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Our state and national water awards program recognises outstanding achievements of individualsorganisations and students. The awards showcase innovation, leadership, infrastructure and inspiring positive change to drive a sustainable water future. 

SA Honour Roll


Water Professional of the Year Award (Premier’s Water Medal)
2023   Dr Lionel Ho, Senior Manager Water Expertise, SA Water
2022   David Howard, Fulton Hogan
2021   Victor Cantone, Water, WSP
2020  Professor Jennifer McKay, University of South Australia
2019   Mark Gobbie, SA Water
2018   Kevin Yerrell, Waternish Engineering
2017   Richard Hopkins, International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management (ICE WaRM)

Young Water Professional of the Year Award
2023   Jack Carbone, Project / Design Manager, Aurecon
2022   Loreline Kerlidou, Senior Adviser, Inside Infrastructure (a Ricardo Company)
2021   Brittany Coff, Jacobs
2020  Meena Yadav, Allwater
2019   Ben Staniford, Tonkin Consulting
2018   Adele Hay, WSP and Boris Ninkovic, Fulton Hogan
2017   Adam Medlock, TRILITY
2016   Jennifer Dreyfus, Allwater
           (High Commendation - Kat Reid, SA Water)

Student Water Prize (The Hodgson Medal)
2023   Hiua Daraei, University of South Australia 
            New Water Treatment and Coagulant Dose Control Systems for DWTPs: fDOM
            Fluorescence Signal Corrections for Environmental-Monitoring and Coagulant
           Dose Control

2022   Sarah Aucote, SA Water and the University of Queensland
           Quantification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Sludge-Drying Lagoons
           and Strategies for Methane Emission Mitigation
 
2021   Wei Zeng, University of Adelaide
            High-Resolution Pipe Condition Assessment and Scanning for Water
           Distribution Systems

2020   Jessica Maria Bohorquez Arevalo, The University of Adelaide
            Use of Artificial Neural Networks and Fluid Transient Waves for Active and
           Passive Inspection of Water
Pipelines
2019   Amber Smith and Anthony Cox, University of Adelaide
            Is the Installation of Mini Hydropower Turbines into Water Transmission System
           Pipelines Cost
Effective?
2018   Andrew Knight, Flinders University
            The Onshore Influence of Offshore Fresh Groundwater
2017   Sarah Aucote, Flinders University
           Smart Monitoring for Microbial Risk Assessment
2016   Sina Moradi
           Assessment and modelling of chloramine residual decay in drinking water
          (High Commendation - Matthew Konetschka)

Infrastructure Project Innovation Award
2023   Metro: Showcasing Sustainable Development through Grassy Woodland Restoration
             SA Water
2023   Regional: Future Proofing the Pacific: a Sustainable Model for Water Security in the
            Marshall Islands – Osmoflo
2022   Metro: Victoria Park Pakapakanthi Wetland – Tonkin Consulting and DesignFlow
2022   Regional: Pike Floodplain Inundation Measures Project (South Australian
            Riverland Floodplains Integrated Infrastructure Program) – The Department
            for Environment and Water, the Jacobs Group and SA Water

2021   Regional: Port Lincoln Wastewater Treatment Plant Redevelopment –
           SA Water and Aurecon
2020   Regional: New Wastewater Treatment Plant for Murray Bridge (Brinkley) –
            SA Water, John Holland & KBR
2020   Metro: Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant Clarifier Upgrade Project –
           SA Water & Aurecon
2019   Peterborough Community Wastewater Management Scheme – District Council of
            Peterborough,
Flinders University and Local Government Association of South Australia
            (Highly Commended: Riverine Recovery Project – Department for Environment
           and Water)

2018   Enhanced Water Demand Forecasting for SA Water Using Machine Learning –
             Stantec and SA Water
2017   Sundrop Farms Project – John Holland Group
2016   Anderson Avenue Pump Station and Glenelg Inlet Works – Aurecon and Fulton Hogan

R&D Excellence Award (previously known as the Research Innovation Award)
2023   The Fellowship of the Rubber Ring – A Precious Journey to Ensure Water Quality
           Compliance –
SA Water
2022   Goyder Institute Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin Research Program – Department for
            Environment and Water, Flinders University, The University of Adelaide,
            The University of South Australia, and other contributing organisations

2021   Goyder Institute for Water Research – Second Term Research Program (2015-2020) –
            The Department for Environment and Water, CSIRO, Flinders University,
           The University of Adelaide and The University
of South Australia (SA)
2020   Rapid Development and Implementation of a Wastewater Surveillance Tool for the
            Detection of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) – SA Water & WaterRA
2019   SA Water Machine Learning Analytics for Proactive Pipe Leak Detection and Repair –
            SA Water
            (Highly Commended: Protecting Water Quality While Enabling Recreational Access to
             Reservoirs: Combining Science and Policy to Achieve Community-Level Outcomes –
            SA Water)
2018   Combating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wastewater Systems: From Quantification
            to Implementation – SA Water and the Advanced Water Management Centre -
            The University of
Queensland
            (Highly Commended: Infectivity Rates of Cryptosporidium, and its Impact on
            Drinking Water Quality Risk Assessments – SA Water)
2017   ATUM: Advanced Tertiary Ultrafiltration Management – Allwater, SA Water and SUEZ
2016   Delivering savings to recycled water treatment plant membrane assets – Allwater
            (High Commendation: Adelaide Airport heat reduction trial – SA Water)

Organisational Excellence Award (formerly Program Innovation Award)
2023   Women in Trades program - Fulton Hogan
2022   Activating South Australia’s Reservoir Reserves for Recreation – SA Water
2021   Cultural Connection and Collaboration Guides Southeast Prescribed Burn –
            SA Water and The Department for Environment and Water

2020   Fulton Hogan Utilities’ Problem Based Learning STEM Program for Primary Schools –
            Fulton Hogan Utilities

2019   Flows for the Future – Department for Environment and Water
           (Highly Commended - South East Flows Restoration Project – Department for
           Environment and Water, and KBR
)
2018   Proactive Dirty Water Complaints Management in Adelaide Drinking Water Network –
          Allwater, SA
Water and SUEZ
2017   Adelaide Services Alliance Advanced Customer Complaint Mapping Program –
           Allwater and SA Water
2016   Allsafe Program - Moving our Organisation to a Healthier and Safer State - Allwater

Organisational Excellence Website

Awards for organisations


Open to AWA member organisations, nominate your projects for infrastructure innovation, organisational excellence, research, safety, and customer experience.

Find out more
Phil duncan

Awards for individuals


Open to AWA members and corporate member employees, have your commitment recognised as Water Professional of the Year or Young Water Professional of the Year.

Be recognised
StudentWaterPrize2024Website

Awards for students


Students can enter the Student Water Prize showcasing excellence in water studies and research, and the prestigious Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize for high school students.  

Grow your profile

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


To compete in the Australian Water Awards, entries will first be judged at the appropriate State Awards, with winners automatically entered as a finalist for the National awards (aside from our two National Award only categories).

In addition to the 10 national award categories, each state runs independently other award categories. These programs, like the national, recognise and reward individuals and organisations for innovation, commitment and leadership in the Australian water sector.

All Awards, aside from the Student Water Prize and Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize, are open to AWA members only. The Innovating for Sustainable Water and Environmental Outcomes Award (WA only) is also open to non members, however the lead organisation must be a not-for-profit, local government body, non-government organisation, school or small business.


For organisational awards, the lead organisation/s must be a current Corporate Member. Any partner organisations listed in the submission must also be a current Corporate Member to receive recognition if announced as a finalist and/or winner. This recognition includes the organisation/s being listed as a finalist on award collateral (online and print), on email communications announcing the finalists and/or winners, on any certificates and/or trophies, on the awards visual presentation (if applicable) and on media release statements.If the partner organisation/s listed in the submission are not current Corporate AWA Members, they will not receive the recognition as listed above.

For individual awards, the nominee must be a current individual AWA Member or an employee of a current Corporate Member.

To enter, nominations must be submitted using the online entry forms. Please note when your relevant State or Territory award submissions close.

There is no entry fee associated with the AWA Awards program.

Duplicate nominations are not permitted in the awards program. This means that you cannot nominate the same individual or project/activity for more than one award category or more than one state or territory in the same year. You can enter more than one award in the same year, as long as it is not with the same project/activity.

The submission close dates are specific to the state or territory award being entered. Please click your relevant state/territory button on this page to view the closing dates.

All nominations must be submitted via the online nomination form. Please check the relevant award category page to view the requirements to complete the nomination form.

State judging is coordinated by the relevant Member Engagement Manager and committee. Each state convenes a panel of experts to assess the applications.

National judging is coordinated by the National Awards Manager. The panels of experts are approved by the Honours & Awards Sub-committee of the Board to take part in the judging. Each panel includes at least three judges and is chaired by an AWA Board Director.

At both state and national levels, judges score each nominee based on how well they address the award criteria. The panel then meets to review the scoring and discuss the merits of all submissions. Final scoring and ranking is based on a majority vote from all eligible members of the judging panel.

All judges adhere to a code of conduct which includes a policy to prevent conflicts of interest. The judges’ decision is final and no discussion about the merits of entries will be entered into with nominees.

Award finalists and winners of the State Awards will be announced at their relevant state or territory event. Winners of the 2023 Australian Water Awards are presented at the Ozwater Gala Dinner, to be held in Sydney in May 2023.