Phase one: explore - closed

When it comes to water, we want to know what’s important to you and how we can make our services better.

We recently held a drop-in session to hear what new migrants think about the water and sewerage services we deliver.

Customers, originally from Malaysia, Somalia, Iran and Ukraine dropped by to talk with us.

It was a great chance to hear from some new customers and for us to reassure migrants that South Australian drinking water is clean and safe to drink - straight from the tap.

The drop-in session was part of the work we’ve been doing for our next Regulatory Business Proposal and you can get involved too

Technology and innovation got Islanders talking when our customer forum tour stopped in Kingscote in December.

Linda Werner, said as well as being a bit of fun, the forum was interesting and informative.

“I was pleased to learn how innovative our water supply has been over the years, for example our leadership in sewerage with the first network of its kind in the country,” she said.

Continuing to innovate and deploy new technology for our customers’ benefit, was something Darren Hateley picked up on.

“Smart metres in the urban area will be really important in the future, as well as things like SMS notifications.”

“Before tonight, I hadn’t really thought about all of the different priorities that SA Water needs to balance, like maintaining water supply while reducing its carbon footprint - technology will have a big role to play here too.”

If you’d like to add your voice to the conversation, visit watertalks.sawater.com.au.

Power got the people talking when we dropped in on Port Lincoln.

As a result of last year’s state-wide blackout and the impact that lasted longest at Port Lincoln, power supply has become something the whole community is aware of.

Rosa Fitzgerald said “It’s important for SA Water to take into account the needs for power to run the water supply, and to make sure the location of future infrastructure is planned to minimise impact on people and the environment.”

The balancing act of planning and operating our business was noted by participant Phil Naish.

“Maintaining a quality service, but also one that is affordable for most South Australians which seems to be a good balance at the moment, but we’ve seen examples where things blow out, so it needs to be managed carefully,” he said.

“I got a much better understanding of the direction of where SA Water is intending to head in the future, which was what interested me the most.”

If you’d like to add your voice to the conversation, visit watertalks.sawater.com.au.

Talk about ways to reduce our carbon footprint was lively when our tour reached Bordertown, with many participants pleased with the work we already do in this space.

“I was very surprised that SA Water already has mini hydro plants in place – I’d always thought that was a good idea. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how proactive SA Water is on the environmental management front,” said Keith Zilm.

Carmel Pilgrim echoed this sentiment and thinks it’s important we think about the environment now, to ensure it’s in good shape for future generations.

“Looking into new ways for renewable energy is awesome. I’m really impressed with the importance you’re placing on the environment,” she said.

“I was skeptical at the start, but I enjoyed being here and being able to express my opinion openly without being criticised.”

If you’d like to add your voice to the conversation, visit watertalks.sawater.com.au.

We were in Renmark last week (15 November 2017) asking customers how we should deliver services in the future.

The River Murray featured strongly in the feedback we gathered, with locals keen to protect the integrity of waterways.

“One of the things I didn’t know was that SA Water has an allocation from the River Murray – I’d previously just assumed you took what you want,” said Camillo Rapsiarda.

Diana Van Dam picked up on another key point – the different types of experiences and uses for water that our customers have.

“Listening to the ‘blockies’ who live out of the main town area showed the difference in water use and issues between people on the land and in town. There was a diverse group of people in the room, with very different ideas and questions, which made it really interesting,” she said.

If you’d like to add your voice to the conversation, visit watertalks.sawater.com.au.

We hit the road to Port Pirie last week (14 November 2017), gathering customer views to help inform our business planning.

Pirie locals didn’t hold back, but said they learned a lot throughout the night too.

“I knew there was a process getting water to us, but didn’t realise there was so much involved in taking it away afterwards. There’s a lot you do that people like me just don’t know, and you should tell them more!” said Amanda White.

Pirie resident Anthony Pisani said “People are quick to criticise when something goes wrong, but the quality of water is good and it’s rare something goes wrong. The price of water could always be cheaper though!”

If you’d like to add your voice to the conversation, visit the 'join in' tab here.

Safe, clean water; reliable services; and the importance of environmental protection were among the themes that got people talking when 91 customers took part in our metro area customer engagement forums last week.

Participants were chosen to represent a cross-section of local demographics, and take part in group discussions, real-time polls, plus question and answer sessions.

Five more Water Talks forums are being held across the State over coming weeks to explore customer views and help inform our 2020-2024 Regulatory Business Proposal.

“It’s important our business planning reflects our customers’ priorities and the best way to achieve this is through constructive two-way conversation," said Senior Manager Community Engagement Matt Bonnett.

“We had really productive and valuable conversations, with the participants generously sharing their time and opinions."

"We’re building from a strong base, with more than 5000 customers across the State already completing surveys during the past year about our core services, water quality and their satisfaction with our customer service.

“During the next stages of our engagement program we’ll move to more in-depth explorations where we test customers’ priorities for different levels of service and discretionary investments by presenting them with a range of options that have different outcomes and bill impacts.”

If you're interested in learning more about our Water Talks program, visit watertalks.sawater.com.au.