E-NEWSLETTER JUNE 2024

Conference Re-cap

Day 1

The conference began with a fantastic keynote presentation by Peter Gillam, Waterways Lead at Aurecon NSW on “Planning Australia’s largest water sensitive city”. Subsequently, a number of captivating presentations from our delegates concluded Day 1 with an update on the Victorian Urban Drainage Manual (VDUM) from Alice Lisitsa, President of Stormwater Victoria, as well as the announcement of the conference day's best presenter award and the 2024 Stormwater Victoria Awards Session. 

Day 1 also ended with a fun filled dinner event sponsored by BG&E.

Day 2

Our wonderful delegates continued presenting on a wide range of engaging topics over the second day. We had a great keynote presentation by Leanne Reichard, COO, Hydrologic from the Netherlands. The presentation discussed “Lessons Learned from Innovative data – driven storm water management solutions around the world”.

Simon Wallar, Futurist, also did an impressive keynote presentation on “Resilient to what? How Futurism can help us make better long-term decisions and improve infrastructure resilience”. 

Following the keynote, Simon then facilitated the panel session on “The future of stormwater management: How do we create action in the absence of a crisis?” which included captivating discussions between the following panellists.

Kirsten Tanner, Coordinator Emergency Management, Maribyrnong City Council

Duncan Sheppard, Senior Advisor, Resilience, Insurance Council of Australia

Leanne Reichard, COO, Hydrologic, The Netherlands

Adriana Keating, Research Fellow within Fire to Flourish program, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

The day was concluded with the voting and announcement of the conference Day 2’s best presenter award, exhibition prize draws, and the official conference wrap up by Alice Lisitsa .

Technical Tour

The 2024 Stormwater Victoria Technical Tour was a great day out. It was a gloriously sunny day. Participants got to experience the rewards and challenges of managing stormwater in the beautiful coastal region around San Remo. The tour heard from the Westernport Seagrass Partnership, Bass Coast Shire Council, and The Cape Development for diverse perspectives on managing stormwater in this unique environment.

Ian Stevenson from the Westernport Seagrass Partnership discussed the Partnership’s long history with using community action to restore seagrass. Ian told the tour about how while the Partnership started planting seagrass, sediment loading limited the survival of the seagrass. Therefore, the Partnership pivoted to planting mangroves to reduce coastal erosion and trap sediment to protect existing seagrass. Ian told about the years of trials and eventual successes in understanding how to directly plant mangrove seeds for optimum survival. Are you interested in getting involved in this citizen-science project?

Ian talking to the tour group about ‘how to propagate mangroves’

Mangroves in situ on the wind-swept coast

Technical Tour group visiting the Pioneer Bay Wetland with Simon Harris and Phil Pritchard of Bass Coast Shire Council. Simon, Phil, and the Bass Coast operations team discussed how construction of this wetland achieved stormwater quality outcomes as well as flood mitigation. The wetland is a collaborative project between Bass Coast Shire Council and Melbourne Water.

Technical Tour group visiting the Tenby Point Raingardens and Flood Mitigation with Simon Harris and Phil Pritchard of Bass Coast Shire Council.

Simon, Phil, and the Bass Coast operations team were so generous with their time and so honest about the challenges they face as a rural council with historic planning decisions that complicate stormwater management.

The Tenby Point Raingardens stop was a chance to see how Council had used a range of measures from buy-backs to WSUD to address a flooding issue.

At the Cape Development, the group got to see all aspects of the development including the working farm, community garden area, stormwater harvest, and stormwater wetlands. Clint also discussed the funding mechanisms that allow for this infrastructure to be maintained appropriately.

Clint Hare from The Cape Development demonstrating the advanced garden bed at the commercial market garden (farm) within The Cape. You can see shadows of the technical tour participants!

Wetland at The Cape development sparkling in the later afternoon sun.

Meet SV Committee Member - Jason Liu

Meet Jason Liu, one of our committee members this year. We are pleased to provide everyone with a chance to learn more about Jason and his interesting professional journey!

What was your career path that led you to working as an Engineer in the stormwater space?

I graduated from the University of Melbourne with the Master degree of Environmental Engineering in 2020. My final year capstone project focused on researching catchment hydrological analysis and rainfall seasonality. I’m currently working at WSP and started as a graduate engineer. Through this job I have been exposed to various projects that relate to hydrologic and hydraulic analysis.

What is your favourite aspect of working at WSP? And how about the most challenging?

WSP is a global engineering and consultancy that provides professional solutions on areas including Properties and Building development, Transport and Infrastructure, Environment, Resources and Energy. The diversity of projects has allowed me to expand my professional development as a graduate.

I’m encouraged and supported by the team to learn and collaborate on many projects. I think the most challenging part is knowledge interpretation. Working in a big group with people from various backgrounds requires me to explain the stormwater related issues in an easy and understandable way, while also requiring me to comprehend what other design teams are proposing and how it could affect the stormwater aspects.

What is the most important career learning you think the stormwater industry needs to understand?

There is an ancient philosophy in Chinese which says ‘The best doctor treats disease before it occurs’. As we work in the stormwater industry regardless of which sector we belong to, our efforts and talents should be strategically placed in anticipating and preventing stormwater related issues. This is one of the reasons I joined the Policy and Advocacy sub-committee as I’d like to have a better understanding of the stormwater planning and policy changes.

How do you see your role evolving?

My current role sits in hydrology and hydraulic analysis relating to flooding. I believe we will have more sophisticated methods and tools which will be used to conduct flood impact assessments particularly with the boost in AI and computing power. In addition to this I will certainly keep gaining more experience and knowledge working on many more projects. 

What is your favourite stormwater feature / recreational spot you like to visit?

Ruffey Lake Park is one of my favourite spots. The park contains the lake and a valley through which Ruffey Creek runs. It’s a great nearby spot to enjoy some fresh air with family and my little one, Daniel who just turned 14 months and really loves talking to the birds and dogs there!

Update on Urban Stormwater Management and On-site Wastewater Management

Obligations of managers of land or infrastructure (Urban stormwater management and On-site wastewater management) (OMLI) rehouses some obligations from the State Environment Protection Policy (SEPP) Waters and came into effect on 7 May 2024. The Gazette is available here.

The OMLI continues obligations on councils to develop urban stormwater and on-site wastewater management plans. It also requires water corporations to respond to councils’ on-site wastewater management plans in some circumstances. EPA regulates councils’ and water corporations’ compliance with the OMLI in accordance with EPA Compliance and Enforcement policy. A Response to Public Comments Report on issues raised in the submissions and a Notice of Decision have been published on Engage Victoria here.

Events & Resources

Understanding and applying Victoria's stormwater planning requirements 

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.

A broader range of development types are now required to meet Victorian stormwater planning requirements.

This course is designed to help planners and engineers understand the links between water and cities, learn about the role and scope of these statewide controls, and gain confidence in assessing planning applications in a way that best achieves our new stormwater objectives. 

Construction Hold Points Training - Bio-retention Systems (Online) September 2024

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

This training aims to improve theoretical and practical understanding of the hold points required for construction of bio-retention systems specifically for those responsible for inspecting construction milestones for WSUD assets.

Construction Hold Points Training - Wetlands Systems (Online) September 2024

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

This training aims to improve theoretical and practical understanding of the hold points required for construction of bio-retention systems specifically for those responsible for inspecting construction milestones for WSUD assets.

Flood Strategy Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Sessions

The Flood Management Strategy Port Phillip and Westernport 2021 – 2031 was developed via a co-design engagement process with local government and key agencies. It was acknowledged through the development of the strategy that various councils have different levels of skills and expertise. Identification of the skill gaps and running of a program to bridge the key gaps is vital for effective planning and management of flooding in the region.

Melbourne Water are delivering on action 1.6 – run capacity building programs for partners to improve data capture, modelling and interpretation of information in the Flood Strategy.

Register for an upcoming session below, or view recordings from past sessions which can be shared with colleagues.

Have you Secured your Seat ALDE 2024 Conference Yet?

Embark on a journey of discovery and innovation at the ALDE 2024 Conference: 'Connecting the Pieces – Crafting the Future of Land Development.' Picture land development as an intricate puzzle, where each piece plays a vital role in shaping the future of our communities.

Join us to unravel the complexities, explore cutting-edge solutions, and connect with industry leaders who are shaping the landscape of tomorrow. Don't miss this chance to be at the forefront of transformative dialogue, redefining the future of land development.

Interested in becoming an ALDE Sponsor?

Seize the opportunity to position your brand at the forefront of the industry. Our packages are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so act swiftly to ensure you don’t miss out on this premier event. Don't just attend; become a catalyst for the future of land development engineering.

SVIC and ALDE Member Forum on 18 July 2024

Stormwater Victoria and ALDE are teaming up to bring our members an evening of productive discussion on how we can work together to improve Drainage Schemes including the planning and delivery of integrated water management The session is intended to be interactive, whereby you, our valued members will share experiences and test ideas around existing implementation frameworks (such as DSS’s, PSP’s and DCP’s), their current effectiveness and potential future role in supporting the delivery of IWM outcomes.