Icon Water

Icon Water Limited, trading principally as Icon Water, is the water and wastewater utility owned by the Government of the Australian Capital Territory. Its core responsibilities are the collection, treatment, storage and distribution of drinking water, together with the collection and treatment of sewage for Canberra and the surrounding ACT service area. The company operates as a public-sector corporation rather than as a listed company, and its voting shares are held by the ACT Treasurer and the minister responsible for climate change, environment, energy and water. The organisation developed from public administration of electricity and water services in the Territory. The Australian Capital Territory Electricity Authority was established in 1962, and its functions were later transferred to the Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water Authority in 1988. In 1995, ACTEW Corporation was established under the Commonwealth Corporations Act to assume the Authority’s functions in a corporate structure. The name ACTEW reflected the organisation’s historic electricity-and-water remit, although the company’s operating identity changed over time as electricity and gas activities were separated into a joint venture. In October 2000, ACTEW Corporation joined with the Australian Gas Light Company, commonly known as AGL, to establish ActewAGL. That venture supplied electricity and gas in the ACT and parts of south-eastern New South Wales, while ACTEW retained ownership responsibilities connected with the ACT water and sewerage system. ACTEW also contracted ActewAGL to manage and operate the water and sewerage network from 2000. That management arrangement ended when the contract was not renewed in June 2012, after which the water utility continued under its own ownership and governance framework. On 4 May 2015, ACTEW Corporation was renamed Icon Water Limited. The rebrand was intended to reduce confusion with ActewAGL, reflect that electricity was no longer the company’s principal operating identity, and establish a name better aligned with its future as a water-focused organisation. The company remains associated with ActewAGL through ownership: Icon Water owns 50 percent of the multi-utility provider, while its principal operating business is the ACT water and wastewater system. Icon Water owns and manages major water-storage assets including Bendora Dam, Corin Dam, Cotter Dam and Googong Dam. Canberra’s supply system receives gravity-fed water through the Bendora Gravity Main and pumped water from Googong Dam. The utility’s physical network includes approximately 50 service reservoirs, 25 water pump stations, two water-treatment plants, 27 sewage-pumping stations, four sewage-treatment plants, and more than 3,400 kilometres each of water and sewer pipelines. Its activities are governed by ACT legislation covering utilities, water resources, environmental protection, water and sewerage services, and public health. The company’s public-utility role therefore combines day-to-day service delivery with stewardship of strategically important water infrastructure and catchments.

Icon Water’s institutional history reaches back to the development of public utility administration in the Australian Capital Territory. The Australian Capital Territory Electricity Authority was formed in 1962, with responsibility for services that had previously been administered through Commonwealth government arrangements. In 1988, the Authority’s functions were transferred to the Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water Authority, bringing electricity and water responsibilities together under an ACT government structure. The next major change came in 1995, when ACTEW Corporation was established under the Corporations Act. The new corporation took over the functions of the Authority and became the corporate vehicle through which the Territory managed its utility responsibilities. Although the company later became primarily a water and wastewater organisation, the ACTEW name reflected its earlier combined electricity-and-water remit. In October 2000, ACTEW Corporation entered into a partnership with the Australian Gas Light Company to create ActewAGL. The venture was established to provide electricity and gas services in the ACT and south-eastern New South Wales. ACTEW Corporation remained connected to the water business and, in the same period, entered into an agreement under which ActewAGL managed and operated the ACT water and sewerage network. The management contract was not renewed in June 2012, ending that operating arrangement. The company adopted its current identity on 4 May 2015, when ACTEW Corporation was renamed Icon Water Limited. The change addressed several strategic and communications issues: the ACTEW name had become associated with a historical electricity role, while ActewAGL was the better-known electricity and gas brand; the existing names could therefore create confusion about which organisation was responsible for which services. The Icon Water name was selected to present the corporation as a dedicated water utility with a clearer future-facing identity. Under the Icon Water name, the corporation has continued to own and operate core water and wastewater assets serving the ACT. Its portfolio includes Bendora Dam, Corin Dam, Cotter Dam and Googong Dam. The supply system uses gravity-fed water from the Bendora system and pumped water from Googong Dam. The network also includes treatment facilities, pumping stations, reservoirs and extensive water and sewer pipelines. The company reports responsibility for approximately 50 service reservoirs, 25 water pump stations, two water-treatment plants, 27 sewage-pumping stations, four sewage-treatment plants, and more than 3,400 kilometres of both water and sewer pipelines. Icon Water’s statutory operating environment includes the Utilities Act 2000, the Water Resources Act 2007, the Environment Protection Act 1997, the Water and Sewerage Act 2000 and the Public Health Act 1997, all in the Australian Capital Territory. The corporation is wholly owned by the ACT Government. Its voting shares are held by the Minister for Finance and the minister responsible for climate change, environment, energy and water. Alongside its direct water and wastewater responsibilities, Icon Water remains a 50 percent owner of ActewAGL, linking the corporation to the ACT’s broader utility history while maintaining a distinct water-focused brand.

• 2015

  ACTEW Corporation renamed Icon Water

  [1]Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org

  The corporation adopted the Icon Water name on 4 May, clarifying its water-focused identity and reducing confusion with the ActewAGL electricity and gas brand.

• 2012

  Water-network management contract not renewed

  [1]Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org

  The contract under which ActewAGL managed and operated the ACT water and sewerage network ended after it was not renewed in June.

• 2000

  ActewAGL joint venture formed

  [1]Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org

  ACTEW Corporation joined with the Australian Gas Light Company to establish ActewAGL for electricity and gas services in the ACT and south-eastern New South Wales.

• 1995

  ACTEW Corporation established

  [1]Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org

  ACTEW Corporation was incorporated under the Corporations Act to take over the functions of the preceding ACT authority.

• 1988

  Functions transferred to the ACT Electricity and Water Authority

  [1]Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org

  Electricity and water responsibilities were brought under the Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water Authority.

• 1962

  Australian Capital Territory Electricity Authority established

  [1]Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org

  The ACT Electricity Authority was established as an early institutional predecessor to the organisation that later became Icon Water.

A government-owned essential-services utility focused on reliable water supply, wastewater services and long-term stewardship of the Australian Capital Territory’s water infrastructure.

• Water utility service

  Drinking water supply

  Icon Water supplies treated drinking water to Canberra and the wider Australian Capital Territory service area. The system draws on major storage assets including Bendora, Corin, Cotter and Googong dams, then moves water through treatment plants, reservoirs, pump stations and an extensive distribution-pipeline network.

• Wastewater utility service

  Wastewater collection and treatment

  The company collects sewage through the ACT sewer network and treats wastewater at its sewage-treatment facilities. This service includes operation and maintenance of sewage-pumping stations, treatment plants and more than 3,400 kilometres of sewer pipelines.

• Utility infrastructure

  Water infrastructure management

  Icon Water manages strategic water infrastructure supporting the ACT supply system, including dams, service reservoirs, treatment plants, pumping stations and water pipelines. Its infrastructure role covers both routine operations and long-term stewardship of assets essential to public water and sewerage services.

• 2015

  Rebrand from ACTEW Corporation to Icon WaterStrategy

  Background

  The ACTEW name was associated with an earlier electricity-and-water role, while ActewAGL had become the brand associated with electricity and gas. This created potential confusion about the corporation’s principal business and relationship with the joint venture.

  Action taken

  ACTEW Corporation was renamed Icon Water Limited on 4 May 2015, creating a distinct water-focused corporate identity.

  Aftermath

  The corporation continued as the ACT Government-owned water and wastewater utility while retaining a 50 percent ownership interest in ActewAGL.

  Source

1. 1Icon Wateren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Icon Water official websiteiconwater.com.au