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Urban Water Solutions Partners with Civil Survey Solutions

Urban Water Solutions (UWS) and Civil Survey Solutions (CSS) are pleased to announce that we have entered into a partnership for the sales and support of the Autodesk Innovyze suite of hydraulic modelling software products.

Under this partnership, new sales and subscription renewals will be processed by CSS, but any Innovyze support and training will be provided directly by UWS. UWS will also be working closely with CSS in marketing and presales by providing informed advice to clients on their modelling software requirements.

This partnership provides clients with a one-stop shop for all of their CAD, Project Management, Asset Management, and Hydraulic Modelling software requirements with the surety that all products will be supported by experienced users.

We believe that this partnership will be advantageous to both our businesses and our respective clients.
See the CSS press release for more information.

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Urban Water Solutions Greening Victoria

On a sunny Saturday in September, a group of Urban Water Solutions team members volunteered their time to help plant 550 trees.

The planting session was conducted in the Liwik Barring Landscape Conservation Area. This is a new conservation area in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges. The trees will increase the habitat for the last remaining wild population of the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater (Victoria’s bird emblem), and the only lowland population of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum (Victoria’s faunal emblem).

For more information about the Conservation Area please visit: www.environment.vic.gov.au/liwik-barring-conservation-area

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Welcome Ben Caplikas to Urban Water Solutions

Urban Water Solutions has added a new engineer to our rapidly expanding (relatively speaking) workforce.

Environmental Engineer Ben Caplikas joined us in mid-September 2023 and was immediately put to work on one of the many network modelling projects that we currently have in progress.

An honors graduate from RMIT University, Ben comes to UWS with over 2-years’ of experience in contaminated land management but is rapidly finding his feet as a hydraulic modeller.

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Celebration of work performed on Greater Western Water Engineering Services Panel

Six-years’ of partnership in delivering engineering services to Greater Western Water was celebrated recently at Beca’s Melbourne office. Urban Water Solutions (UWS) is one of a team of consultants led by CH2M Beca, who were originally appointed to Western Water’s Engineering Services Panel in 2017.

Following Western Water’s merger with City West Water, the services offered by the Panel now extends to all Greater Western Water’s licence area.

The event provided an opportunity for all consultants, who have partnered with CH2M Beca, to gather socially and for many, it was the first time that partners were able to meet face to face.

Matt Bismark, Beca, congratulated the Panel team on their contribution to the massive program of works necessary to provide water supply and sewerage services to one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria. With the formation of Greater Western Water, the panel now has a significantly larger capital works plan to deliver than anticipated in 2017.

CH2M Beca used the gathering as an opportunity to recognise the contribution of individuals to the panel by presenting awards. Stuart Stapely was proud to accept the award for “Model Consultant” on behalf of UWS.

Thank you to the organisers, especially Shathie and Ben of Beca, for hosting this entertaining and enjoyable event.

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Urban Water Solutions is now an Autodesk Value Added Reseller

Urban Water Solutions is pleased to announce that we have added a new service provision to our business. We are now a Value Added Reseller for Autodesk products.

With over 30 years of experience in providing hydraulic modelling services to the water industry, Urban Water Solutions has in-depth knowledge in the application of hydraulic modelling products like InfoWorks WS Pro, and InfoWorks ICM. These products became part of the Autodesk stable when Autodesk purchased Innovyze software in 2021. So, as an Autodesk Reseller, Urban Water Solutions is best placed to provide, sales, support, and training services for Autodesk InfoWorks products alongside Autodesk’s comprehensive range of engineering, architecture, and building design products.

We look forward to building our customer base and assisting existing customers with their network modelling software requirements, as we continue to provide high-value consultancy services to the water industry.

For more information email: autodesk@urbanwatersolutions.com

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UWS holds Lunch and Learn on First Nations Voice to Parliament

Associate Professor Alison Vivian addressed Urban Water Solutions staff at our June 2023 Lunch and Learn session. Alison, a lawyer, and researcher at the Indigenous Nations and Collaborative Futures research hubs within the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, and the University of Technology Sydney, presented an overview of constitutional law in the context of the upcoming referendum on the First Nations Voice to Parliament.

The presentation covered how constitutions can take various forms and should be viewed as a ‘means to an end’ rather than an end in themselves. Dr. Vivian also provided the legal background as to why the original 1900 Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia was worded in such a way that did not recognise First Nations People as part of the Australian population.  Although this was addressed in the 1967 amendment to the constitution, subsequent dialogues with First Nations people, culminating with the Uluru Statement in 2017, led to a call for a First Nations Voice to Parliament to be incorporated within Australia’s constitution and is the impetus for the Referendum to be held later this year.

Dr. Vivian explained how the Voice to Parliament should be seen in a similar light to our readiness to acknowledge First Nations people’s custodianship of land at public events and presentations. The inclusion of the Voice to Parliament in our constitution provides the means for Parliament to develop and introduce the rules and practices necessary for First Nations people to provide Parliament and the government with advice regarding the matters that affect their families and communities.

Urban Water Solutions is grateful to Assoc. Prof. Alison Vivian for expanding our knowledge on this important topic.

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Urban Water Solutions Contributes to Award Winning Sewer Relining Project

Urban Water Solutions was engaged by the John Holland – KBR Joint Venture to provide hydraulic analysis for sewer flow management associated with a project to renew Melbourne Water’s Epsom Road Main Sewer. The sewer, which was originally constructed over 100 years ago, provides an essential link between major sewers in Melbourne’s sewerage network. This renewal required the installation of over 3.5km of pipes and associated pump systems for sewage bypass at 12 locations for flow rates of up to 550 l/s.

Urban Water Solutions conducted the hydraulic modelling required to simulate the bypass systems and the sewage flow management strategies that were necessary for the works to be completed safely and on time. This modelling work included:

    • Modifying and combining existing Melbourne Water (MW) and Greater Western Water (GWW) sewer network models using Infoworks ICM,
    • Ensuring that the combined model simulations reproduced simulations previously conducted by MW and GWW,
    • Verification of the combined model against newly commissioned flow monitoring data,
    • Incorporation of by-pass pumps and associated rising mains into the Infoworks ICM model,
    • Development of protocols for operation of the sewage diversion system based around forecast and observed rainfall, and
    • Provision of advice to assist with emergency evacuation plans.

Urban Water Solutions work on this project contributed to Melbourne Water and its project partners, John Holland – KBR JV, Interflow, and Welltech, winning the Water Industry Safety Excellence Award at the 2023 Australian Water Association National Awards.

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Welcome, Stephen D’Agata, to the Urban Water Solutions family

The Urban Water Solutions family has grown this week with the appointment of Stephen D’Agata as a Principal Engineer. Stephen brings over 35 years of experience in water supply and sewerage infrastructure planning, modelling and asset management to the team.

He commenced his engineering career with the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in 1988 and went on to pioneer the use of computerised hydraulic modelling for sewerage network analysis and catchment planning at Yarra Valley Water in 1995. He then led the water supply and sewerage asset management team for Goulburn Valley Water before managing the provision of network modelling, GIS, and asset management services for the Australian branch of a multinational engineering consultancy.

Over the past decade, Stephen has managed drainage services and implemented flood mapping for two inner Melbourne city councils, held an executive position on the Stormwater Victoria committee, and worked as a Principal Consultant providing water management services to both the private and public sector.

An accomplished wordsmith, Stephen’s skills in written and verbal communication have been used to translate detailed hydraulic model results into outputs that have been used to garner investment for several major infrastructure projects.

Outside of work, Stephen is a published novelist, actor in amateur theatre, YouTuber, and occasional stand-up comedian.

A long-time friend of many of our team members, we greatly look forward to Stephen sharing his knowledge and experience with us and our clients.

 

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Sunbury Stormwater Harvesting Presentation – SV2023

UWS are delighted to share that Bradley Nissley and Wira Yan (from Melbourne Water) will be presenting on Finding the balance between complexity and accuracy in modelling the Sunbury Stormwater Harvesting Scheme in June at the 2023 Stormwater Victoria Conference.

Stormwater Victoria recognises the need to assist the industry in development of leaders within the stormwater industry to drive positive change towards sustainable water management now and for the future.

Melbourne Water has committed to reducing the impact of urbanisation on its waterways and is actively developing solutions in key priority areas that can better manage stormwater runoff and prevent further degradation of rivers and creeks.

In 2015, a range of integrated water management options for Sunbury were assessed, and it was concluded that a regional-scale stormwater harvesting scheme was the best solution to protect Jacksons Creek and Emu Creek from increased stormwater runoff resulting from development.

The Sunbury Stormwater Harvesting Scheme is the first of its kind in Victoria and seeks to intercept 80% of stormwater runoff by harvesting approximately 4 GL of excess stormwater runoff each year. This scheme creates a new source of alternative water which can be reused for several demand options currently under investigation.

This presentation will focus on the methodology adopted for creating the ICM model as well as the benefits obtained from having a detailed understanding of the hydrology and hydraulics occurring in this scheme in the one model.

For more details on the conference please the conference website – 2023 Stormwater Victoria Conference (eventsair.com)

Example of a stormwater wetland (this is not Sunbury)