E-NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2020
Message from our Treasurer, Rachelle Adamowicz
We are finally entering into summer, which is looking so promising after a winter in lockdown and over a month of no new cases. No doubt many of us have a bit of whiplash from months in lockdown, but one of the biggest takeaways for me was the power of being part of a community, even when I couldn’t spend time with my community. There was a clear demonstration from our peers that the vast majority of people were not only willing, but eager to sacrifice so much in order to keep each other safe. That is amazingly heart-warming.

We are all part of countless communities, we just need to find the thing that binds us together; it’s also easy to forget that we are a part of a stormwater community that spans far outside Australia. Which is why we brought you the Stormwater Victoria International Keynote Showcase, so that we could bring the insights, learnings and experiences from a number of impressive stormwater minds from around the world into your living room.

In the last webinar with Chris Zevenbergen from the Netherlands, he highlighted how to bring resilience into our systems, and above all, the significance of weaving adaptability into the fabric of our towns, cities and societies. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to underscore the importance of adaptability and see that people are indeed able to take immediate action. My hope is that in this last year, we’ve learnt more than just about pandemics. If we can stop absolutely everything to keep people safe from a virus, just imagine what else we could do.
Leadership Tip


'Show thankfulness and gratitude'

How did you use the blue and green spaces during the COVID-19 restrictions?
The Melbourne Waterway Research-Practice Partnership is collaborating with Monash University and EAWAG, inviting Melburnians to take part in a 20 min online survey on how they used the blue and green spaces during the Covid-19 restrictions. If interested, the online survey can be followed up with a face to face interview to explore your responses further with you.

The survey focuses on an individual’s accessibility to green and blue spaces and their thoughts on the quality of these places. If you do consent to participating, the survey responses will be aggregated and remain anonymous.

Link to the survey is HERE
EPA releases the draft urban stormwater management guidance for feedback

Over recent years, the collective and collaborative effort towards IWM has gained significant traction and industry has been calling for further stormwater reforms to support sustainable stormwater management and meet the challenges of our growing city and warming climate.

Marking a significant shift for the stormwater industry, the EPA has released the draft urban stormwater management guidance (publication 1739) for industry feedback HERE.

The draft guidance is the outcome of the Best Practice Environmental Management Guidelines (BPEM) 1999 update and proposes new flow standards for urban development across Victoria. Importantly, the draft guidance complements BPEM and adds to the state of knowledge to inform onsite stormwater interventions.

Stormwater Victoria invited our members to a dedicated discussion on the guidance document on 24 November. This short session demonstrated the high level of engagement of our industry and the importance of robust regulatory frameworks and supporting mechanisms to enable the successful adoption of flow standards.

Based on this discussion, Stormwater Victoria is preparing a submission to the EPA on behalf of our members. The submission will be available on our website once it is formally provided to the EPA. We encourage you to prepare your own feedback and send it to Sigourney.Irvine@epa.vic.gov.au by 16 December.

Stormwater Victoria is committed to advocating on behalf of its members and working with the EPA to influence flow standards that have the greatest opportunity for success.

Meet the Speaker - Ralf Pfleiderer
Ralf Pfleiderer is a well-respected leader in stormwater across Australia, with over 20 years’ experience in the industry, across public and private enterprise. Ralf is an Environmental Engineer applying his engineering skills within a landscape, green infrastructure and open space context.

Ralf has been involved in delivering all stages of WSUD assets from policy to design, managing the construction and maintenance, to monitoring and auditing a range of large and small WSUD assets. Ralf runs his own consulting practice as well as being a hands-on director at Wave Maintenance.

SV (Tracey Pham): Thanks for getting involved and presenting as part of our webinar series. First off, I know you have a background in Environmental Engineering but how did you get interested in Stormwater specifically? 

Ralf: In high school I wanted to be a pilot and pursued this for a while but then changed direction. I started my Environmental Engineering degree at RMIT as a "mature Student" in my mid-twenties. I had always been aware of environmental issues, but mostly got interested through working at a sourdough bakery in my early twenties and doing deliveries to health food shops, co-ops etc. Through my degree, I got interested in water management and did a project on alternative wastewater management, which focused on reed beds. This was the mid-nineties and I remember talking to Peter Breen back then about the new idea of using reed-bed technology to filter stormwater.

Towards the end of my uni days, I was in a share house where one of my house mates knew and briefly worked for Damien Cook and Brendan Condon.

I also worked a summer there, loved it and then started part time with them. Back then they were Wetland Ecosystems (now Australian Ecosystems) and just starting up. I continued working there for 8 years as the company and the stormwater/WSUD industry grew.

SV: Woah, I didn’t even know that sourdough was popular 25 years ago. That’s such a lovely story about how you got into the WSUD field. Moving further into your career, what’s your favourite ‘Sounds boring’ but is actually interesting task?  

Ralf: I do love going out and seeing projects. To get design ideas, to see how they work (or not), to look in pits, to get hands on. And I'll revisit projects over time to see how they're going. You'll only know how good a project is 2-5 years down the track.

SV: Yeah, I find that’s the most interesting part of the industry; looking back at recent history and learning from successes and failures. That way it feels like we’re always moving along and not stagnant. What’s your favourite stormwater/ recreational spot to take your family?

Ralf: When we lived in Melbourne, we would regularly visit Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands in Royal Park. Also Edwards Lake as it was close to our house (but not as good). Here in Daylesford, we've been enjoying the walk along the "Dry diggings" track which follows Sailors Creek. The upper reaches of the Werribee River in Wombat Forest are pretty nice too.

SV: Oh yes, the wetlands in Royal Park are a classic! And finally, what activity are you most looking-forward to when the pandemic restriction eases? 

Ralf: My girls have been missing the swimming pool and dance classes and I miss them having these exercise outlets. I'll enjoy not having check points and work permits when I'm coming and going from Melbourne for work. And visiting our good friends in Melbourne again.
Upcoming Events
Stormwater 2021 National Conference
Run by Stormwater Australia
Date: 14th -16th April 2021
Location: Virtual Event

Visit stormwater2021.com.au to download the full conference program and to register.
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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