Feature
Issue No. 39 - February/March 2008
Flynn pumps up water pressure
South Australia’s Water Industry Alliance will spearhead a global export drive if its new chief executive gets his way.
Joe Flynn stepped into his new role in September 2007 and brings a lot of high-level private and public sector experience to bear.
He has been MD of a state water and electricity utility and GM responsible for establishing a $1.3bn utility network.
His experience tells him the Alliance is an under-tapped innovation source.
“Networking remains our core responsibility but we want to do more than raise public awareness of the organization,” Joe says.
Australia’s water industry went from $25million revenue per annum to $379million between 1996 and 2005. He believes the Alliance has a mission to become a national and global leader.
“Water related technology and services has a 30% annual growth rate, to sit just behind wheat and meat as export earners by sector,” Joe says.
“We need to take that story to the national and international stage.”
“We need to brand ourselves. We have clear global competencies in areas that we need to articulate and promote.”
He points to key examples.
In precision irrigation we have been able to apply agricultural solutions in many situations, including vineyards.
Most major cities re-use only 19% of waste water while SA Water reuses up to 45% of the flow through Bolivar and Glenelg plants.
In aquifer management, our solutions use natural processes to purify water rather than using aquifers as storage dumps, often tainted.
When Joe went to Israel for a conference late last year, Australian innovation shone through.
“On the Israel trade mission it became very clear that our environmental understanding of aquifers was well in advance of where they are,” Joe says. The Israelis pump untreated wastewater into aquifers with consequent problems of heavy metals pollution and salinity.
“At the Israeli Biennia...
