What has remained constant throughout his career is a passion for ensuring water and wastewater services receive the attention they deserve.

“I’ve made it my quest to enliven discussions in boardrooms around water and wastewater,” Scott says. “These are life-sustaining services, and they need to be recognised as essential infrastructure.”

Scott was encouraged to apply for the CQW&STG Coordinator role in 2020-21. The position combined two of his greatest interests: supporting the water sector and fostering regional collaboration.

“I find that all councils want to collaborate, but they’re time poor and best intentions don’t always translate into action,” he says. “The real success of our future lies in working with our neighbours and building strong regional partnerships.”

Under Scott’s coordination, the alliance has continued to strengthen relationships between councils and identify opportunities to share knowledge, resources and expertise across the region.

One of the alliance’s most significant recent achievements has been the completion of a regional risk review project examining water and wastewater services across participating councils. The project assessed ten different categories of risk, helping councils compare challenges, identify opportunities and build a clearer understanding of the state of their utilities.

While the project encountered challenges along the way, including delays and changing circumstances, Scott says the result has been worth the effort.

The final report provides both a regional overview and tailored reports for individual councils, creating a valuable evidence base for future planning, investment and advocacy. Importantly, it also positions the region to undertake data-driven advocacy and informed decision-making.

Scott believes the true value of the project now lies in what happens next.

“We’ve proven that we can achieve something significant together,” he says. “Now it’s about bringing the recommendations to life and identifying where collaboration can deliver the greatest benefit for our communities.”

The alliance’s immediate focus is leveraging the findings of the regional risk review and turning recommendations into action. This includes exploring opportunities for greater cross-border collaboration, strengthening governance arrangements and pursuing new regional projects that deliver tangible outcomes for member councils.

Scott is optimistic about the future and sees growing momentum across the region.

“We want to become one of those regions that’s doing two or three projects a year really well,” he says. “Not overextending ourselves but focusing on the things that make a real difference for member councils and the communities they serve.”

Why QWRAP Matters

For Scott, the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program (QWRAP) provides something invaluable: an opportunity for water and wastewater leaders to come together, identify shared priorities and access support to turn ideas into action.

“QWRAP has created the opportunity for technical leaders to collaborate regionally, prioritise what’s important and secure funding to achieve meaningful outcomes,” he says. “It’s a great program because it helps councils work together to deliver real benefits for their communities.”

For the Central Queensland region, that collaborative spirit continues to drive progress, ensuring councils are better equipped to meet today’s challenges while planning for a more resilient future.