Champions' Reflections: Daan van Riel from Goulburn Valley Water
Goulburn Valley Water has had a keen involvement in the IWN and the Champions Program since its inception, with Michael Welk (Asset Management program lead) as the inaugural Champion.
Two years ago, Michael handed the Champions Program baton to me, and now I’m handing over to our new Champion, Samar Patel.
Over the years GVW has been involved in our fair share of trials and projects through the IWN, such as:
The expansion of the Melbourne Retail Water Agencies (MRWA) Product Web Portal.
RedZone CCTV unit trial
Development of the Manhole Condition Assessment Tool
ROV Tank Cleaning tria
IWN Knowledge hub
Asset Scanning Project
Digital Metering Risk Assessment Tool
On top of the trials and projects that GVW have had a direct involvement in, our involvement with the IWN has given us a greater visibility as to what other emerging technologies are being looked at other authorities. Learnings from those trials are distributed amongst IWN member organisations so that there is no real need to reinvent the wheel.
The developing of relationships between water authorities, not just through the various trials and projects, but also through the Champions Program itself, has been fantastic, and I now have many go-to contacts that I can call on for further opportunities to collaborate and share knowledge.
The Champions Program has provided me with a forum to further develop skills in leadership and teamwork, workshopping and public speaking. It’s also opened my eyes to new strategies for common problems such as better time management, and improving self-confidence and self-belief.
It’s a great program, but as with many things, you only get out of it what you put in.