E-NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2023

2024 Stormwater Victoria Conference Call for Abstracts Now Open

Stormwater Victoria with GEMS Event Management is thrilled to announce that the 2024 State Conference will take place in San Remo, near Phillip island, between 3 to 6 June 2024.

The conference theme ‘Advocacy, Adaptation and Action’ is calling for your abstract submissions before 20 November 2023, by exploring the following four streams:

• Imagine - Advocating for a Sustainable Future
• The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Adapting to Uncertain Times
• Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now - Taking Action
• Full Circle – Designing to Maintaining and Operating

As part of the conference, a technical tour is planned for 6 June. Stay tuned for further details regarding the technical tour in our next Newsletter.

SW Vic Conference Testimonial

An opportunity arose to attend the 2023 Stormwater Victoria Conference as a student representative, and out of curiosity I applied. Fortunately I was successful, and it ended up being a wonderful program I’m very glad I got to experience.

Over the course of two days, I attended numerous seminars led by industry leaders on emerging water technologies, recent research studies, and directions for future action in the industry. I had the privilege to speak to many well-respected industry professionals, broadening my perspective of water infrastructure, technology, and management, whilst also providing a great networking opportunity. Everyone at the conference was very warm and welcoming, and I can truly say it was a fantastic experience which I learnt a lot from.

To any student with a passion for sustainable water management, or just water engineering in general, I highly recommend applying for the SW Victoria scholarship program. I can guarantee you have a lot to gain from it.

Matthew Pezzutti, Student Representative

The Association of Land Development Engineers is running their first conference in decades. Scheduled for Lorne on the 19 - 21 August 2024, they are looking for abstracts that compliment, support and build knowledge in the land development industry. Check out the Conference website for more information on the event and how to submit your abstract.

Reimagining Moonee Ponds Creek – A Flagship Project of the Chain of Ponds

Join fellow colleagues to visit the remarkable transformation to a 360m concrete-lined section of the Moonee Ponds Creek in Oak Park/Strathmore. Long-desired by the local community and a flagship project of the Chain of Ponds Collaboration, the Reimagining Moonee Ponds Creek is more than 50% complete. Come see the progress, learn how it came about, the co-design involved and the challenges of giving the creek a more natural look and feel. 

The project involves:

• Removing concrete walls along both sides of the creek and replacing these with rockwork
• Covering the concrete base of the channel with rockwork to create a meandering creek, to slow down flows and give it a more ‘natural’ look and feel
• Planting 43,000 native trees and shrubs 
• Creating new shared paths and a new bridge 
• Constructing a pond and terracing near Oak Park Reserve.

Rachel Lopes, the Chain of Ponds Collaboration Project Lead will be accompanied by Neil Featonby from Melbourne Water and Frank Kinnersley from the Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek / Moonee Bicycle Users Group. Visitor will learn how the project had come about, the co-design involved and the challenges of giving the creek a more natural look and feel.



Rachel is an environmental scientist and has a passion for connecting communities to their waterway.

She enjoys the challenge of working in multi-stakeholder environments and with an ‘appreciative’ mindset, focusing on strengths, abilities and energy of partners for enduring solutions.

Neil developed and leads the Reimagining Your Creek program for Melbourne Water, which has recently won several awards for excellence in infrastructure and landscape architecture.

Neil is a marine biologist who specialised in shark research, but now spends his time transforming underground drains and concrete channels into urban waterways and parks. He’s passionate about using urban design concepts and principles to connect people to water in highly urbanised areas, and tailor unique experiences with nature that improve mental and physical health.  

Frank is a retired mechanical engineer, Friend of Moonee Ponds Creek and recognised by cycling organisations across the country and state for his contribution to cycling.

He has been instrumental in achieving better outcomes for cyclists and has actively contributed to the Reimagining Moonee Ponds Creek project, making several suggestions and improvements to the path design."

Upcoming Events

Understanding and Applying Victoria's Stormwater Planning Requirements

22 November 2023

Online - Zoom

The Victorian Government expanded state wide stormwater planning controls in October 2018 to help protect our waterways, prevent flooding and divert more rainfall / stormwater to our parks and reserves. More Information

Construction Hold Points Training - Bio-retention Systems

28 November 2023

Online - Zoom

Clearwater and Melbourne Water have developed this training course to help local government improve their skills and processes in WSUD construction management to ensure WSUD assets are constructed as designed and fully-functional to accept at handover. More Information

2023/24 Clearwater Local Government Water Leader Scholarship for the International Water Leadership Program

APPLICATION DATE EXTENDED: Extended application date for the 2023/24 Clearwater Local Government Water Leader Scholarship for the International Water Leadership Program.

This is a great opportunity sponsored for a Melbourne Metro local government candidate. Application close 31 October 2023 - More Information

Stormwater Victoria Corporate Sponsorship Prospectus

Are you interested in becoming a corporate sponsor? Stormwater Victoria has over 230 members and our mailing list and social media connections extends to well over 3,500!

We reach:

-     All levels of government across a breadth of disciplines

-     Civil and consulting engineers

-     Surveyors and urban planners

-     Academics and students

-     Manufacturers and suppliers

Sponsorship packages have been designed to provide flexible options and maximum exposure to our membership and industry stakeholders. Whether you want to sponsor one of our webinars, our newsletter or our upcoming conference, there are several packages to choose from.