SOUTHERN RURAL WATER MACALISTER CUSTOMER CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING NO Meeting held at 10.00am, Tuesday 28 May 2013

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1 SOUTHERN RURAL WATER MACALISTER CUSTOMER CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING NO. 123 Meeting held at 10.00am, Tuesday 28 May 2013 PRESENT Mr G Anderson (Chairperson) Mr I Stewart (Deputy Chair) Ms J Howie Mr J Forsyth Mr S Dwyer, from 11.08am Mr P Leslie Mr B Missen Mr T Wallace Mr D Read Mr M Sellen Mr A Clyne Mr N Drew SRW Representatives Ms A Killeen (SRW Board Representative) Mr T Clapham, Manager Water Supply East Mr G Prior, Operations Supervisor MID Mr P Miller, Maintenance Supervisor MID Mrs P Crawford, Personal Assistant Mr S Falzon, IT Operations Manager, item 7.2 Mr C Parker, General Manager Groundwater & Rivers, item 8.5 IN ATTENDENCE APOLOGY Mr R Napper, (SRW Board Representative) 2. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 2.1 The minutes of Meeting No. 122 were confirmed without. MOVED: MRS J HOWIE SECONDED: MR P LESLIE.CARRIED

2 3. MCCC DISCUSSION FORUM 4. BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETING Meeting No April 2013 Meeting Action No. Mr S Wrigglesworth to investigate if MID customers can be billed for usage before the end of the financial year The Committee moved that a Committee self-assessment be completed. Management to work out Item No. Completed By Status Mr S Wrigglesworth On going. To be addressed at May MCCC meeting. the procedure Mr Clapham The SRW Board to be advised of the Committee s endorsement of Option 3 of the Carp Damage Business Case Mr Clapham Complete. The SRW Board to be advised that the Committee supported the recommendation that the delivery budget change from 163,000ML to 147,454ML per season, this being the seasonal average delivery for the last 10 years. 23-4/ Mr Clapham Complete The SRW Board to be advised that the Committee supported the recommendation that SRW maintain a uniform price increase for water share tariff Mr Clapham Complete 5. BOARD MATTERS 5.1 MATTERS REFERRED FROM THE BOARD No items have been referred from the Board. 5.2 BOARD BULLETIN The Committee noted that the Board Bulletin May 2013 The Committee discussed the following items: Mrs Killeen explained that the tariff restructuring comment referred to in the Board Bulletin was an ESC comment and that SRW are not expecting significant changes in tariffs in WP3. 6. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT Mr Anderson provided an update on matters that have occurred since the previous meeting, including:

3 MID 2030 Project Control Group meeting held last Monday. Announcement of Government funding for MID Comments received regarding spending the money correctly and curiosity as to why announcement was made at Murray Goulburn. Congratulations to the Committee and SRW on receiving funding. Numerous phone calls received towards the end of the irrigation season. Good to explore what can be done to help people out. Mr Anderson also commented that water may be needed earlier if dry conditions continue. Has made contact with local politicians to provide update on seasonal conditions. The Committee discussed the following items: It was commented that the funding wasn t reported correctly as only $16M would be received from Government, not $32M. Mr Clyne reported that there was a rewarding meeting with the Gippsland Regional Development Group. It was a request from Mr Budahazy and Mr Rodda to provide a briefing on MID 2030 and because the group were touring Tinamba and Newry Mr Clyne was invited to present. Mr Clyne endorsed the need for a pipeline and also explained about grass growth and water penetration. Mr Anderson said that it would be good to get vegetable figures from Mr Forsyth and that both he and Mr Clyne have been asked to provide some history of the district. 7. EIB BUSINESS 7.1 SEASONAL REVIEW Mr G Prior, Operations Supervisor MID explained the following items: 18,202ML or 10.2% volume in storage as at 16 th May. 30,385ML remaining in Thomson, with usage to date of 19,297ML. Current inflows to Glenmaggie are 313ML/day. Irrigation deliveries to date are estimated at 166,260ML which exceeds the 5 year average of 151,907ML. Meters have all been read. Some enquires have been received regarding water for stock over the winter Dewatering channels will be occurring over the winter months. The purpose of dewatering is to try and eradicate carp and for weed control. Allocation volume traded graph was presented, which illustrated the volume of water traded per month. The Committee discussed the following: Discussion occurred as to why the Environment are allowed to carry over water. It was advised that this was agreed to as part of funding for the original water savings. It was requested that the agreement be located so that this could be clarified.

4 ACTION Agreement that Environment is able to carry over water be located and bought back to Committee for discussion. SRW priority is to manage allocation with best interest for irrigators in mind but need to consider the impact on environment as they are customers as well.concern that if allocation is changed because of the environmental reserve, then this does have an impact on customers (referring to end of season opening up due to inability to deliver all volumes). It was commented (opinion) that science is showing the flushing of rivers is not working and that the idea was to mimic the environment. This year the river would not have flowed. Mr Anderson spoke of the background to the Environment Reserve and the need to be careful if requesting a review. SRW received $20M and Environment was allowed to carry over water. Still need percentages of water available to trade of total allocation, compared to what is left in the weir. Allocation graphs still a work in progress and will be refined as required for next season Continued education is required regarding stock water over the winter months. People need to be encouraged to put in on farm storages etc. Where SRW have been requested we can provide water for storages as part of the Dewatering program. This water will be accounted as outfall sales (spill entitlement) Needs to be included in newsletters, to be proactive not reactive. Mr Clapham commented that it is in the last newsletter. 7.2 ONLINE WATER TRADING Mr Sean Falzon, IT Operations Manager, joined the meeting to discuss online water trading. Mr Falzon displayed the online system and showed various features available to users Initiative has no cost to customers and can be run at current staffing levels. Advertising is being paid for by DEPI. The aim is to encourage trading, not acting as brokers. Potential buyers contact those who have listed that they have water to buy or sell. 7.3 MAINTENANCE Seeking legal advice as to what rules are needed for the site. It was commented that there is a percentage of customers who do not have access to a computer. Mr Falzon said that these customers can visit the Maffra office and use a computer there and there are also plans to provide a kiosk computer at the Maffra office for use by customers. Will be contacting every customer in the current trading book and asking for them to consent to the information being put on the internet. The trading book will then be taken away. Fact sheets are being developed on water trading. General consensus is that it is a good idea. Aim is to have it launched before the start of the next season.

5 Mr P Miller, Maintenance Supervisor, provided an update on maintenance activities: Meter readings have slowed down maintenance. Good year spraying weeds up until just recently. The Committee discussed the following: Channel repair near Sale last year appears to have slumped. Mr Miller said he will investigate. Budget is 10% below expenditure which is believed to continue until year end. Weed debris on channel easements might show up this winter if grazing is allowed on these areas. Mr Prior stated that that SRW will spray channel banks but easements are not our land to complete work on however we may spray if we use this access regularly. Channel banks are sprayed for blackberries and box thorns where infestation is severe. Contractor sprays drains twice yearly. 7.4 EIB PERFORMANCE AGAINST SERVICE MEASURES AND TARGETS The Committee noted the report. It was suggested that the tables be displayed differently so that the font can be enlarged. Mr Prior discussed a prototype for DMO outlet that is being trialled in the field. Will have 10 flow rate consistency monitors ready to go at the start of the season to be used on Dethridge outlets. 7.5 EIB EXPENDITURE Mr P Miller, Maintenance Supervisor explained the expenditure charts/ The Committee noted the period 10 budget reports. 7.6 CUSTOMER FEEDBACK REGISTER The Committee noted the Customer Feedback Register. Mr Clapham advised that feedback needs to be received formally for it to be included on the register and that compliance matters do not get reported to the Committee. 8. STRATEGIC ISSUES 8.1 MANAGER WATER SUPPLY EAST UPDATE Mr T Clapham, Manager Water Supply East, provided an update on the following items:

6 Cowwarr spillway remediation works. Tenders closed 30 May with works to start in June. Carp program starting up again. Carp eradication program will also commence. Maffra Storeyard upgrade near completion. Staff survey completed last month. Allocation model and rules have been reviewed and updated. Back hoe lease has been reviewed and it has been found that it is cheaper to own the back hoe. This would be a direct productivity saving of ~$40k per annum. Looking to declare Glenmaggie lake bed as a road related area which will enable Police jurisdiction. Speed signs will be installed thus allowing Police to ensure compliance.. Scam phone calls have been reported by a number of people, with someone asking personal questions and purporting to be from SRW. Meeting with Flood Warden s held last week. This is the first meeting since CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY AND STAFF SURVEY Mr Terry Clapham presented the results of the recent Staff Survey. Eastern Irrigation staff report to be reasonably satisfied with no real issues to come from the survey. The Customer Satisfaction Survey results were also presented. A copy of the full report and meeting paper will be distributed to the Committee. Methods used to analyse the data were discussed. The survey indicated that satisfaction of the MCCC has decreased. Unbundling and slow progress of MID 2030 and other MID upgrades were put forward as possible reasons for the decline. An action plan will be developed and management will call for 2 nominations from Committee members to help develop the plan. Question was asked, do we compare the results with other water corporations? The survey suggests that customers don t have an understanding of unbundling. Mr Clapham requested that members read the report before next meeting so that it can be discussed further. 8.3 MCCC SELF ASSESSMENT Mr Terry Clapham led discussions regarding the MCCC Self-Assessment. A copy of the questions was distributed to the Committee and ideas for improvement sought. 8.4 MID 2030 UPDATE Mr Budahazy spoke to a presentation entitled MID 2030, Transforming the Macalister Irrigation District, which is the same presentation that was presented to Regional Development Australia.

7 The presentation covered: The budget bid Background to the MID o Details o Modernisation already completed MID 2030 Project o Strategy o Leading works o Phase 1A o Phase 1B o Phase 2 A copy of the presentation will be distributed to the Committee. The Committee discussed the following: Committee did say that it was unlikely that there would be any retrospective funding. Disappointment in customer (SRW) contribution of$22m not $16M as is reported. Concerns on how the project is going to be developed. Customers couldn t have afforded to get any more Government money than received. Farmers couldn t have afforded $60M. Congratulations to SRW staff in their efforts in securing the $16M. Concerned that it is not a now 50/50 deal. $16M is big in the current scenario. Big statement, saying they do see the value in it. Disappointment in the way it was publicised, everyone thinks we got $32M. Mr Anderson said that he feels that what he has been working for has been achieved. He has had meetings with Politicians, and Federal Government who are now keen to talk about the project. 8.5 COAL SEAM GAS Mr Craig Parker, General Manager Groundwater and Rivers lead discussions on Coal Seam Gas and what impact this may have on SRW business. SRW have been approached by two companies. One is seeking coal seam gas, the other company is targeting rock not coal. If they are not targeting aquifers then there are no licensing requirements. If water extraction is required, then there are licensing requirements and the company will be treated the same as other customers who want to extract water. They would need to purchase water if in a capped area. Environmental affects statement is a coordinated approach of each agency. If a bore fails, it would need to be decommissioned in order to not contaminate groundwater.

8 Mr Parker said he can be contacted at any time should there be further queries. 9. COMMUNICATIONS 9.1 MEDIA RELEASES The Committee noted the MID Media Releases since the last meeting. 10. MCCC MEETING SCHEDULE The Committee noted the meeting schedule. 11. MCCC BUSINESS ITEMS 11.1 INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE The Committee noted the incoming correspondence OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE The Committee noted the outgoing correspondence COMMITTEE MEMBERS GENERAL The Committee discussed the following items: A Committee member questioned why customers are encouraged to read and input their own meters, only to have them re-read by an SRW employee. Mr Prior spoke to a handout which was distributed to the Committee. The handout provided information on the process which included: o All meter read entries currently have a 20% tolerance limit in the system. Once a reading goes over this the system requests verification. This is done for the following reasons: To help identify broken meters To assist in dealing with customers either over or under ordering on outlets, this can affect outfalls and efficiency of the system. To allow planners and operators to determine usage without orders. The customer meter read functionality was implemented to allow meters to be read more often than the 5 times a year that SRW normally read meters. Customer reads that fall outside the 20% tolerance are still accepted by the system and are sent to the planner for verification. Mr Clapham explained that questions on notice were welcomed by management, but must be sent MWSE and not board members or Managing director. Questions must be specific and to the point. Mr Missen and Mr Sellen attended a Sustainability Group meeting, where the CMA reported on water use efficiencies incentives. MICI have received the same presentation.

9 They would like to present to the MCCC. The results are relevant, but MCCC don t need a specific input. The desire to lobby for Thomson Water was raised. Mr Anderson believes that this is not in the MCCC Charter and that the Committee can only ask the SRW Board to do this. The matter will be discussed further at the June MCCC meeting. 12. NEXT MEETING The next meeting No. 124 of the Macalister Customer Consultative Committee is scheduled for 10.00am, Tuesday 25 June 2013, at Southern Rural Water, 88 Johnson Street, Maffra (Boardroom). 13. MEETING CLOSED Being no further business, the meeting closed at 1.18pm.

10 Graeme Anderson Stephen Dwyer Jeanette Howie Brad Missen David Read Iain Stewart Tom Wallace Peter Leslie Malcolm Sellen Jim Forsyth Alan Clyne Norm Drew July 2012 Aug 2012 Sept 2012 Oct 2012 Dec 2012 Feb 2013 Mar 2013 Apol Apol Apol Apol Apr 2013 Apol Apol Apol Apol Apol May 2013 June Attended Meeting Apol - Notification of apology Blank - Did not attend