2024 Stormwater Victoria Awards

Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Awards for Excellence

The Awards Ceremony took place at Silverwater Resort, San Remo on Tuesday, 4th June 2024 with over 200 people in attendance to watch us recognise so many amazing water projects from across the industry this year. See below full list of winners: 

Excellence in Asset Management - Winner

A  Little Litter Goes a Long Way: Innovation in Litter Assessments 

Streamology and Parks Victoria 

Project Overview: Parks Victoria has actively managed litter in the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers for 20+ years. Recent funding from the Commonwealth Government is enabling the review of existing practices and implementation of new infrastructure and capture methods. Streamology undertook an innovative data-based study for Parks Victoria, that focussed on assessing the typical operational hydrodynamic conditions, the performance of currently used and alternative litter trap designs and locations to optimise the management of litter in both waterways.
The study, conducted over three stages, showed that litter trap location within the waterways was a key determinant of success and relocating existing traps can significantly increase performance. In general, the effectiveness and feasibility of different litter interceptors was related to the type of litter the device targets (e.g. small, medium or large) and where they can be placed (e.g. whether they require access roads, power connection or land owned by others).
A comparison of options scenarios using different combinations of litter interceptors showed how litter management requires an integrated approach, combined with knowledge of the targeted litter types, sources and pathways.

"The project is impactful in that it will lead to significantly improved litter trap design, program planning and operational management - substantially increasing litter loads captured and improving efficiency of asset maintenance.  The project considers multiple environmental, economic and social benefits in its MCA and cleverly combines hydrodynamic modelling, smart technology and field-based observation to provide (and validate) a better understanding of litter transport.  Findings have already been integrated into project planning and operations, with significant improvements realised, and will be further implemented over coming months and years (subject in part to budget considerations).  Collaboration is very good, including engaging with litter trap manufacturers as well as the expected internal discussions.  It is also proposed to share findings with the broader industry so these can be used in other jurisdictions.  All up, a well-designed and impressive study that will have significant benefits for litter capture in the lower Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers."

Excellence in Policy and Education - Winner

Flood management capacity building training program

Rain Consulting and Melbourne Water

Project Overview: To deliver on actions of the Flood Management Strategy, this project aimed to design and deliver a targeted training program to build capacity of Council staff across Melbourne Water's management region. The purpose of the sessions were to ensure councils and stakeholders feel more informed on technical flood information to help Melbourne Water and Councils to work together to address and respond to the flood challenges across the region. The key outcomes of the program were:

• Participants feel they have improved their level of knowledge and increased their confident level to use new approaches or practices in your work
• Participants can apply learnings from the program in a practical way
• Participants are equipped with best practice concepts and tools to apply.

Five sessions in the format of a 1 hour presentation with a tutorial or guest speaker session afterwards were designed and presented. Four of the presentations were given live with 278 attendees across the sessions. All sessions, including the fifth recorded session, were made available online as recordings to all councils. Guest speakers were Melbourne Water or Council staff members with expertise in their fields.

Very positive feedback from attendees were recorded for all sessions.

"This is a well-designed and executed capacity building project that met industry knowledge needs through its customised format, implementing a key priority for Melbourne Water's Flood Strategy. The online availability of these knowledge sharing products for future use is a great outcome, and the phase 2 rollout in 2024 is a strong demonstration of project success and value."

Excellence in Strategic or Master Planning - Winner

Kingston's Integrated Water Strategy - Planning for Climate & Future Growth

Kingston City Council 

Project Overview: Drawing on 20 years of successfully implementing integrated water management (IWM)initiatives, the City of Kingston’s latest Strategy has created a shared vision to address future challenges, including forecast climate change and increasing residential development. 

• Using less drinking water and increasing the use of alternatives, such as rainwater tanks, stormwater and recycled water;
• Protecting waterways and Bay from all forms of pollution;
• Improving flood management;and
• Enhancing education and partnerships with our community.

Excellence in Strategic or Master Planning - Highly Commended

Sub-catchment-scale Integrated Water Management Plan for Merri-bek

Merri-bek City Council and Melbourne Water  

Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design - Winner

Murrk Ngubtj Yarram Yaluk (formerly Bellarine Basin) Transformation

Spiire and Barwon Water

Project Overview: Spiire designed the realignment and rehabilitation of Yarram Creek at the former site of the Bellarine Basin, now known as Murrk Ngubitj Yarram Yaluk.

The creek was connected back to its original course as the first phase of a wider Barwon Water initiative to transform the former Basin site into more than 30 hectares of environmental and public open space.

Spiire’s design was driven by the challenge of restoring natural habitat and enhancing biodiversity values into the future. One of the site’s new features is an ephemeral lake, which provides a habitat for native species such as the black swan and restores downstream flow into Yarram Creek.

Its design was informed by an ecological assessment and water balance modelling to ensure it delivers optimal water health and habitat.

"This nomination highlights how projects can be designed to suit a purpose and budget.  Allowing the system to "find its own" natural state, using what is on site already is exemplary and something we should all consider."

Excellence in Research and Innovation - Winner

MUSICX automation and optimisation to test harvesting targets across Melbourne 

ARUP and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action

Project Overview: As Victoria’s population grows, so does the number of dwellings, roads and supporting commercial development required. Over time, the urban footprint of Melbourne has been expanding to accommodate this growing population. This has resulted in an increase in imperviousness and stormwater runoff that ultimately degrades our waterways and waterbodies. To tackle this challenge, Arup worked with DEECA and Frontier Economics to identity effective treatment train interventions across different development scenarios and rainfall bands within Metropolitan Melbourne. The original brief and proposal accounted for 10 development scenarios to be tested using MUSICX, however Arup found this would not adequately cover the range of possibilities - with variations in development types (residential, industrial, commercial, extensions, infill etc at various scales), and in different locations with different rainfall, waterway conditions and stormwater management possibilities. Recognising the limitations and 'blind spots' this created in identifying effective interventions, the Arup digital team developed a method to take an automation and optimisation approach using Artificial Intelligence (A.I). This method enabled Arup to execute and evaluate 24,500 MUSIC X model runs and resulted in a robust database for determining the best optimal WSUD combination for a variety of scenarios. 

"There is a lack of knowledge in industry on if and how various types of development can achieve the proposed flow reduction targets recently published by EPA. This work applies robust methodology to fill this gap and provides valuable insights to inform policy making within Greater Melbourne."

Excellence in Research and Innovation - Highly Commended

JohnConnorOnline: Online WSUD Modelling, Reporting & Compliance Tool

Cleanstormwater

2022 Stormwater Victoria Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Awards for Excellence

The Awards Ceremony took place at Novotel Geelong on Tuesday, 7th June 2022 with over 100 people in attendance to watch us share the stage with AWA and recognise so many amazing water projects from across the industry this year. See below full list of winners: 

Excellence in Asset Management - Winner

Optimization, Improvement, Capacity Building and Education on the Maintenance of the City of Casey Stormwater Treatment Assets

Optimal Stormwater and City of Casey Council

Excellence in Policy or Education - Winner

Drainage System Design and Water Sensitive Urban Design Training Courses

Stormy Water Solutions

Excellence in Policy or Education - Higly Commended

Stormwater Planning Capacity Building Initiatives for Urban Developments in Victoria

DELWP and Clearwater

Excellence in Strategic or Master Planning - Winner

Prioritising IWM Opportunities in Inner Melbourne

Engeny Water Management and Yarra City Council

Excellence in Infrastructire - Winner

'A Coastal Wetland' - The First Coastal Bioinfiltration Basin on the Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, Rye Community Group Alliance, Engeny Water Management, Melbourne Water and DELWP

Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design - Winner

An Integrated Rural Approach - Pettinella Farm Wetland

Storm Consulting

Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design - Highly Commended

Woodlands Park Stormwater Harvesting and Greening Project

Moonee Valley City Council, Greater Western Water, Melbourne Water and Engeny Water Management

Excellence in Research and Innovation - Winner

STORMupdated: Online Tool for Water Quality and On-Site Detention Modelling and Compliance

Cleanstormwater

Excellence in Research and Innovation - Highly Commended

Permeability, The New Frontier in Stormwater Management

E2Designlab, Spatial Vision, Hansen Partnership and City of Port Phillip

2019 Stormwater Victoria Award Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Awards for Excellence

The Awards Ceremony took place at ZINC Federation Square on Thursday, 5th December 2019 with over 350 people in attendance to watch us share the stage with AWA and recognise so many amazing water projects from across the industry this year. See below full list of winners: 

Excellence in Infrastructure - Highly Commended

Daylighting Dandenong Creek

Melbourne Water

Excellence in Infrastructure - Winner

Two for One - Tim Neville Arboretum & Dobson Oval IWM Scheme

Knox City Council

Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design - Higly Commended

Alma Park Stormwater Harvesting System

City of Port Phillip, E2 DesignLab, Simpson Construction, Melbourne Water

Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design - Winner

Returning Our Lost "Wet Spaces" to the City's Environs - Creating Places Where People and Water Meet

Knox City Council

Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design proudly sponsored by GHD   

Excellence in Policy and Education - Winner

Our Future Cities: 2018 Interdisciplinary Design program

Our Future Cities, Loci Environment & Place

Excellence in Research and Innovation - Winner

Pollution Prevention Program, Enhancing Our Dandenong Creek

Melbourne Water

Excellence in Research and Innovation - Winner

Urban Streamflow Impact Assessment (USIA)

Streamology Pty Ltd, CT Environmental, Sydney Water, University of Melbourne

Excellence in Strategic and Master Planning - Winner

Chain of Ponds Collaboration - Transforming the Moonee Ponds Creek Through Collective Action

Melbourne Water, Moreland City Council, Moonee Valley City Council, Hume City Council, Melbourne City Council, Yarra Valley Water, City West Water, Parks Victoria, Victorian Planning Authority, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek, Friends of Upper Moonee Ponds Creek, Kensington Association, Moonee BUG, Living Colour Studio