Sydney Water climate change tool wins national award

Sydney Water has received the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) Climate Adaptation Champion Award in the Business category, recognising the company as a national leader in preparing for climate change and variability.

The NCCARF awards were presented at the recent Climate Adaptation Conference in Sydney. Launched in 2011, the awards highlight achievements in changing behaviour, techniques, business practices and policies to adapt to an uncertain future.

The award was in recognition of AdaptWater, an online climate change adaptation tool Sydney Water developed in partnership with the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) and other industry partners.

Sydney Water Managing Director Kevin Young said the award was a tremendous recognition of the company’s leadership in the broader industry.

“As an organisation we are committed to being forward-thinking, scanning the horizon for upcoming challenges and finding innovative ways to solve problems,” he said.

“I am very proud of our work on AdaptWater. It is the first tool of its kind in Australia and it’s also been acknowledged internationally. This tool enables water utilities to be more resilient to the potentially damaging impacts of climate change and variability.”

WSAA executive director Adam Lovell said AdaptWater was the outcome of collaboration across the national water industry, led by Sydney Water, and with Australian research expertise.

He said extreme weather events and climate change “present unique risks” to the industry’s ability - and responsibility - to provide “safe, secure and reliable water supply to millions of people”.

“AdaptWater is a vital tool for the industry as it helps us understand these risks and plan accordingly,” he said.

AdaptWater was developed in partnership with the WSAA, water utility colleagues in Melbourne, South Australia and Queensland, as well as Climate Risk. The project received funding form the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education and support from City West Water and Water Corporation.

For more on the tool, see the video below.