagement with water efficient

technologies (e.g. through Agent Based Modelling).

• Support trials of new technologies such

as waterless appliances (washing

machines), air cooled condensers for both

residential and non-residential

applications.

• Take a holistic approach to implementation of water

efficient technologies, considering the optimal mix of

technologies and interdependencies with other

technologies (eg energy) and behavioural factors.

33

Science, Research and Innovation Team

Customer Strategy and Regulation

© Sydney Water. All rights reserved. July 2018.

SW131 12/18