2017 Sam Samra Award – Finalists

The Sam Samra Award recognises improvements in best practice service delivery by council local water utilities and acknowledges finalists and winners in the following four categories, and one overall winner:

• Water supply services – small LWU (< 5,000 connected properties)

  2017 Finalists: Coonamble Shire Council and Carrathool Shire Council

• Water supply services – large LWU (> 5,000 connected properties)

  2017 Finalists: Kempsey Shire Council and Orange City Council

• Sewerage services – small LWU (< 5,000 connected properties)

  2017 Finalists: Gunnedah Shire Council and Upper Lachlan Shire Council

• Sewerage services – large LWU (> 5,000 connected properties)

2017 Finalists: Wagga Wagga City Council and Federation Council

This new annual Award celebrates the late Sam Samra’s achievements in contributing to marked improvements in the performance of local water utilities in regional NSW. The Award is co-sponsored by Local Government NSW, the NSW Water Directorate and the Department of Primary Industries - Water. Sam Samra, a highly regarded public servant in the NSW Government for many years, was instrumental in a range of reforms that contributed to marked improvements in the performance of local water utilities in regional NSW.

Sam Samra was involved in delivering key aspects of the NSW Government’s Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program. He pioneered and led the development and implementation of the widely respected NSW Government Best Practice Management of Water Supply and Sewerage Framework. The framework helped lift the performance of many local water utilities to a best practice standard. Sam died on 16 August 2016 following a tragic accident.

Finalists and winners of the Award are determined based on an assessment of performance data from the NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Performance Monitoring Report and the NSW Water Supply and Sewerage Benchmarking Report.

The Award presentations - and announcement of the overall winner - will take place during the conference dinner of the 2017 LGNSW Water Management Conference held in Dubbo from 4 to 6 September. Registration for the Conference is open at www.lgnsw.org.au/waterconference.