Darryl recognised for 25 years of service to water

29 Jun 2010

Mr Day, Power and Water’s General Manager Remote Operations, has committed more than 25 years to the water sector, principally in the Northern Territory.

He now oversees the delivery of water, sewerage and power services to 72 remote communities and outstations stretching from the Central Australian deserts to the northern tropics.

He is this week in Singapore, co-chairing the Water Convention 2010 looking at international experiences of sustainable, safe water supply and sanitation.

“My passion now is our Water for Healthy Communities initiative,” Mr Day said.

“Water is necessary for hydration – and it has to taste good so people will drink it – but it’s also necessary for sanitation and for recreation, to fill swimming pools and water sporting ovals.”

Mr Day is leading a team of enthusiastic engineers engaging remote communities in water planning, looking at future and alternative water sources.

“We do see climatic extremes in the Northern Territory from deserts to the tropics,” Mr Day said.

“Even in the tropics where we have a wet season, we have more evaporation than we have rainfall, so we cannot afford to waste water.”

Water has become a headline issue in the past decade, with Mr Day holding the AWA presidency as Australia’s dams emptied and debate raged about desalination and water recycling plants.

“There is a real shift in thinking about water,” he said.

“About the adaptation we will have to make in our cities and that we as individuals need to make, in response to the impact of climate change.

“Our attitudes to water are a lot better informed now and we are starting to value it.”

Mr Day has worked with the Power and Water Corporation – and its predecessor organisations – since 1982.

He served as president of the Australian Water Association for two years, in that time launching the Young Water Professionals National Conference and the first Water Education Network in Alice Springs.

“These forums provide mentoring, peer networking and help attract the best and brightest to the sector whether they are in science, engineering or even outside those technical fields,” Mr Day said.

"This is positioning us to meet the challenges of sustainable water use in a changing climate."

Mr Day said the award of life membership was a surprise and an honour.

"This is not something I expected," he said. "But I really am passionate about sustainable supply of good quality water so I am very honoured to have been made a life member of the Association."