Co-existing with Carriers

There is increasing tension between LWUs wanting to protect drinking water and telecommunications Carriers wanting to install their infrastructure on council assets. The Water Directorate has released its second publication on the subject: Third Party Infrastructure on Water Supply Reservoirs Guidelines Part 2, Legislative Aspects, delivered to members in recent days and now available for download from the Members Area of the website.

Prepared by lawyers Colin Biggers & Paisley, the publication offers advice to water utilities about their legal position in relation to initial negotiations to install infrastructure and the long-term management of water supply reservoirs affected by third party infrastructure.

“Perhaps the water industry has unknowingly made things too easy for Telcos to dictate how they install their equipment on water assets,” writes Jason Ip of Riverina Water County Council in his paper ‘Coexisting with Telecommunication Carriers’. “There are documented horror stories when the balance between the burden of Telco infrastructure on water assets, and the LWU’s need to manage its water supply integrity, favour the Telcos”, Jason says.

Jason will deliver the paper at the WIOA Conference in Tamworth 11-12 April 2018.