AEEA Northern 2016 winners Thursday, 22 September 2016

Power and Water Corporation dominated the recent Australian Engineering Excellence Awards (AEEA) Northern 2016, with Sitzler and a high achieving young female engineer also taking home major awards.

The government-owned corporation, Power and Water Corporation, won in all project categories it entered, bar one, as well as the President’s Award for The Darwin Zone 66/11kV Substation Project and the night’s highest honour, the Northern Distinction Award, for the Adelaide River Water Treatment Plant.

Engineers Australia Northern General Manager Mark Monaghan said that the Adelaide River Water Treatment Plant’s ground-breaking indigenous bacteria treatment solution and unique ice pigging technology made it a stand out.

“Power and Water’s innovative biological and ice pigging water purification technologies confirm that the corporation is a leader in the utility industry, as it continues to challenge mainstream methodologies,” Mr Monaghan said. “I congratulate Power and Water, and co-entrants SUEZ and Goodline, for their incredible awards success and for being trail blazers in the Australian water industry.”

Sitzler was the winner of the Project Management category for their $8 million Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Darwin Flood Mitigation Project, which helped resolve severe local flooding issues at a RAAF Darwin health facility.

Chief Judge and Engineers Australia Northern Deputy President Chris Lugg FIEAust CPEng NER was impressed by both the project’s scope and effectiveness.

“Sitzler’s challenging project included a 1km-long open unlined water diverting drain, development of existing detention basins and extensive installation and relocation works,” Mr Lugg said. “The solution provided a marked improvement in flood immunity and site amenity at the base and the project’s success was capped off by meeting the client’s brief within budget, despite its vast scope.”

Rebecca Mills MIEAust was the recipient of the Young Professional Engineer of the Year Award for her impressive contribution to the Northern Territory’s engineering sector, which is especially significant given her relative youth.

Engineers Australia Northern President Nerida Horner MIEAust said that Ms Mills was an outstanding candidate because of her significant achievements and maturity, having “taken on a lot of responsibility at a young age, including the management of large infrastructure projects and making a power station in Alice Springs solar-ready.”

The Australian Engineering Excellence Awards identify and reward outstanding achievement in the practice of engineering and service to the profession.

“The AEEAs are important because they bring together key Northern engineers and community stakeholders to celebrate local engineering’s contribution to Australian and international engineering best practice,” Mr Monaghan said.

“The awards also highlight the contributions of small family-owned businesses like Nth Degree Engineering Services: whilst not massive infrastructure projects, they are relied upon heavily by the local community.”

200 engineers and guests attended the AEEA Northern Awards event, which was held at the Darwin Turf Club on Friday 9 September.

The winners from the AEEAs Northern 2016 event are eligible to compete at the national Australian Engineering Excellence Awards in Brisbane in November.

More information on the awards is available here.

Image: Power and Water Corporation, SUEZ and Goodline receive the overall project award, the Northern Distinction Award, from Paul Kirby, Member for Port Darwin.