As Australian cities plan for population growth and increasingly variable rainfall, diversified water supplies will be central to maintaining safe, reliable and affordable services. For Danielle Francis, that means ensuring every viable supply option can be considered openly and assessed on its merits.
The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) Manager Customer and Policy was named 2026 Water Professional of the Year (sponsored by KBS Australia) at the Australian Water Awards in May, in recognition of her strategic leadership and advocacy for safe and reliable water supplies supported by strong policy frameworks.
In particular, Francis was recognised for advancing purified recycled water (PRW) for drinking and spearheading WSAA’s All Options on the Table initiative, which has helped reframe local and national conversations about Australia’s future water supplies.
For Francis, receiving the award was both unexpected and deeply meaningful.
“I was absolutely chuffed, and I was absolutely floored. I thought all the other finalists were amazing, and I was just so delighted,” she said.
“It meant so much to receive that acknowledgement from my peers because you soldier on for a long time through your work and hope it is having an impact, but it is not something you consciously think about.
“It was such a lovely full-circle moment to know the work you are doing is having an impact, that people appreciate it, and that it is helping to drive progress.”
Nominations for the 2026–27 awards season are now open. Nominate outstanding organisations, individuals, and students here.
While PRW is often presented as a potentially contentious option, Francis believes assumptions about community resistance can become a barrier in their own right.
Research undertaken by water utilities frequently shows a substantial proportion of customers are either supportive of PRW or open to learning more about it, Francis said.
“One of the challenges is that we often frame it with an assumption that people have an issue with it,” Francis said.
“Certainly, there can be resistance, and pockets of different communities can feel strongly about it. But often, there are also a lot of people who are neutral or supportive.
“If we go into a conversation with communities telling people that others are opposed to something, we automatically take away the open-minded approach that many people actually have.”
Francis said communications intended to reassure people can inadvertently suggest that concern is the expected response.
“If we frame it as, ‘Don’t worry, it’s okay’, we are almost saying, ‘You probably should be worried about this, but it’s okay’,” she said.
Clearly explaining the comparative benefits of different supply options is also essential.
“In some cities, purified recycled water could potentially save about $2 billion compared with the alternative,” Francis said.
“That is a really important benefit that people are going to understand and welcome during a period of high cost-of-living pressure.”
Australia remains at a relatively early stage in adopting PRW for drinking, Francis said. Water Corporation’s Groundwater Replenishment Scheme in Perth has provided national leadership, while several east coast utilities are investigating the option.
Francis said early adopters inevitably carry more of the work involved in establishing new approaches.
“Once you get a little critical mass on board and a few early leaders have adopted something, others can swim in the slipstream and follow,” she said.
While drought may create urgency, Francis cautioned against positioning PRW solely as an emergency response. Most international schemes use it as part of their regular supply mix, supporting an integrated system that can perform under different conditions.
Australia took a different approach when it developed major desalination plants during the Millennium Drought, Francis said, frequently presenting them as insurance policies that would operate only when required.
“Over the intervening years, those assets have proved their worth,” Francis said.
“They are not just useful during drought. Desalination plants operate through other climate extremes, including floods and bushfires, and have demonstrated that those assets provide good overall system resilience.
“We are trying to shift the narrative away from viewing these as insurance policies that we would prefer not to use. We need an integrated overall supply system that can cope with different climatic conditions and the reality of potentially variable rainfall in the future.”
International experience reinforces the value of integrating rainfall-independent sources into long-term planning.
“When you look at the narrative each city considering PRW uses to tell its story, the driver that comes through strongly is water supply diversification and the resilience that comes from a diversified supply,” Francis said.
“Essentially, we do not want to put all our eggs in one basket anymore.”
Francis said progressing complex water supply decisions requires patience, transparency and a willingness to engage communities before a preferred solution has been determined.
“These journeys can take a long time. That is not just the case for PRW. It applies to all water supply options,” she said.
“It is important to discuss things openly and not treat these issues as taboo. Looking at the different options available and choosing the most suitable ones is the sector doing its job.”
That principle underpinned the All Options on the Table initiative. Rather than advocating for one universal solution, the work encouraged utilities and governments to consider each option within its local context.
Francis cautioned against the traditional “decide, announce, defend” model, in which an organisation determines a solution before presenting it to the community.
“You should not go in and say, ‘We have worked out there is a problem, we know the solution, and here it is’,” she said.
“It is much more important to set the context for a particular city or location, explain the challenges, whether they relate to climate change, growth or something else, and be clear about the different options available.
“There are rarely black-and-white options in water. Each solution has different advantages, disadvantages and aspects to consider. We need to have a rational and sensible conversation with people about those choices.”
Francis also sees value in making engagement memorable. PRW tasting sessions allow people to experience the product after learning about its safety, treatment and place within the wider water system.
Francis has seen a marked change in Australia’s PRW conversation during the past six or seven years.
When she established a national PRW collaboration group, some utilities were examining the option through projects that used internal code names. Today, more organisations are discussing their investigations openly and inviting communities into the conversation.
“It is really encouraging to see so many utilities saying, ‘This is something we are looking at’,” she said.
“They are starting to have sensible conversations with their communities about all the different options.
“There is a lot of progress happening around Australia. There is still a journey ahead, but we want to see places adopt PRW where it is the right option for them.
“Once the first few places demonstrate that it is safe and that those communities continue to have a reliable, good-value water supply, I think that will help drive a lot of progress.”
Nominations for the 2026–27 awards season are now open. Nominate outstanding organisations, individuals, and students here.