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Webinar – What’s the price of stormwater?
Using market-based instruments to incentivise good stormwater management
- Date: Thursday, 2 October 2025
- Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm AEST
- Location: Online
- Cost: Free for members, $50 for non-members
Market-based instruments (MBIs) have emerged in recent decades as a promising environmental policy tool that can complement traditional forms of environmental management, that is, government provision, regulation and education.
Opportunities for applying MBIs to stormwater management have been researched in Australia and internationally, leading to the investigation and take-up of MBIs in several jurisdictions.
This webinar, hosted by Stormwater NSW and sponsored by Water Technology, will introduce the history of stormwater-related MBIs and showcase several examples.
You’ll hear from leading researchers and economists about not only the economic basis of MBIs but also their technical, social and administrative aspects.
The future of stormwater-related MBIs in Australia will also be explored.
SPEAKERS
Evan Branosky, Principal, Ecomarket Services LLC
Evan Branosky has over 20 years of experience in environmental policy, conservation finance and market-based environmental programs across the public, private and non-profit sectors in the US. He recently served as Virginia’s chief stormwater advisor leading a $7 million multi-pronged stormwater strategy. Evan also chaired the US EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Trading and Offsets Workgroup, served as initial manager of the District of Columbia Stormwater Retention Credit Trading Program and coordinated the World Resources Institute’s domestic and international climate programs. In the private sector, he initiated, brokered and closed several of the first pay-for-water-quality outcomes transactions in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, valued at over $15 million.
Evan will introduce the internationally-recognised stormwater retention credit trading program in Washington DC, as well as nutrient trading programs in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that include the stormwater sector. Evan will also discuss recent ‘pay-for-outcomes’ approaches to nutrient reduction in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that allow urban stormwater to compete against sectors such as agriculture and wastewater.
Jeremy Cheesman, Associate Director, Marsden Jacob Associates
Jeremy is an applied natural resource and environmental economist specialising in water and the environment. He advises governments, the private sector and not-for-profits on environmental market design and implementation, and approaches for scaling and accelerating investment in natural capital. As a member of the Victorian Stormwater Ministerial Advisory Committee, Jeremy helped lead the development of the Victorian stormwater offsets framework and helped implement the scheme with around 12 Victorian councils. He has also designed innovative and award-winning auctions and cap & trade approaches to address urban and rural catchment and waterway issues, and vegetation management issues.
Jeremy will introduce the different MBIs used around the world based on a review of international practice. He will then look at examples of MBIs used in Australia including stormwater offset schemes, rainwater tank auctions and environmental water recovery programs. Drawing on lessons learnt in establishing and operating these different MBIs, Jeremy will consider their future in Australia.
Tim Fletcher, Professor, University of Melbourne
Tim is a Professor of Urban Ecohydrology and an Australian Research Council Industry Laureate Fellow at the University of Melbourne, with internationally recognised expertise in stormwater management. His research focus includes urban hydrology, stormwater quality and the design and performance of novel stormwater treatment and harvesting systems. With colleagues Chris Walsh and Darren Bos, Tim led the Little Stringybark Creek Project, a world-first attempt at catchment-scale retrofit of WSUD with the aim to simultaneously restore the ecological health of the creek and deliver a new urban water supply. Tim currently co-leads the Melbourne Waterway Research Practice Partnership at the University of Melbourne.
Darren Bos, Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne
Darren is a co-leader of the Melbourne Waterway Research-Practice Partnership. With a background in terrestrial ecology, Darren’s most recent research is concerned with the catchment scale retrofit of stormwater control measures, focusing on mechanisms to encourage community participation. Darren was the Project Coordinator for the Little Stringybark Creek Project and now co-leads delivery of the Monbulk Creek Smart Water Network, helping guide the associated stormwater policy learnings.
Tim and Darren will initially discuss how MBIs were used to encourage installation of allotment- and precinct-scale stormwater control measures in the Little Stringybark Creek Project. Building on these findings, they will then discuss current development of a smart rain grid involving real-time control of rainwater tanks and how it could create a new business model to address stormwater management problems over the long-term.
