About Us

The Mount Isa Water Board (MIWB) is a Queensland Government owned Category 1 Water Authority located in Mount Isa, Queensland.

MIWB is a statutory authority defined as a Category 1 Water Authority by the Water Act 2000 (Qld) to operate on a commercialised basis. MIWB’s activities are fully funded from charges to customers, a fact sheet is available for information about these charges. Customers served by MIWB include:

  • Mount Isa City Council (MICC)
  • Mount Isa Mines (MIM)
  • Incitec Pivot

Key business activities include:

  • acting as a registered Water Service Provider under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008
  • managing the infrastructure required to transport bulk water from storages at Lake Moondarra and Lake Julius to customers, and applying appropriate water treatment processes to comply with MIWB’s legislative and commercial requirements
  • conducting ongoing investigations and planning for future infrastructure requirements relevant to MIWB operations
  • constructing, operating and maintaining the bulk water transport and treatment infrastructure, necessary to MIWB operations and
  • acting as trustee for the Water and Recreation R48 Reserve (R48 Reserve) on behalf of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, as administrator of the Land Act 1994.

MIWB’s key responsibility is to provide assurance to the continuity of supply of water to customers and the quality of water delivered to the city.

Board Structure

The Board of the MIWB is comprised of:

  • Four persons nominated by the chief executive of the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (DNRME)
  • One person nominated by the Mount Isa City Council

The members of the Mount Isa Water Board are:

Chair: Steve de Kruijff

Mr de Kruijff’s mining career spans almost four decades in the mining industry, predominantly in North West Queensland. Mr de Kruijff was previously the Chief Operating Officer for Glencore’s Australian Copper Assets Australia until February 2014. Prior to this role, Mr de Kruijff was Chief Operating Officer of Xstrata Copper’s North Queensland division from December 2006 to May 2013, and General Manager of Xstrata’s Mount Isa Copper Operations. Mr de Kruijff has been a Director of a number of Xstrata’s subsidiary companies and is a past President of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC). He was awarded the 2008 AusIMM Jim Torlach Health and Safety Award and an OAM in the 2016 Australia Day Honors List for his contribution to the mining industry and communities.

Director and Chair of the Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee: Karen Read

Ms Read is a senior finance and commercial executive and has extensive experience within the mining and resources sector with a career spanning 30 years. Ms Read worked for Glencore Xstrata group for much of this time, including several years in Mount Isa from 1995. From 2014 – 2017, Ms Read was employed as CFO for a consulting engineering and project practice business. Ms Read has extensive Board experience including the following: Director Queensland Country Bank, Deputy Chair Queensland Country Health Fund, Director North West Hospital and Health Services. Ms Read is a Fellow of CPA Australia, a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of Australasian Mutual Institute. Ms Read is the Chair of NQ Branch Regional Council of CPA Australia and member of the Townsville Branch Council for AICD.

Janice Wilson

Ms Wilson is a water and wastewater engineer with over 15 years of experience in infrastructure delivery and the utilities sector, paired with a Master of Applied Science, Bachelor of Engineering, Professional Certificate in Asset Management and Certificate III in Water Treatment. Ms Wilson is the Managing Director and founder of a regionally-based consulting firm and serves as Board member with the Whitsunday River Improvement Trust. Ms Wilson is the Regional Liaison and Regional Subcommittee Chair for the Australian Water Association Queensland Committee.

Lisa Clancy

Ms Clancy has lived and worked in Mount Isa since 1998, holding payroll, office administration and Workplace Health and Safety Roles for Education Queensland for eight years. Ms Clancy is a Director and office manager of Clancy Corporation in Mount Isa and has extensive leadership, team management skills, as well as close links in the community and with government agencies and private business providers.

George Fortune

Mr Fortune is a Mount Isa Mines employee and is a long term resident of Mount Isa. George Fortune has been a Councilor with Mount Isa City Council since 2012. Mr Fortune is a director of MIWB by nomination of the elected City Council. He is a long-term resident and an active community advocate, a former secretary for the Mount Isa Fish Stocking Group and Event Manager for the Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic.

Executive Structure

MIWB’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bill Esteves, oversees MIWB’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The ELT is comprised of the following roles:

  • Chief Executive Officer
  • General Manager – Corporate & Governance
  • General Manager – Operations
  • General Manager – Capital Projects

Mr Esteves career and leadership profile is outlined below.

William (Bill) Esteves

GCLP, GC.Bus, B.Law, MA, MBA, MAICD

Mr Esteves has accumulated more than two decades of valuable experience overseeing areas such as prosecutions, litigation, government inquiries, transformation, change and performance management, policy development, and health and safety. Mr Esteves has held various executive roles and lead many milestone projects such as Queensland’s Greyhound Commission of Inquiry, Queensland’s Independent Review of Passenger Transport, and most recent to joining MIWB, the Northern Territory (NT) Work Health Authority, Electrical Safety Regulator, Chief Inspector of Radioactive Ores and Concentrates, and head of NT WorkSafe. Mr Esteves is a former member of Safe Work Australia, the NT Public Service Strategic Workforce Board, Injured Workers Family Committee, Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Advisory Council, and former Chair of the Return-to-Work Scheme Monitoring Committee.

Mount Isa Fishing Classic 2009 Mount Isa Fishing Classic 2009