Alexandrina Council has won two prestigious industry awards for project innovation and public health, the latter in conjunction with the City of Onkaparinga and the District Council of Yankalilla.

Clayton Bay Smart Street Lighting Project

On Thursday 21 November, the council’s Assets Team collected the Excellence in Project Innovation Award for the Clayton Bay Smart Street Lighting Project at the 2024 IPWEA SA Excellence Awards.

These awards are presented by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia and recognise excellence in public works engineering in South Australia.

The project adopted smart lighting in the Alexandrina Estate and Pelican Waters developments within Clayton Bay, ensuring a balance between stringent Australian streetlighting standards and the low-light aspirations of the community.

With a population of approximately 400 people, Clayton Bay has a Dark Sky environment the equivalent to the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve. The area attracts residents who value rural landscape aesthetics and the preservation of a natural night time with less artificial lighting.

The project uses wireless infrastructure to communicate with Smart LED streetlights, which the council can manage via an online street lighting management system.

Streetlights can be dimmed, switched off and have lighting brightness levels adjusted. By using smart street lighting technology, the council achieved a solution that addressed the needs of residents and the environment.

This project has been ongoing since 2019 and was recently completed following a successful trial and testing period earlier this year.

Alexandrina Council’s acting CEO Alan Harvey says the IPWEA Award was a significant achievement.

“This award recognises the extensive efforts that have been put into this project, and we dedicate it to those who have been involved – the Clayton Bay community, key stakeholders, and our staff. 

“Working with the Clayton Bay community has been an essential component to the success of this project, and we would like to acknowledge the support and input from the Clayton Bay Community Association and the Clayton Bay Dark Skies Action Group.

“We understand the importance of preserving dark skies in Clayton Bay and by working together, we have successfully achieved that goal.”

Excellence in Public Health Award

On Friday 22 November the Alexandrina Council’s Environmental Health Team was part of a working group with seven other councils that collected an Excellence in Public Health Award at the Local Government Association conference.

The award was for Building Regulatory Excellence for Sustainable Onsite Wastewater System Management.

The project aimed to produce a standardised service report template for all service agents and regulators reviewing Aerated Wastewater Systems to provide consistent and accurate reporting.

This was a joint project with the Town of Gawler Council, the Cities of Onkaparinga, Playford, and Port Lincoln, the Renmark Paringa Council and the District Council of Yankalilla.

“Collaborating with other councils experiencing the same issues with inconsistent reporting played an important role in implementing a vision for effective, efficient and consistent regulatory oversight of onsite wastewater systems across South Australia to improve public health and environment protection outcomes,” says Alexandrina Council acting CEO Alan Harvey.

“Winning two awards within two days has been a highlight of the year for me and our staff should be proud of the innovative and collaborative work they have achieved.”

To find out more about the Clayton Bay Smart Lighting Project, visit the Alexandrina Council website. For full details of the IPWEA SA Excellence Awards, visit the website.