Events

Awards of Excellence Webinar – Showcasing the winners from 2021

This may give you the inspiration to submit a project in this years Awards of Excellence round.

This webinar showcases the work of our leading practitioners who are the winners of 2021 Stormwater NSW Excellence Awards. The attendees will have the opportunity to listen to presentations on these cutting-edge projects. This will inspire you either to start a smart contemporary project or start to think about preparing your submission for the 2022 awards that will be opening shortly.

The presentations will include:

• Johnstons Creek Naturalisation, the 2021 winner of Excellence in Asset Management by Sydney Water, Diona & Thompson Berrill Landscape Design, presented by Jordan Mulhearn.

• Blacktown’s Community Stormwater Education Program, the 2021 winner of Excellence in Policy or Education by Blacktown City Council, presented by Andrew Bridle and Julie Redhi.

• Manly – Safe and Beautiful once again, the 2021 winner of Excellence in Infrastructure by Northern Beaches Council & Optimal Stormwater, presented by Emerald Cuthbertson.

• Gannons Park Water Quality Improvement and Stormwater Harvesting Scheme, the 2021 winner of Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design by Georges River Council, NSW Government, Australian Government, Alluvium & Civil Constructions, presented by Lucie Bright.

• BOM the Builder: A Free Online Meteorological Template Generator, the 2021 winner of Excellence in Research & Innovation by Cleanstormwater, presented by Mircea Stancu.

• Integrating Recycled Water and Stormwater in the Mamre Road Precinct: A Template for Australia’s Largest Water Sensitive City, the 2021 winner of Excellence in Strategic or Master Planning by Sydney Water, presented by Phil Birtles.

Registration is open

Presenters: Mark Babister & Monique Retallick

Overview of ARR 

• Rainfall Design Input

Attendees will increase their knowledge of the different rainfall-related design inputs in Australian Rainfall and Runoff, including Intensity Frequency Duration (IFD), temporal patterns, spatial patterns, and tips and tricks for their application.

• Hydrologic modelling applications

This covers the different types of hydrologic models used to represent the runoff generation and runoff routing phases of the flood formation process.

• Urban Approaches

Overview of the natural hydrologic cycle resulting from urbanisation and how these changes impact design flood estimation in urban environments. Covers urban flood modeling with examples of brownfields and Greenfields focusing drainage designs.

Note: The participants have to bring their own laptops.

We are excited to announce that registration is now available for the upcoming Sustainable Funding Options half-day Workshop on Wednesday, 20 September at Campsie Customer Service Centre l Canterbury Bankstown Council, Campsie. This workshop will be presented by Craig Bush, Dr Andrew Thomas, Craig Naughton, Neil Keraunos & Alexa McAuley.

What you gain from this Workshop:

To ensure stormwater management projects, programs and assets achieve their desired goals a sustainable source of funding is required throughout the whole lifecycle. Current funding models, especially the Stormwater service charge, are not a sustainable option due to significant increases in costs relating to waste disposal, wages, and inflation (construction costs in particular) and no mechanism for review. However, due to the effects of urban expansion and climate change impacts, the need for well-designed and properly maintained stormwater management systems is only becoming more critical.

This forum will provide information as to how Councils are resourcing stormwater management in different ways and to discuss the benefits and or limitations of each option. Come to hear from representatives from Ku-ring-ai, Canterbury Bankstown, Blacktown, and Hornsby, and industry experts in this field. After the presentation, there will be an open forum for discussion regarding the options and opportunities to ask questions to the presenters and others.

Registration:

• Member – $125
• Non-Member – $225

Payment online at the time of registration by credit card only.

Details:

• Wednesday, 20 September 2023
• 9:30 am to 1:00 pm
• Campsie Customer Service Centre, Canterbury-Bankstown Council
• Registration includes morning tea catering

Please note that it is a requirement that all participants bring their own laptop to the workshop.

Spaces are limited, so be sure to secure your attendance early! Please click here to register.

Meet your Presenters

Andrew Thomas – Cooks River Alliance/Stormwater NSW

Over the past 30 years, Andrew has gained experience in industries as diverse as heavy industry, environmental management, and asset management across the government, consulting, research, and not-for-profit sectors. Andrew is currently the Executive Officer for the Cooks River Alliance and Acting President of Stormwater NSW (peak body representing the urban water management industry in NSW, Australia).  

 Craig Bush – Blacktown City Council/Sydney Water 

Craig has over 13 years’ experience in working with Blacktown City Council, the largest council by population in NSW, as the catchment projects officer and since 2021 as the Waterways Coordinator. He has a key focus on WSUD and integrated water management to ensure the best outcome for the environment and community.

Craig will start a new role in September 2023 as a Senior Stormwater Planner for Sydney Water.

Craig Naughton – Ku-rin-gai Council

Craig is a passionate environmentalist who wants to see all the great aspirational ideas that occur in the industry become sustainable long-term programs. By solving problems and working with people, Craig makes environmental solutions practical and achievable.

Craig is currently the Water and Catchment Program Leader at Ku-ring-gai Council.

Alexa McAuley – Civille

Alexa has more than 20 years’ experience in green and blue infrastructure policy, planning and design. Alexa has substantial experience consulting to local government and has helped many local government clients shift water-sensitive urban design from a niche practice to a mainstream activity. In 2021 Alexa reviewed the state of stormwater management in 20 councils across the Greater Sydney Harbour catchment, including a review of financial arrangements.

Neil Keraunos

Neil has been involved in catchment remediation for over twenty years in his role at Hornsby Shire Council. He has been responsible and has contributed to hundreds of projects in relation to treating stormwater pollution and has actively supported the principles of Water Sensitive Urban Design of remediating water pollution in urbanized catchments in regards to the catchment remediation rate program. Neil was awarded a Master of Science (Research) (UTS) in 2008 in water cycle management.

Stormwater NSW is excited to announce our End of Year Drinks for 2023. This is a great opportunity to get all the stormies together, and the committee is looking forward to catching up with you all.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the year that’s been and ideas for the year ahead.

Date: Thursday, 16th November

Time: 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm

Location: Forrester’s, Surry Hills

336 Riley St, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Cost: Members: Free, Non-Members $35.00.

Registration includes one complimentary drink and nibbles.

Final day to RSVP: Monday, 13th November 2023

To register, please click here 

Are you passionate about the future of stormwater management in New South Wales? Join us for an engaging and informative webinar hosted by Stormwater NSW, where leading researchers will delve into the latest advancements and future prospects in stormwater research.

Event Highlights

• Discover the broad impacts of stormwater and potential mitigation measures.
• Explore innovative ways to better utilize stormwater as a valuable resource.
• Learn about improvements in modeling, governance, planning, designs, approvals, and more.
• Understand the direct and indirect costs of stormwater management and its benefits for cost-benefit analysis.
• Engage in discussions about future ideas and opportunities.

Special Features

• Expert Presenters: Hear from renowned researchers at Western Sydney University, Water Sensitive Cities Australia, Macquarie University, and the University of NSW.
• Interactive Q&A: Pose your burning questions to the experts during the live Q&A session.
• Networking Opportunities: Discuss potential research collaborations, identify knowledge gaps, and connect with researchers for future engagements.
• Contact Sharing: Request contact details to engage with presenters in more detail after the event.

Presenter Lineup

• Western Sydney University
• Water Sensitive Cities Australia
• Macquarie University
• University of NSW

Call for Presentations

If you have ongoing stormwater research projects that align with the themes mentioned above and would like to present at our event, we welcome you to reach out to Craig Bush at craig.bush@sydneywater.com.au.

Don’t miss this opportunity to stay at the forefront of stormwater research in NSW.

REGISTER NOW: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iKW1arMvROiyaeWoUin79A#/registration

The Operations and Maintenance Manual Workshop will be held at the Canada Bay Club in Five Dock on Monday 16 April 2024 in conjunction with the franc.sydney Conference. This full day workshop covers all aspects of operations and maintenance for all types of stormwater treatment measures.

The workshop is aimed at Maintenance Managers and Cleaning Contractors, as well as Council staff involved in the sizing, siting and approval of stormwater treatment measures. The workshop focuses on the guidelines, produced by Stormwater NSW, which have become the industry standard and reference document for the maintenance of stormwater assets across the country.

The cost of the full-day workshop includes morning tea and lunch. A copy of the Guidelines will be provided electronically for all attendees.

Stormwater NSW and Partner Member: $595 Non Member: $795

Presenter: Murray Powell, Optimal Stormwater

Stormwater NSW hosted a free webinar to compare and contrast how different Australian states fund stormwater management. Hearing from leading stormwater practitioners about their state’s funding models as well as supporting governance arrangements.

The seminar concluded of lessons and opportunities for stormwater funding in NSW.

To view the webinar, click here

Stormwater NSW – Webinar Summary of State Vs State – Origins of Stormwater Funding

Webinar Presenters –

Alexa McAuley, Director, Civille

Alexa has more than 20 years of experience in green and blue infrastructure policy, planning and design. Alexa has substantial experience consulting to local government and has helped many local government clients shift water-sensitive urban design from a niche practice to a mainstream activity, she also has an excellent understanding of the challenges facing local government in funding stormwater management.

Dr Jeremy Cheesman Director, Marsden Jacob Associates

Jeremy is an experienced environmental and resource economist specialising in urban and rural water infrastructure funding and financing. Jeremy works with governments and water businesses across Australia advising on stormwater infrastructure financing and funding mechanisms as well as supporting governance reforms.  Jeremy was a member of the Victorian Stormwater Ministerial Advisory Committee in 2018, led the development of the Victorian approach to urban stormwater offsets and helped regulated water businesses across many Australian states to gain funding for discretionary stormwater investments through customer-facing price submissions.

Cath Thrupp, CEO & Founder of Carbon Planet

Cath is an aquatic ecologist and catchment manager with 25+ years of experience delivering major water and natural resource projects within the private, public & non-profit sectors in Australia and internationally. Cath’s career has encompassed managing environmental aspects of dam operations, wetland and fish assessments, environmental flow monitoring, landscape restoration programs and urban water planning and policy.  She is now focussing on innovative business models for natural resource management. Cath is also President of Stormwater Australia.

Matthew Edgerton, Economist, Frontier Economics

Matthew Edgerton is a consulting economist with more than 20 years’ experience in regulatory economics and public policy. Matt has advised government departments and utilities on a range of issues related to the water sector including regulation, governance, investment evaluation, pricing and cost recovery. This has included, for example, advice to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment on catchment-wide stormwater and waterways governance and cost recovery arrangements in Western Sydney. Matt has also held a senior role in IPART which included overseeing IPART’s regulation of Sydney Water’s prices and charges for its stormwater services and reviewing high-value local council infrastructure contributions plans including proposed charges to recover stormwater infrastructure costs.

To View the Presenters Presentations, click below:

Financing and Funding IWM_WSAA_stormwaterNSW – Jeremy Cheesman

Stormwater management funding slides Alexa June 2024

Stormwater NSW – Financing our Future – Cath Thrupp

Stormwater funding – Matthew Edgerton

To view the webinar, click here.

Despite WSUD devices being in place for several decades now, reliable information on installation and operational costs remains elusive.

This webinar will help address this issue by reviewing the current state of knowledge of WSUD lifecycle costs, showing the link to best-practice asset management and concluding on how we can improve our data collection, cost estimation and accounting for WSUD.

In this webinar you’ll hear from a number of leading stormwater practitioners involved in lifecycle costing and management of WSUD.

Member Rate: Free Attendance

Non Member Rate: $50.00

Presentation Overviews…

Chris Manning – Water Sensitive Cities specialist, Water Sensitive Cities

Presentation: Understanding the Lifecycle Costs of Water Sensitive Solutions

Water Sensitive Cities Australia is collaborating with partners to improve understanding and estimation of lifecycle costs, ensuring decentralized systems are considered early and properly resourced for optimal benefits. Chris’ presentation will also provide a project update and outline potential next steps, subject to funding.

Sally Boer – Founding Director, E2Designlan

Presentation: Strategic Asset Management for Improved Financial Planning of Green Infrastructure – MidCoast Council and Sydney Olympic Park Case Studies

Sally’s presentation will share strategic asset management approaches developed for MidCoast Council and Sydney Olympic Park Authority to support improved financial planning and management of WSUD and ecological assets. These projects developed costed and prioritised maintenance and rectification schedules to address present-day issues, as well as long-term asset management plans and budget forecasting that lays the foundation for cost-effective management.

Rob Catchlove – Director, Wave Consulting Australia and Wave Maintenance

Presentation Overview

Modelling and budgeting for WSUD costs and maintenance has been a problem for councils and practitioners for decades. This presentation will walk through empirical evidence of the actual costs to maintenance, and built and rectify, WSUD assets.

This is based on an actual maintenance contractor, Wave Maintenance, and modelling from Wave Consulting Australia, with over 5 years of on ground experience and real costs for the cost of raingardens, swales and tree pits. It will explain why costs can become CHEAPER over time, with good maintenance, asset managers can extend the life of an asset, and increase the benefits of the assets.

It is critical to understand the variables that influence estimating maintenance costs (the largest cost in the estimation of life cycle costs), and that any discussion on costs and life cycle needs to first be asking ‘compared to the cost of not having this infrastructure in place’.

Stormwater managers have struggled for decades with funding for stormwater that is ad-hoc, poorly directed or simply inadequate to meet community needs for clean, healthy and resilient waterways.

This in-person seminar is a part of a series of events by Stormwater NSW that not only seeks to develop a common understanding of stormwater funding issues but to elicit industry views on possible solutions.

The outputs from this seminar will be used to help in advocating to the NSW Government for changes to stormwater funding models commencing with a renewed call to increase the stormwater management service charge.

Seminar participants will hear from a wide range of speakers from across and outside of the stormwater industry. Participants will also be invited to share their experience and have their say on ways forward to improve funding.

Who Should Attend the November Seminar?

The seminar is designed for those affected by funding decisions or who have the power to change, or wish to advocate for change on how stormwater management is funded.

Don’t Miss Seminar Speakers Kate Beatty, Matt Edgerton, Dan O’Halloran, Morgan Spruce and Bruce Thom

For More Information: ttps://conta.cc/3ZbnoQ4