Biography

Tony Milburn

Distinguished Departed Pioneer

Professional background

Tony Milburn (1942 – 2023)   A civil engineer by profession, Tony initially worked on flood relief schemes and water resource projects on the Wye River Authority.   He then moved to the UK National Water Council, where he led training programmes for the water and wastewater industry, both in the UK and abroad.  He also worked as a water resources consultant, including for the World Bank and international governments on capacity development programs in the water supply sector.

Major Contributions to IWA

Tony came to IAWPR in 1981 as IAWPR’s Executive Director.

In the 1980’s, Tony was the administrative leader of a very successful visionary team over this pivotal period in IAWPR’s evolution that included Dick Engelbrecht and Paul Harremoes as Presidents, building on Sam Jenkins’ decades of work leading the Association’s publications.

This transformation included modernizing the Association including reorganization of the entire  administration and operating structure. Tony implemented a change to the Association’s charitable status that put the Association’s finances on a more secure footing. As part of modernization, Tony introduced Water Quality International to improve communications with members. Tony also managed implementation of the Specialist Groups, started under President Engelbrecht, and refined and enhanced under President Harremoes. In addition, Water Research, which came to be the Association’s most prestigious journal, was launched in 1982.

Under his leadership as Executive Director, IAWPR evolved into IAWPRC in 1982, into IAWQ in 1992 and through the merger of IAWQ and IWSA in 1999 to the creation of IWA and IWA Publishing.  Tony’s final contribution was to serve as IWA’s first Executive Director, retiring in 2002 to be succeeded by Paul Reiter.

Tony is fondly remembered as one of the true pioneers of IAWQ and today’s IWA.

Authors:  Paul D Reiter and Keith Hayward

Contributing Source:  David Garman