The stormwater and integrated urban water management sector converged on Canberra from 27 to 30 October 2026 for Franc.2026, the premier annual conference convened by Stormwater NSW. Operating under the theme 'Be Franc and Drive Change', the conference was hosted in partnership with the Australian Capital Territory Government by the New South Wales state association, yet its technical breadth and policy ambition resonated across the nation.
With practitioners, researchers, local council engineers and policy leaders assembling from across Australia, the discussions mirrored systemic challenges experienced in every jurisdiction: from the rapid greenfield growth frontiers of Western Sydney to the complex, retrofitted urban catchments of Melbourne, Geelong and Canberra. The cross-pollination of empirical science, asset management practice and progressive planning frameworks underscored that local urban water challenges demand nationwide strategic thinking.
Key conference highlights and emerging national themes
1. Strategic leadership, circularity and reframing the narrative
Opening the conference plenary, Professor Tony Wong (Monash University) reflected on 35 years of industry evolution, outlining 5 foundational principles for transformative change: rigorous science, inter-sectoral collaboration, pragmatism, persistence and strategic agility. Wong highlighted that reframing water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) into the broader vision of Water Sensitive Cities elevated the discipline beyond narrow engineering compliance into broad socio-ecological liveability.
Reinforcing this call to action, Colan Chin (Stormwater 2030) delivered a pointed challenge to break the 'stormwater Babel'. Chin stressed that technical jargon—such as hydrographs and nutrient loads—consistently fails 'the pub test' with treasury officials and politicians, urging the sector to unify its voice around tangible national priorities: housing readiness, public health and climate-resilience insurance. Complementing this perspective, Dr André Taylor explored 10 leadership principles focused on collective influence, while Arup’s Frankie Coen and Steve Clarke unveiled the Circular Water Cities Explorer, demonstrating how urban water cycles across Melbourne, Sydney and other capitals can shift from linear discharge to integrated, resilient circular economies.
2. From lot-scale compliance to regional infrastructure delivery
A recurring theme throughout the technical sessions was the clear limitation of piecemeal, on-lot WSUD controls in high-growth corridors. Presentations spotlighting Western Sydney’s massive Aerotropolis and Mamre Road Precincts demonstrated a significant paradigm shift toward precinct-scale, publicly managed infrastructure:
- Scheme serviced areas (SSA): Craig Bush (Sydney Water / Civille) detailed how Sydney Water’s Regional Stormwater Authority is pioneering the SSA framework, replacing fragmented, temporary on-lot retention with sub-catchment-scale accounting and regional asset delivery.
- Integrated delivery realities: Tim Michel (AT&L) outlined the practical civil engineering and staging solutions deployed in the Mamre Road Precinct to deliver regional wetlands, bioretention systems and harvesting ponds ahead of recycled water trunk mains.
- Place-based hydrology: Tom Patterson (Sydney Water) argued for recognising and crediting the ancient, self-regenerating 'chain of ponds' systems across the Cumberland Plain, illustrating how place-based natural waterways provide thermal and ecological buffering that conventional model-driven concrete treatment trains cannot replicate.
3. Proactive asset intelligence and life-cycle management
The industry’s historic focus on capital construction without lifecycle planning received critical examination across multiple jurisdictions:
- Condition and risk audits: Murray Powell (Optimal Stormwater) shared operational findings from auditing over 300 SQIDs across the ACT, highlighting the urgent need for contractor field training, cleaning specifications and regional decanting facilities. In parallel, Dr Guy Amos (Optimal Stormwater) presented culvert risk assessments for Central Coast Council, showing that even partial blockages can cause catastrophic surcharges without regular predictive clearing.
- Life-cycle scoring and smart tools: Ben Wolfgramm (Stormwater Services Australia / National Stormwater Improvement Taskforce) showcased the new SQID Lifecycle Tool, evaluating assets across 4 core pillars: lifecycle costing, maintainability, operator safety and environmental sustainability. Concurrently, Usman Sarwar (Monash Innovation Labs) and David Nixon (Stormwater Services Australia) explored the commercial reality of edge-AI and IoT sensors mounted on municipal vehicles to autonomously detect sediment track-out and gross pollutants in real time.
4. The science of catchment protection and neglected contaminants
Technical presentations broke new ground regarding urban pollutants and catchment thresholds:
- Detritus and organic matter: Research by Megan Fluke (University of Canberra) and Alexa McAuley / Craig Naughton (Civille and Hornsby Shire Council) revealed that decomposing leaf litter and organic detritus in kerbside gutters release up to 70% bioavailable phosphorus, identifying targeted street sweeping as one of the most cost-effective diffuse pollution measures available.
- Microbial and emerging pollutants: Dr Ana Rubio (Hornsby Shire Council) showcased Microbial Source Tracking (MST) DNA markers to distinguish domestic animal from human sewage sources, while UNSW researchers Fathiya Mufidah and Haoran Sun documented the accumulation of tyre-derived chemicals and plasticisers within ageing biofilter media.
- Catchment-scale flow targets: Dr Geoff Vietz and Dr Christine Lauchlan Arrowsmith (Streamology) presented evidence-based spatial methodologies (such as the Method for Regional Stormwater Prioritisation, MrsP) to establish differentiated hydrologic flow and infiltration targets that genuinely safeguard downstream geomorphology and Ramsar wetlands.
The national road ahead: collaboration over compliance
- Addressing delegates on the second morning, Alice Lisitsa, President of Stormwater Australia, reminded practitioners that Australia’s urban landscapes cannot withstand mounting climate extremes through siloed, one-size-fits-all engineering rules. Accelerating housing targets and evolving Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) standards demand structured cross-sector alignment—bringing together land development agencies, local councils, consultancies and state environmental regulators.
- The lessons drawn from Franc.2026 clearly signal that whether tackling diffuse pollution in the Hawkesbury–Nepean, rehabilitating urban wetlands in Byron Bay or designing heat-resilient street canopies in Western Sydney, the future of our urban waterways depends upon collaborative governance, lifecycle accountability and speaking a clear value narrative to our communities.
