E-NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2021
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Message from the new President, Sarah Watkins
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Welcome to the first newsletter with the 2021 Stormwater Victoria Committee! In my 8 years on the Stormwater Victoria committee, I cannot recall a more engaged and enthusiastic team. The energy is palpable in our meetings, and it’s fantastic to have new members on board providing a greater representation of the industry. In particular, it’s been fabulous to welcome and support the inclusion of the Retail Water Companies and our product suppliers more. You’ll no doubt learn about our committee through our LinkedIn posts and this newsletter, so be sure to check in regularly!
Aside from fostering technical development and networking through our webinar events and conference, Stormwater Victoria’s mission is to provide an independent and authoritative voice representing our membership, driving for positive change and advocating for better stormwater management. We’ve had huge success on this front over the last few years, and will continue to cement our role as active leaders in this space. We’d love to hear from you, our members, so please do reach out.
After challenges of the past years, it finally feels as though we are on the cusp of change – both with respect to the industry, as well as at home. As we slowly emerge from corona-wastelands to build our ‘new normal’ there will be immense opportunity for us to make new choices and consciously create a better, more resilient future. The recent release of the Sustainable Water Strategy provides a clear view of the opportunities and potential future ahead. It’s a very exciting time for the stormwater industry and I’m incredibly privileged to be leading the committee and our members. I cannot thank Jamie Tainton enough for her strong leadership and acumen which has built the association to where it is today. I can’t wait to see where we take it next (once I get back from that long overdue hiking trip!)
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Meet our new Committee Members! |
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Tom Stephanou
I decided to join the SV committee because I am passionate about water conservation and how we can better manage our water resources to create healthier communities. My focus has been on the engineering aspect of water treatment, working closely with my colleagues at Greater Western Water. I am excited to be a member of the Stormwater Victoria committee, to advocate the importance of engineered solutions for water conservation programs, setting the foundations for our next generation of water professionals. My escape from lockdown is reconnecting with my free spirit youth, playing my favourite genre from the 70s, 80’s and 90’s….. listening loud and boogying with the groove!
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Damien Egan
I have close to 30 years’ experience as a Civil Engineer delivering infrastructure projects within the building and construction industry, particularly in the civil sector. I have always loved the diversity of my role in the water industry, having worked in every stage of the process from design, planning, specification, manufacture, construction methods and implementing detailed programs for the coordination of site activities. During lockdown my favourite activity has been the “home Olympics” with my 3 children, ranging from table tennis to shuffle dance competition. But I have banned any video for the dancing competitions.
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Bresson Li
During my last year of University, I was given an opportunity to work on an integrated design project where I was first exposed to the concept of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD). This sparked my interest for sustainable water management and therefore after graduation I decided to continue with my passion and joined the water industry. I have since enjoyed being part of this fantastic community for the past two and a half years. My lockdown activities have consisted of going for long walks in surrounding parks in the mornings and over the weekend.
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Sarah Hollis
After graduating from University of South Australia I took a fair bit of time off to travel and volunteer overseas. On returning, I landed a job in my hometown of Mildura doing survey and design for small to large scale agricultural developments. I grew up in the Murray Darling basin and the river was always a big part of my life growing up but it was only after working in the agricultural industry that I realised the importance of utilising, preserving and protecting such an important asset that which is our natural water resources. During lockdown I was one of those people that bought a puppy as well as running a lot, training for a marathon.
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Alexander Raven
I’ve joined the Stormwater Victoria Committee for the learning and networking opportunities and to provide the perspective of a junior engineering design consultant. I have been to various Stormwater Victoria events and have found it a fun and interactive way to engage with the community. I have been passionate about Water Engineering since my early years of university, and I am looking forward to sharing this interest with other member of the community.
Throughout lockdown what has really kept me sane are my long weekend bike rides and runs as well as virtual calls and Netflix watch party’s with my mates.
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Aditya Saxena
I'm a final year environmental engineering student at RMIT and first heard of SV through a few webinars as I wanted to expand my knowledge beyond the basic university level and learn about current stormwater management technologies and industry practices. Due to the pandemic I’ve been stuck overseas and had to defer from my studies and I found myself with a lot of free time which I used to get more involved within the SV committee. I found it's great for getting to know of different career paths and applications of stormwater engineering in Victoria. I am now part of the events committee, with the main aim of increasing student engagement.
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Joshua Parish
Leaving high school I knew I was good at maths and science but had no real passion for a particular career path. It wasn’t until a 4th year subject on integrated water management that I realised I had an opportunity to use my skills in civil engineering in such a positive way for both the community and the environment. I haven’t looked back and have loved being part of the industry ever since. I have a side hustle DJ weddings and have used this lockdown period to completely overhaul my music library.
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Tell us what you think of the Stormwater Victoria newsletter...
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Here 'The Outlet' newsletter celebrates its first year!
It is one of our tools to share relevant and up to date information with our network of members, prospects and industry partners. It gives us access to your inbox, allowing us to share engaging content, promote initiatives and continue to drive an integrated form of water management. We need your feedback so that we can tailor the Stormwater Victoria newsletter and meet our members, partners and industry needs.
The survey (6 questions) should take 2 to 5 minutes to complete and will close on Friday 19th November. Results will be shared in the next newsletter edition in early December.
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Did you know over 250 people attend each webinar?
The From May 2020, Stormwater Victoria has delivered nearly 10 webinars including an international series. On average, over 250 people attend (far more register) at each webinar, with the “WSUD Maintenance and Auditing” webinar facilitated by Ralf Pfleiderer recording close to 400 viewers. All our previous webinar recordings are available here.
Webinar attendees come from Local Government (43%) and the consulting sector (35%) demonstrating strong connections and knowledge sharing between both public and private sectors. Registration by Stormwater Victoria non-members has doubled since the first webinar, as our webinars are reaching wider areas of the industry. If you would like to continue to support the development of our webinars, please consider becoming a member and promote it in your networks. We are very grateful and thank our sponsors for their contributions. We look forward to extending our working relationships with past and future sponsors to continue delivering high-quality webinars.
We thank our webinar attendees for their time and feedback. Your feedback is very valuable to us as it guides us on improving our delivery of webinars in the future. We look forward to hosting thought-provoking stormwater topics in our future webinars!
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The 2022 upcoming training opportunity on the Guidelines for the Maintenance of GPT Stormwater Treatment Measures
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Have you ever wondered; how and why different Gross Pollutant Traps work or don’t work? ; what are each devices strengths and weaknesses? Or where you would use one type over another?
If you’re looking for answers, look into the upcoming capacity building program run by Stormwater Victoria.
In 2022, Stormwater Victoria will start rolling out a training program on how to best maintain stormwater treatment assets in particular Gross Pollutant Traps. The single biggest reason for failure of our stormwater treatment infrastructure, is lack of maintenance and incorrect maintenance. Stormwater Victoria acknowledges the need for capacity building in undertaking adequate stormwater asset maintenance and thus will roll out a training for the Victorian Stormwater Industry.
The training is primarily aimed at drainage crews/contractors and those that oversee/administer the cleaning of a wide variety of stormwater treatment measures. This is suitable for local Government Asset Managers, Cleaning Contractors, Engineering Designers and Construction Supervisors.
Stormwater NSW have been successfully delivering a similar training program in NSW since November 2018. It’s time we give the same opportunity to the stormwater industry in Victoria . If you need more info please contact Stormwater Vic.
Keep an eye out for the upcoming Stormwater Victoria webinar in early 2022 to hear more on the Operational and Maintenance Training Manual and Workshop.
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Host: Stormwater QLD and Stormwater NSW
Date: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Time: 1.00 pm - 2.30 pm
Location: Webinar - Online
Speakers: Glenn Browning,
Senior Civil Engineer, Healthy Land and Water || Benjamin Penhallurick, Water Sensitive Urban Design Inspection Officer, Blacktown City Council || Mark Liebman, Senior Drainage Engineer, Blacktown City Council || Craig Fairbaugh, Regional Regulatory Manager, Contech Engineered Solutions || Professor Tim Fletcher, Professor Of Urban Ecohydrology, Ecosystem & Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne ||
Murray Fraser, Soil Scientist and Urban Agronomist, Benedict Group
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Stormwater NSW Operations and Maintenance Manual and Workshop Series
Host: Stormwater NSW
Date: Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Time: 9.00 am
Location: Canada Bay Club, Five Dock
Speaker: Various
franc.sydney 2022
Host: Stormwater NSW
Date: 29 - 30 March 2022
Time: All Day
Location: Dockside Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW
Speakers: Various
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If you are interested in contributing an article, upcoming industry event or news item to The Outlet e-newsletter, please send an email to president@stormwatervictoria.com.au.
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Stormwater Victoria Major Sponsor: |
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