The science of securing our water future

How do you plan for a future that's full of unknowns? 

That's a question Rachel spends a lot of time thinking about. 

As Manager of Water Planning, she's responsible for helping make sure our water supply continues to meet the needs of our growing communities, both now and into the future. 

That means planning for two major uncertainties: population growth and future rainfall. 

"Water is so essential to our lives, but so many people are surprised when I explain what I do. They often haven't considered what needs to happen before water comes out of their taps," Rachel said. 

That planning starts long before water reaches our homes. Rachel and her team use science, data and modelling to help make sure our water system can meet the needs of a growing region. 

Rachel in the office recently

They do this by analysing information from across the water network, including water meters, pumps, reservoirs, pressure sensors and customer demand. They then combine this with data on population growth and future development. 

Using digital models, the team can create a virtual version of the water network and test different scenarios, helping them understand how the system may respond. 

"Lots of things we plan for are unpredictable, including population growth and climate change," Rachel said. "We manage this by considering multiple different futures and planning for a range of scenarios." 

By testing these scenarios, Rachel and her team can make informed decisions about how to keep water flowing to a rapidly growing region. 

With a background in environmental engineering, Rachel's worked across planning, design, asset management, project delivery and strategy. What excites her most isn't a single project, but tackling complex system problems 

"A big part of my role is balancing what our customers need today with what future generations will need tomorrow," she said. 

Melbourne's water system has served the city well for more than a century but planning for the next 100 years brings a new set of challenges. 

"Rainfall is becoming more variable due to climate change and our population continues to grow, so we need to make sure we're planning for the future – just like the engineers who designed Melbourne's water supply system more than 100 years ago." 

Most of us don't think twice about where our water comes from. But Rachel does. Every day, she's helping make decisions that will shape our water future for generations to come.