Vandana Thakur, Software Tester, visits Canberra primary school to share STEM experience with future leaders
It is not often we get the opportunity to talk to young people about the work we do and the role we play in the water sector but when it does happen it reinforces why we work at eWater Group.
Vandana Thakur, our Software Tester, recently visited Garran Primary School, Canberra, and met with students as part of a STEM activity where a cohort of people shared their roles and why they do it. Vandana was joined by representatives from our Australian Deference Forces, a physicist, pathologist, and a solar energy specialist.
For Vandana it was the opportunity to share why she works at eWater Group and how her role is helping to provide creative, science-based and trusted water management expertise and tools within Australia and internationally.
As part of her visit, students took part in a drawing competition to understand the importance of protecting our water resources, the role of eWater Source™, Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform, and how everyone has a part to play.
Congratulations to all the students and thank you to Garran Primary School for inviting us to share our story.
World Environment Day
eWater Group recognises World Environment Day and the work of our people
Protecting and restoring land from the environmental demands and challenges it faces now and into the future is a key takeaway for World Environment Day today, and a core mission at eWater Group.
We are relied upon to provide creative, science-based, and trusted water management expertise and tools to meet Australian and international needs, and that includes giving back to our local communities, and protecting our environment.
In Australia and globally, our people develop, manage, and deploy tools and services than enhance the sound and responsible management of water, together with our international development program management capabilities in the pursuit of integrated water resource management objectives and poverty reduction.
Locally, we have volunteered in our community by planting nearly 600 native trees on the Gudgenby River near the Namadgi National Park on the border of the ACT and NSW. The Gudgenby River faces significant pressure from increasing water temperatures, flash flooding, erosion, environmental weeds, and feral pests . Below is a before and after shot of our partnership with the Australian River Restoration Centre.
For us, World Environment Day is an opportunity to encourage conversation on this important issue but more importantly provoke action to protect our local waterways and those who depend on it in their communities, here in Australia or internationally.
If you want to learn how you can get involved with the Australian River Restoration Centre > https://arrc.au/
eWater Group recognises Reconciliation Day and continuing to foster collaboration with First Nations and their communities
eWater Group acknowledges Reconciliation Day as a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and how we all can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
As an organisation, we are committed to encompassing the experiences of First Nations people in all aspects of our work through better engagement and recognition of in the invaluable knowledge and capabilities of First Nations in the water sector.
Michael Wilson, eWater Group CEO, said “our work is centered around integrity, building value and opportunities for all Australian governments, as well as sustaining and enriching our partners and the communities and their people that we support, including First Nations people.”
“We recognise that while are collaborating and supporting the unique experiences and knowledge of First Nations people in water management, there is also more to be done and we look forward to fostering more opportunities and representation of First Nations people and their communities. Mutual trust and respect is a necessary precondition for any knowledge sharing. Some traditional knowledge cannot be shared, and some is sensitive and must be treated and protected accordingly. eWater is committed to holding these principles as absolute.”
eWater Solutions is also working toward ensuring Australian water managers can plan for and respond to future challenges and opportunities through the incorporation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander water management practices within our hydrological and software platforms.
eWater Group acknowledges Reconciliation Day today and continuing to foster better collaboration with First Nations people and their communities.
Celebrating our Corporate Governance champions
Celebrating the spine of our organisation
Our people have always been central to everything we do at eWater Group . They play a critical role in our commitment to the pursuit of the sustainable management of water resources through the sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge nationally and globally.
Our latest and first Group Annual Report is testament to the positive impact we have had in the pursuit of the sustainable management of water resources through the sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge, nationally and globally.
Our Corporate Governance team, led by Stephen Cory, MBA, GAICD, CPA, BCom, Chief Operating Officer, is critical in our organisation’s ability to make these sustainable changes in these communities.
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, eWater Group “our corporate governance team are the spine of our organisation. They have helped deliver a strong financial future for the organisation while supporting for our people, owners, partners, and clients.”
“The future of eWater Group and its people is a bright and dynamic one driven by a passionate creative, expert, and professional team.”
eWater Group to deliver Phase 3 of the Australian Water Partnership
eWater Group has won the contract to deliver Phase 3 of the Australian Water Partnership
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has selected eWater Group as the Managing Contractor of Phase 3 of the Australian Water Partnership to deliver sustainable and climate resilient water resource management in the Indo-Pacific region over the next five years.
As part of an open tender process, eWater Group demonstrated its ability to deliver integrated water resource management with integrity, value and evidence-based advice and support.
eWater Group has successfully mobilised Australian water sector expertise through the Australian Water Partnership Phase 1 and 2 since 2015 which has seen AWP evolve to deliver development and partnership outcomes driven by local needs.
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, eWater Group, said “Our successful management of the Australian Water Partnership solidifies our continued commitment to support, facilitate and encourage high-quality, reliable, and evidence-based decision-making over water resources.”
“As a trusted advisor to public, private and research sector, water managers in Australia and internationally, eWater Group brings a wealth of experience implementing complex climate-resilient water resource management programs.”
eWater Group together with the Australian Water Partnership look forward to delivering a successful Phase 3 on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
We are putting a spotlight on the Australian Water Partnership’s 2022-23 achievements across the Pacific region
“The Australian Water Partnership continues to go from strength to strength in development programming, sharing knowledge and brokering partnership, and continues to advocate for sustainable and climate responsible water resource management to reduce poverty in our region,” Michael Wilson, Group CEO, eWater Group
We continue our spotlight on our divisions particularly the Australian Water Partnership as part of our latest annual report and their achievements in the Pacific community.
In 2022-23, the AWP team supported DFAT to achieve:
🌏 Papua New Guinea: Partnering with WaterAid Australia, AWP supported the development and integration of an inclusive Monitoring Information System which focuses on water scarcity, water security, climate resilient and GEDSI activities. The activity included a focus on community based WRM and WASH which was designed and rolled out in collaboration with the East Sepik Council of Women and East Sepik Disabled Person’s Agency to deliver community engagement sessions on inclusive water resource management.
🌏Partnerships for a Resilient and Climate-Smart Water Sector – Pacific and Southeast Asia – Pacific and Southeast Asia: Utility ‘twins’ were facilitated by the Australian Water Association, to build people-to-people partnerships across five countries and established relationships between AWA and other water associations in Indonesia, Solomon Islands and Vietnam.
We acknowledge and thank the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Water Partnership, WaterAid Australia, East Sepik Council of Women, East Sepik Disabled Person’s Agency, and the Australian Water Association.
eWater MUSIC: Our tools helping the next generation
eWater MUSIC: Harmonising nature and technology to create resilient cities
Urban Hydrologist, Mukta Sapkota, guest lectured at the University of South Australia for its Water Sensitive Design and MUSIC Modelling for Stormwater Management
Today [April 15 2024], our Senior Urban Hydrologist, Mukta Sapkota was invited as a guest lecturer to the University of South Australia for its Water Sensitive Design and MUSIC Modelling for Stormwater Management lecture where she shared her extensive expertise and knowledge on eWater MUSIC™.
eWater MUSIC™ our software tool that simulates the behaviour of stormwater in urban catchments and helps our community to understand the performance of stormwater quality treatment systems.
“It was a great privilege to be able to share best practices, capabilities and knowledge of our water management tools with students from the University of South Australia. These opportunities to share knowledge and skills are all part of our efforts to sustainably manage our precious waterways,” Mukta Sapkota said.
“I am thrilled to be sharing my expertise and knowledge in the Water Sensitive Design and MUSIC Modelling for Stormwater Management lecture. It is great opportunity to delve into sustainable urban design and modelling techniques, highlighting how we can harmonise nature and technology to create resilient cities.”
eWater MUSIC™ is used taught in 14 Australian universities and used by over 120 Australian councils, hundreds of engineering and development businesses across Australia > https://ewater.org.au/products/music/
We just wanted to say thank you to the University of South Australia and University of Adelaide which have been long-standing supporters of eWater MUSIC™ and have been teaching it to the next generation of urban planners, water engineers and urban development professionals for the past ten years.
Partnerships: Working with the South Australian Government
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, and Sarah Ransom, General Manager of the Australian Water Partnership, met with the South Australian Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Dr Susan Close MP.
South Australia has a formidable legacy in water investment and reform including, through its partnership with eWater Group, a determination to strengthen SA’s water security approach and fully implement sustainable and integrated water resource management practices.
We are very proud of our work in South Australia through our two divisions, eWater Solutions and the Australian Water Partnership.
Both of our divisions have had a long-standing and successful partnership with the South Australian Government in providing creative, science-based, and trusted water management expertise and tools to meet its water management needs and facilitate South Australian expertise to be deployed around the world in the service of better water management and poverty reduction.
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, and Sarah Ransom, General Manager of the Australian Water Partnership, met with the South Australian Deputy Premier and Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Dr Susan Close MP, to reiterate our continued support to the South Australian Government and its people who have invested in the capabilities we are entrusted to maintain and deliver.
“It was a great pleasure to meet again with the Deputy Premier this week and update her on eWater’s work with her Department and counterpart agencies across the country to strengthen and broaden the tools and services which strengthen quality, evidence-based decision-making over the management of Australia’s scarce and critical water resources,” said Michael Wilson, Group CEO of eWater.
“No Australian state government has done more than SA to help project Australian water management knowledge internationally, over many years. South Australia, at the end of the Murray-Darling system, has been pivotal in implementing the National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source, developed and managed by eWater Group.”
“Our meeting provided an opportunity to look at ways in which we can further develop and refine a modernised eWater Source, as well as improve our other water management tools like eWater MUSIC, in the interests of all users.”
“We also had the opportunity to discuss the SA Government’s continued strong involvement in the delivery of activities by the Australian Government’s flagship international water for development initiative, the Australian Water Partnership, and its strong and continued support for its activities in Australia and internationally.”
eWater has been involved in many successful endeavours with South Australia, delivering water management expertise, best practice, capabilities, and knowledge over the past twenty or more years.
We work to support, facilitate, and encourage high-quality, reliable, and evidence-based decision making over water resources. We do this by developing, managing, and deploying tools and services that enhance the sound and responsible management of water.
South Australia is a critical member of the eWater hydrological modelling community through its use of eWater Source and eWater MUSIC, our water sensitive urban design tool. MUSIC is used in eight Local Government areas and 29 South Australia-based firms provide MUSIC services to clients. The Department for Environment and Water and (DEW) and SA Water are active users of eWater Source.
Recently, through eWater Solutions, we worked with DEW to incorporate the Source Farm Dam plugin, making the functionality available to all eWater Source users. Farm dams influence the movement of surface water across the landscape and can slow or reduce flows to local waterways. It is important to be able to model these effects on water volume, quality, and availability in shared river systems where all users can be affected.
In areas with a high proportion of farm dams, such as rural residential areas like the Mount Lofty Ranges, these impacts can be significant. Incorporating the functionality into Source allows for a finer-scale assessment of the potential impacts of farm dams, giving water managers critical information to understand and respond to these impacts.
In addition to this project, eWater Solutions supported DEW to develop new tools to improve and simplify its model management systems and modelling outputs, in partnership DEW’s own modelling experts.
Our international development flagship, the Australian Water Partnership, managed by eWater on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has been working with the South Australian Government for some years now on various activities in developing countries overseas, as well as in the organisation of national and international policy forums and awareness-raising events.
The Australian Water Partnership worked with experts from the South Australian Government on an important groundwater activity in the Lao PDR with Flinders University. These experts, who are working on groundwater management in South Australia, were able to provide valuable peer-to-peer partnership to Lao colleagues, based on how they manage the challenges within their own communities.
South Australia has long been a supportive of national and international water events such as the 2023 Australian Water Partnership Partners Workshop, which was designed with DEW, and opened by members of the Kaurna people, SA Governor Her Excellency Frances Adamson AC and SA Deputy Premier and Minister for Water, the Hon Dr Susan Close MP. The Partners Workshop offered Australian water experts a range of engaging and informative sessions to drive conversations and practical steps towards strengthening community and environmental resilience at home and overseas through taking cost-effective and evidence-based water and climate action.
We were also privileged to have the support of the SA Water Ambassador, the Hon Karlene Maywald, who has participated in several AWP activities over recent years including as a member of Australian delegations to UN Climate Change Convention COP27 and COP28, as well as the 2022 World Water Week in Stockholm.
We are profoundly proud of what we have achieved in our partnership with the South Australian Government, and we look forward to strengthening and evolving together with other Australian government and private sector partners in the pursuit of better water resource management in Australia and internationally, for the benefit of all.
The National Water Initiative: Have your say
As a water management organisation, we are strong advocates in the building of water knowledge, capacity, and capabilities, especially in hydrological modelling, in Australia and internationally.
eWater Group welcomes the announcement by the Australian Government to open consultations on a future national water agreement, the National Water Initiative (NWI), and seeks the opportunity to create a more robust approach in building an efficient and sustainable water industry.
The NWI has had a significant impact on Australian water reforms over the past 20 years, including the establishment of the National Hydrological Modelling Strategy, which saw the adoption of the eWater Source as the national platform.
A more contemporary NWI will help address the future challenges Australia will face, including the continued impact of climate change on our water resources, water scarcity and sustainability. A future NWI will also see greater integration of First Nations water knowledge and elevate Indigenous voices.
We encourage our partners to be part of this consultation and make a submission by 3 May 2024. This is our opportunity to have a say on the future of sustainable water management in Australia.
From the Chair: Supporting a Refreshed National Water Initiative
Supporting a Refreshed National Water Initiative
From Greg Claydon, eWater Limited Chair and Independent Director
There has been long recognition of the importance of building knowledge, capacity and capability if we are to have an efficient and sustainable water industry in Australia. That has often been inferred and regularly stated during Australia’s water reform journey. There are likely varying views among stakeholders regarding the extent to which such recognition and importance have been underpinned by adequate resources and actions.
eWater Group regards the building of water knowledge, capacity, and capability, especially in hydrological modelling and other decision support tools, processes and products within the Australian and international professional water management community, as fundamental to our mission, subject to resource practicalities.
Australia’s Productivity Commission is currently undertaking an inquiry into the reform progress of Australia’s water resources sector. This inquiry, which follows reports of previous inquiries by the Productivity Commission in 2017 and 2020, is expected to provide advice about the progress of all Australian governments in achieving the objectives, outcomes and timelines anticipated under the 2004 Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative (NWI) and, where practicable, on key aspects of water security for Australia.
The Productivity Commission has noted that reform of the Australian water sector has been ongoing over several decades, reflecting the fundamental importance of water to all aspects of our society and environment, and the significant challenges involved in managing a shared natural resource impacted by climate change and periods of scarcity.
Water reform at a national level accelerated in 1994 when the then Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed a water reform framework. That framework recognised that decision making should be determined on the best available scientific information. Although not expressly stated in the framework, it was also recognised at the time that knowledge, information and understanding about Australia’s water resources needed to improve. That was being supported through the Cooperative Research Centres program, among others, including the CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH) and the CRC for Freshwater Ecology (CRCFE).
In 2004, COAG agreed that the NWI include knowledge and capacity building as a key element to assist in underpinning implementation of the agreement. Supporting that, further requirements, identified by the earlier work of the CRCCH and the CRCFE and others, lead to the establishment of the eWater CRC in 2005. These CRCs provide the heritage for eWater Ltd, a not-for-profit (and also a “not-for-loss”!) company owned by all Australian Governments, to, among other things, be the trustee of the intellectual property developed through the investment under the CRC and other programs of well over $100 million of public money.
In 2008, COAG agreed that a National Hydrological Modelling Strategy (NHMS) was needed to support better water planning and management in Australia, including to support implementation of the NWI. A key output and product of the NHMS has been the adoption of the eWater Source hydrological modelling platform as the National Hydrological Modelling Platform (NHMP).
eWater Group is the custodian and manager of Source. We are also the custodian and manager of other important software-based hydrological modelling tools and services, including eWater MUSIC, the urban stormwater modelling product used by more than 120 Local Governments across Australia to support their decisions about urban developments. As a part of these roles and responsibilities, we aim to ensure the security and integrity of these tools are guaranteed and satisfy industry standards and government cybersecurity requirements.
Source, as the NHMP, has been integral to many governments’, and their agencies’ and utilities’, decision-making processes for sustainable water resources planning and management; granting of water entitlements and announcements of water allocations; assessment of water security and water infrastructure developments; and, increasingly, river and water infrastructure operations and compliance activities. These may be multi-billion-dollar decisions, so Source system performance, reliability and resilience are fundamental for it to be “fit-for-purpose”.
Source provides an integral tool to link science to help inform water policy, planning, management, operations, accounting, and compliance. Importantly, water policy, planning, management, operations, accounting, and compliance are adaptive in the Australian context. They need to be, as our population, climate, land uses, water using behaviours and community expectations and attitudes change. So too then, Source has to be adaptive, and it needs to have proper upkeep, modernisation and maintenance as a critical asset to support decision making.
Arguably, the same is true for water reform in Australia. So, in that respect, it is pleasing that the Australian Government has committed to renew the NWI. No doubt, that renewal or “refreshing” will be informed by the report of the Productivity Commission’s inquiry. Hopefully, that includes a commitment to a culture of evidence-based decision making, innovation and continuous improvement to underpin successful implementation.
Adaptive management is not possible without adequate modelling of Australia’s water resource systems and their interconnections. eWater Group wants to continue to have Source develop and evolve as the needs of our government owners, customers and communities evolve and as methodologies and technologies change and improve. Of course, to do that well requires adequate and responsible funding to meet necessary and efficient costs.
As I have mentioned previously, there are pressing imperatives to address our increasingly variable and changing climate in coherent and effective ways; to better integrate our approaches to water management, including between water quantity and water quality, surface water and groundwater; land use planning and water planning, water use and energy use, and other nexuses, recognising the water “cycle” and how water policy and programs “seep” into many other policy and program areas; and to meet cultural water provisions and the rights, needs and aspirations of First Nations people in water management. These and, no doubt, other matters will need to have a place in a renewed NWI. Similarly, to support future decision making and implementation, they should be considered integral to updating and modernising eWater’s hydrological modelling and other decision-support tools, processes and products.
It is also instructive to note that activities under the Australian Water Partnership (AWP), managed by eWater Group with funding provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), involve the building and sharing of knowledge about water reform through capacity building activities with regional water organisations, industry sectors and civil society, especially in the Asia-Pacific, by supporting access to Australian water reform policy, management expertise, and innovative approaches and technologies. So, how we go about water reform in Australia has implications beyond our shores. But more about the AWP in a future article.
In any event, to have an efficient and sustainable water industry, it continues to be important to invest in science and knowledge, skills and capacity and decision-support tools, processes, and products and to build capabilities in using them efficiently, effectively, equitably and respectfully. eWater Group looks forward to supporting a refreshed NWI on that basis.
Who are we?
Jointly owned by all Australian governments, eWater Group provides stewardship, management, development, enhancement, skills-building, research, access, and transparency in water management and modelling tools, capability, and capacity.
We do this in the interests of our government members, stakeholders, clients, and customers and on behalf of the Australian people who have invested in us.
At eWater Group, and through our divisions, eWater Solutions and the Australian Water Partnership, support governments, organisations, and water managers to use our tools and products, expertise, and international development program management capabilities, including in their pursuit of integrated water resource management objectives and poverty reduction.
IWD 2024: Investing in our people at eWater Group
International Women’s Day – our commitment to investing in our people to accelerate progress.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the advancements achieved by women in all aspects of our society over the past decades and acknowledge that more can be done to further the advancement of women and girls in Australia and globally.
More diverse workplaces are more creative, they anticipate challenges and risks better and they are by definition more inclusive: of people, ideas, and perspectives.
eWater Group and its divisions advocate and support gender equality in all aspects of water resource management, and at all levels, through our behaviours, programs, projects, and within our engagement with national and international governments, agencies, civil society, professional organisations, and the private sector.
We have made it one of our priorities to have a gender balanced and diverse workforce, including our executive leadership, senior management team, and throughout our organisation.
In the past decade we have made significant inroads:
The executive and senior leadership in 2015 were all men; today we have 66% female representation, including two general managers and senior leaders within eWater Solutions and the Australian Water Partnership.
Our senior leadership has had the most significant change. In 2015 our senior leadership was 100% male; today we now have 85% female representation across our software and hydrological teams along with our international development flagship program, the Australian Water Partnership.
This has had a flow-on effect to our wider organization – 50% female representation in 2015 has increased to 55% this year.
In 2021, all but one of eWater’s Board Directors was male. Although we have more to do to increase Board diversity, our Board is now 1/3 women.
As we continue to grow our workforce and our reach both nationally and internationally, eWater Group remains committed to accelerating the progress of women in the workforce so that all communities benefit.
Michael Wilson, eWater Group CEO, said “We believe a gender balanced and diverse workforce gives us a stronger, more creative, more insightful, higher performing team of experts dedicated to the sustainable management of water resources through the sharing of best practice, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise, globally.”
“A balanced workforce means that the communities in which we support – from the Murray Darling to the Mekong region – can be assured that we have their best interests at heart.”
Follow our channels to stay up to date on eWater Group and its divisions.
Pardha Mallipudi, Business Analyst and Scrum Master, eWater Solutions
Developing innovative and robust solutions for water management takes specialist skills and sound experience, but also a belief in the cause.
At eWater Group, our people play a critical role in our mission to deliver sustainable management of water resources through the development and sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise, nationally and globally.
Our organisation is like no other. And our people are central to that.
Pardha Mallipudi is our Business Analyst and Scrum Master within our eWater Solutions division, our software and hydrological division of eWater Group.
Within eWater Solutions, we have hydrologists, software developers, sales experts, and innovators, which are custodians of Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source™, as well as this country’s leading tool for water sensitive urban design, eWater MUSIC™.
With nine years of experience across finance, design and manufacture, and technology industries, Pardha’s love for problem-solving and data-driven decision-making drew him to becoming a business analyst.
“The pivotal moment for me was while working as technical analyst, a client facing role in SAP domain, I realised the transformative power of communication, project management, business, and data analysis and how it could drive efficiency and improve customer experience and streamline an organisation. That experience ignited my passion for business analysis and led me to pursue it as my chosen career path.”
This passion led Pardha to joining eWater Group and our eWater Solutions division in 2023. Our commitment to developing innovative solutions for water management and sustainability and environmental responsibility was the catalyst for joining our team.
“I was drawn to eWater’s mission to make a positive impact on water resources and an opportunity to align my expertise with a meaningful cause.”
As our Business Analyst and Scrum Master, Pardha plays a crucial role in stakeholder management, data analysis, process improvement, and strategy development to support the organisation’s mission.
“At eWater, there isn’t a typical day, as the nature of our work varies depending on ongoing projects and initiatives. One example of my role was when I worked with the team to overhaul the existing development tools. This helped as a team collaboration exercise and getting to know each individual’s interests and areas of expertise, which we then took to our external stakeholders. Seeing this translate to our owners and partners was fantastic.”
It is Pardha’s optimistic attitude and self-starter approach to work which has been a positive life force within our organisation and instrumental in our transformation journey that eWater Group is undergoing.
“The organisation’s reach in the field of sustainable water resource management is substantial, with a strong commitment to innovation and collaboration. I believe eWater Group has the potential to make a significant and lasting impact on the global water management landscape.”
It is the policies and program that govern Australian and the international water management decisions that remains a real challenge for eWater Group, water industry as well as governments, worldwide.
The key to our success is the need to learn to adapt and evolve environmental conditions, improve data collection and analysis, ensure effective communications with stakeholders but also enhance the performance of our applications and align them to current trends.
“To overcome these challenges, we can invest in advanced analytics tools, establish strong partnerships with stakeholders, and focus on continuous improvement in our processes and technology, and just as important, encourage staff to upskill to meet the changing needs of our environment and stakeholders.”
And it’s this attitude and approach that makes Pardha Mallipudi, eWater Business Analyst and Scrum Master, a crucial member of our organisation.
Who are we?
Jointly owned by all Australian governments, eWater Group provides stewardship, management, development, enhancement, skills-building, research, access, and transparency in water management and modelling tools, capability, and capacity.
We do this in the interests of our government members, stakeholders, clients, and customers and on behalf of the Australian people who have invested in us.
At eWater Group, and through our divisions, eWater Solutions and the Australian Water Partnership, support governments, organisations, and water managers to use our tools and products, expertise, and international development program management capabilities, including in their pursuit of integrated water resource management objectives and poverty reduction.
Meet Dr. Melina Vidoni, eWater Solutions
Dr. Melina Vidoni, Software Development Lead, eWater Solutions
“I am a big believer in fostering collaboration and empowering and pushing my team to be more responsive and agile to changes in the market and customer needs with a great emphasis on collaboration across our developers, research software engineers and hydrologists.”
We are excited about the future of eWater Group. We are continuing our commitment to the pursuit of sustainable management of water resources through the sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise nationally and internationally.
And through this, we have made significant investments in the skills and expertise within our software development and hydrological division, eWater Solutions, which is responsible for Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source, as well as our other software tools, such as eWater MUSIC.
Our organisation is a high-calibre team of software developers, hydrologists, academics, sales and project managers, public policy and water industry experts will enable us to continue to meet the needs of our Australian and international owners, partners, and stakeholders.
As our Software Development Lead for the software and hydrological division of eWater Group, Dr Melina Vidoni brings an extraordinary breadth of technical and academic experience to our organisation, including extensive experience in technical debt identification and repayment strategies.
For those not in the know, originally coined by Ward Cunningham in 1992, an American computer programmer, technical debt was considered to be the result of software developers choosing a low-quality solution due to time constraints, wanting a faster or earlier release. This definition evolved over time, and by 2010 it was acknowledged that over 16 types of Technical Debt existed (Alves et al., 2014) including process, people, requirements, and architecture debt, among others.
Nowadays, and taking a step further towards understanding technical debt in organisations’, Gartner’s definition posits that technology debt is the outstanding amount of money an organisation must spend on digital technology cost obligations to continue doing business, and the incremental burden of shortcuts caused due budget or managerial decisions.
This definition later evolved to include the decisions of all those who are somehow involved in software and, as researchers on the Software Engineering Institute demonstrated, can be highly affected by external, contextual factors.
Melina graduated from the Universidad Tecnologica Nacional (UTN) in Santa Fe, Argentina as an Information Systems Engineer before receiving her PhD, summa cum laude, at the same institution. After completing her PhD, Melina moved to Australia to pursue an academic career and gain international experience, including Lecturer at the Australian National University in the CEC School of Computing, where she specialised in technical debt identification and repayment strategies.
Melina’s career at the Australian National University enabled her to foster her international collaborations with researchers from around the world, including Canada and Australia. It is this interest in technical debt and the development of scientific software that led her to eWater Group.
During one of her searches for internship positions for her research students, and possible partners interested in research translation, Melina found eWater Group.
“I have always been very keen on applicable, hands-on research outputs that could benefit the industry – and that led me to start collaborating with a number of companies seeking to host scientific software, or to perform an agile transformation, acquiring over 12 years of research translation and coaching experience.”
“I was taken by the reach of eWater Source – Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform. It is, by far, one-of-its-kind in terms of size, influence, and its immeasurable impact to foster and support data-driven, science-derived decision-making across Australia’s Government.”
“Being able to work with eWater, the custodians of a unique and powerful research-derived software, presents both an intellectual challenge (given my areas of research), but also a way to make a clear impact in the world – the sustainable and responsible management of water resources will benefit the entirety of Australia.
“eWater Solutions has a critical role to play in the current landscape of climate change and resilience, and the intrinsic need for humankind to protect its natural resources.”
Since starting at eWater Group in June last year, Melina has had a positive and significant impact on the eWater Solutions team through her commitment to creating a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, with the stakeholder at its centre.
“I am a big believer in fostering collaboration and empowering and pushing my team to be more responsive and agile to changes in the market and customer needs with a great emphasis on collaboration across our developers, research software engineers and hydrologists.”
“In our work with our owners, partners and stakeholders, it is critical we continue to adapt our software products to modern times, while continuing to provide operational excellence, as well as fostering and nourishing the reliability of our products.”
Melina’s leadership within the eWater Solutions team, and wider eWater Group, is part of our continued commitment to innovate and strengthen our impact in Australia and internationally. This includes the role artificial intelligence plays in research software and water modelling, and of course the science and technology industry.
“In various areas of science, artificial intelligence is being used to analyse massive amounts of data, automate routine tasks, and make new discoveries that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.”
“AI is being increasingly integrated into scientific discovery, and so far, AI approaches have proven useful to accurately model complex, non-linear hydrological processes, to cross imaging data sources with data from sensing tools, always leveraging the power of the Internet of Things (IoTs) (Chang et al., 2023).”
“Deep learning has been successfully used to project the production and consumption of resources and deal with the increased demand (Raya-Tapia et al., 2023), to identify crop water stress (Chandel et al., 2021), and across multiple areas of the hydrological modelling, including urban water security, prediction of physical processes, and smart-city water management (Allen-Dumas et al., 2021).”
“eWater and AWP are at the forefront of hydrological modelling in Australia. I could not think of any organisation better positioned than us to spearhead the translation of fresh, novel research into usable systems that will empower decision-makers to rely on trustable, sound science.”
Jointly owned by all Australian governments, eWater Group provides stewardship, management, development, enhancement, skills-building, research, access, and transparency in water management and modelling tools, capability, and capacity.
We do this in the interests of our government members, stakeholders, clients, and customers and on behalf of the Australian people who have invested in us.
eWater Group, and through our divisions, eWater Solutions and the Australian Water Partnership, support governments, organisations, and water managers to use our tools and products, expertise, and international development program management capabilities, including in their pursuit of integrated water resource management objectives and poverty reduction.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of these extraordinary people and their successes in science and technology.
Today is also recognition of the need for everyone across all sectors to join together to break down barriers to support the continued success of this current, and the next generation, of girls and women in science and technology for the benefit of all.
eWater Group is a diverse workforce. Our people have years, decades of experience from a various range of industries, including science and technology, academia, public policy, and more – with a central focus of finding sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally.
We are incredibly proud of our people and have profiled their extraordinary experience over the last several months, follow this link to read the profiles:
Our people represent a diversity of skills and experience across all sectors of government and private sectors.
Through eWater Solutions, we deliver a range of science and technology programs such as Australia’s National Hydrological Platform, eWater Source™, as well as eWater MUSIC™ which is Australia’s leading urban water sensitive platform, used by councils, governments, and water experts in Australia and globally.
Though the Australian Water Partnership, we work with more than 240 Australian partners to support sustainable and climate-resilient water resource management through skills and knowledge in response to demands from stakeholders across South Asia, the Mekong region, and the Pacific.
We recognise the importance of International Day of Women and Girls in Science and continue our efforts to support and celebrate the achievement of girls and women and need to continue the fight to break down barriers.
A thank you to our people
As we near the end of the year, we celebrate our achievements as an organisation and the challenges we have overcome to deliver water policies and programs with integrity and value for the communities we support throughout Australia and in developing countries around the world.
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, eWater Group “I take this opportunity to thank the hard work and perseverance of eWater Group employees and am optimistic that our organisation has a bright and dynamic future ahead of us driven by a creative, expert, and professional team.”
We look forward to 2024 and continue our work in the pursuit of sustainable management of water resources through the development and sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise, nationally and globally.
From Our Chair: Australian Water Solutions
Australian Water Solutions and the role of eWater Group in Australia and internationally
Greg Claydon, Chair and Independent Director, eWater Limited Board, deep dives into the challenges ahead for the water industry next year and the role of eWater Group in Australia and internationally.
As we move into our twelfth year of operation as eWater Limited, this past year has provided an opportunity to refresh the strategic direction of the organisation, including strong custodianship of a modernised national hydrological modelling platform that is fit-for-purpose, now and into the future.
No other organisation can ensure the safe custody and prudent ongoing development of this critical national asset.
eWater Source, used appropriately, greatly assists those tasked with the sensible and sustainable management of Australian water resources to make high-quality, informed, confident, transparent, equitable and wise decisions.
This past year was also an opportunity for the Australian Water Partnership and Mekong Water Solutions to further strengthen our international efforts and our partnerships to build water security, resilience, equality and understanding in the face of climate change, population growth, demographic shifts, poverty reduction and other challenges.
Through these efforts and partnerships, we aim to support and further develop Australia’s world-class water management and modelling products, services, and capabilities.
We also aim to deliver operational excellence and capacity building as a trusted adviser to international governments, demonstrating and exhibiting strong capabilities in international development program management.
Most importantly, we finish 2023 in a stronger financial position than we started – this was no easy feat. It means we are going from strength to strength as we can continue our work in pursuit of better water management both in Australia and with our partners overseas and that is what eWater is all about.
This year, like many other water advocating organisations in Australia and around the world, we have seen some challenges, all of which we can address through strong cooperation, collaboration, and commitment.
For the wider water industry first, the all-encompassing challenge is how do we come to grips with our changing climate – preparing for and dealing with the increased variability, the bigger floods and the longer droughts, the higher temperatures and higher sea-levels, and less rainfall in many areas. That, combined with continued population growth and changing demographics, including expanding cities, puts tremendous pressure on water security for the environment, for industry and for communities. These all-impact people’s lives and livelihoods.
At the same time, there are imperatives to better manage available water supplies more efficiently and get the best outcomes from water for the environment, while recognising the importance of meeting cultural water provisions and the needs and aspirations of First Nations people in water management.
And concerns continue to grow about threats to water quality and the distressing impacts of poor water quality on people and the environment.
So, there is still a lot to do to have an efficient and sustainable water industry. It continues to be important to invest in science and knowledge, skills and capacity and decision-support tools, to exercise leadership and good governance and to support initiatives like a refreshed National Water Initiative and overseas aid programs that seek climate resilience, poverty reduction and equity of opportunity.
All the above actually present tremendous opportunities for eWater Group.
The challenge is to make those opportunities a continuing integral part of our business by way of partnerships, investments, commitments, and innovation.
That is why, for example, eWater Group is determined to modernise eWater Source as the National Hydrological Modelling Platform that is fit-for-purpose for 2030 and beyond. Not only is eWater Source a focus, but we are also looking to update the science underpinning the eWater MUSIC modelling platform, to further improve information and decisions about water sensitive urban design and improved water quality in urban settings.
That is also why eWater Group is keen to deliver phase 3 of the Australian Water Partnership, building on the tremendous achievements of the first two phases managed by eWater. And we also would like to continue our great work in the Mekong, including with the Mekong River Commission, which has been a valuable partnership over many years.
I think it is fair to say that we all desire greater certainty in these uncertain times. eWater Group can provide the strategies, the skills, and the tools to help with that.
David Dreverman steps down as Director, eWater Limited Board
David Dreverman steps down as Director, eWater Limited Board, after 15 years of service and support to eWater Group.
eWater Limited Board Independent Director David Dreverman announced today at the Annual General Meeting his decision to step down after 15 years of service and support to eWater and its goals.
eWater Group and the eWater Limited Board commended David for his sound advice and support – from eWater’s early beginnings as a Cooperative Research Centre to the Australian and world-leading organisation that it is today.
David brought more than 40 years of experience and understanding of the water sector in Australia and internationally to the eWater Limited Board and the wider organisation, including an Executive Director of River Management at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, and the Murray Darling Basin Commission.
Prior to these roles, David worked as a consultant in the engineering industry; with SMEC, Hydro Electric Commission, Tasmania and Australian Power and Water.
Michael Wilson, Group CEO, eWater Group, said, “David’s contribution to ensuring better and more sustainable and equitable water management outcomes in Australia – and his contribution to eWater in particular – has been extraordinary.
“It has been a privilege to have had the benefit of David’s wisdom and counsel for so long, and the legacy he leaves to eWater Group’s Australian and international work is immeasurable.
“We thank David for his energy, diligence, and all-embracing passion for water management across the globe.”
Greg Claydon PSM, Chair, eWater Limited Board, said, “I wish to acknowledge David’s wonderful contribution to eWater, and indeed water resource management in Australia and internationally, over many years. I thank him very much for his wise counsel, deep knowledge, and very helpful insights, always aimed at achieving better outcomes.”
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
Meet Shreya Gyawali, Australian Water Partnerships
Shreya Gyawali, Senior Program Officer, Australian Water Partnerships
“Our work directly impacts people’s lives. Knowing that my day-to-day contributions at work could positively influence someone’s life is a significant motivator to keep going.”
It is this kind of thinking that makes eWater Group an exceptional place to work. Our people – like Shreya Gyawali – bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our organisation but it is the willingness to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable people and their communities that is truly exceptional.
We are an organisation dedicated to delivering water management expertise and tools in Australia and internationally through our three divisions – the Australian Water Partnership, eWater Solutions, and Mekong Water Solutions.
The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is a key part of Australia’s support for sustainable water resources management in South Asia, the Mekong region, and the Pacific. Working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AWP supports a range of activities that draw on Australian expertise to respond to assistance from our international partners and governments.
In her role as AWP’s Senior Program Officer, Shreya has a whole raft of responsibilities including managing and engaging on international and national events for AWP but just as important, if not more, leading the Gender, Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (or GEDSI) portfolio within AWP.
Shreya works with the AWP program team to better integrate GEDSI across all activities, as well as lead on internal policy reviews and implementation processes. It is one of our critical roles within AWP.
“AWP’s commitment to advancing Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) in partnership with different organisations in Australia and overseas is a significant reason of why I work at AWP.”
Water has always played a big role in Shreya’s life. Having worked in the development sector in her hometown of Kathmandu, Nepal, prior to moving to Australia to complete her Master’s in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University Shreya participated in field visits to see first-hand the impacts of water stress on women and girls.
“Issues like water insecurity disproportionately impacts women and girls. It impacts their education, hygiene, and safety, and as they usually have the responsibility of fetching water- also impacts their time. These issues are embedded within cultural contexts and social norms and become further exacerbated in the face of climate change as well as in crisis scenarios.
“Water issues are personal issues for women and girls. Creating change in this space will mean having the ability to influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour – which is what I would like to do, and being in this sector is a great platform to meet like-minded people and create momentum for that change.”
Now working at AWP for nearly two years, Shreya has represented AWP at major national and international events, including SIWI World Water Week 2022 in Stockholm where she collaborated with water leaders from Australia and the region to share knowledge and successes. She is on her own leadership journey as one of AWP’s Young Water Professionals and brings her passion and unique perspective to her work every day.
“Being a Nepali woman with my own cultural experiences and having seen the lived realities of people back home, I am aspiring to be a change agent and champion for people in my community, and I see this as a step towards making that happen.”
“There is a crucial need to recognise and accept the different forms of knowledge that inform solutions to the challenges of climate change; cultural, Indigenous, technical, and local knowledge and find ways to better integrate them together.”
It is this commitment to changing how we engage with communities, develop policies and programs on water management, and think more strategically about our water resources, which remains central to the work of AWP and eWater Group.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
National Science Week 2023
Celebrating Australian science and technology and the power of people
The sustainable management of water is critical for all life on earth and the wellbeing of our society. As the driest inhabited continent on earth, Australia is well-placed to understand the complexity of protecting and managing our water resources and has become an internationally recognised leader in water policy and management.
We are marking National Science Week 2023 by acknowledging and celebrating the people and science behind the work we do at eWater Group.
We are committed to the pursuit of sustainable management of water resources through the development and sharing of best practices, capabilities, and knowledge of Australian water expertise, nationally and internationally.
Our people are hydrologists, academics, software developers, sales and project managers public policy and water industry experts and innovators who are all here to find water management solutions for the benefit of all people and their communities.
We develop and deliver Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform on behalf of all Australian governments through eWater Solutions; and deliver international development programs on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including through the Australian Water Partnership and Mekong Water Solutions.
We provide creative, science-based, and trusted water management expertise, products and services for people, communities, livelihoods, and environment impacted by many factors, including climate change.
From our beginnings as a Cooperative Research Centre Program to the organisation we are today; eWater Group has evolved to occupy a unique place in Australia’s water management and international cooperation ecosystem, including custodianship of the eWater Source platform.
eWater Source supports integrated planning, operations, and governance from urban to catchment to river basin scales including taking human and ecological influences into account. It accommodates diverse climatic, geographic, water policy and governance settings for both Australian and international climatic conditions.
eWater Source is the largest scientific software in use by the Australian Government, blending science insights with technological innovation to maintain the National Hydrological Modelling Platform.
Our world-class platform translates water-science outcomes into software to enable all Australian governments and our partners to harness data-derived insights and use scientific outputs in their decision making.
eWater Source has been applied extensively in a wide range of real-world water use situations, both in Australia and internationally, supporting the management of rivers in Australia, the Mekong region, across South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Alongside eWater Source, we also have eWater MUSIC and Urban Developer models which are designed to manage the interaction between various water supply systems as well as capture all water cycle components including rainfall and stormwater runoff, potable water, and the recycling / reuse of wastewater. These tools enable robust and reliable decision-making for secure urban water supplies.
To achieve positive outcomes across all sectors – food security, energy security, climate resilience, biodiversity and ecosystem health, and disaster management – water security is paramount. And as climate change accelerates the challenges, international cooperation to share learning is increasingly important.
A key part of Australia’s support for climate resilient water management in South-East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific, is through our work within the Australian Water Partnership, which works closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and over 200 Australian partners across the public and private sectors.
The Australian Water Partnership supports a range of activities that draw on Australian expertise to respond to assistance from our international partners and governments, including on river basins, irrigation modernisation, integrated urban water management and environmental water.
This week gives cause for us to acknowledge this collective commitment as an organisation, and individuals, to finding water management solutions which is why we want to acknowledge and celebrate National Science Week.
As the impacts of climate change and other environmental factors continue to grow and exacerbate water security, eWater Group is best placed to provide support, program delivery and training for the protection of our most precious resource.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
A recap on MODSIM 2023
With MODSIM 2023 now done, we are taking the opportunity to recap our time at this critical conference and how important it is for modellers from a diverse range of fields to showcase the latest science and technology and how it is applied by the global water modelling and community.
Last month, Darwin played host to the 25th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation – otherwise known as MODSIM – where modellers from across Australia descended on the balmy city to talk about water modelling, including the use of emerging technologies to improve modelling practice and the use of modelling to find new solutions to solve the growing impact of climate change in our waterways and environment.
eWater Group Hydrologists, Dr Jin Wang and Sudeep Nair represented our organisation at MODSIM, where we were a sponsor, to facilitate sessions related to hydrological modelling and showcase the new functionalities of Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform, eWater Source, and how it helps water managers to meet the changing needs in water resources management.
Sudeep said “it was great to see how various users unravel the many facets of eWater Source and understand how it is helping the users to achieve their objectives. We heard their experiences and feedback, which helped us to understand the strength of Source as a hydrological modelling tool and areas for potential enhancement.”
“MODSIM was also a great opportunity for us [hydrologists] to introduce eWater Source to a wider audience who were not so familiar with the tool, and a chance to update ourselves on the latest trends and techniques in water and environmental modelling.”
One of the more interesting observations from our hydrologists was from other presenters at the conference who demonstrated the versatility and agility of Source as a hydrological modelling tool and how modellers were using it for bespoke applications.
“One of the many advantages of eWater Source is that it can handle both water quantity and quality aspects and has many functionalities specific for Australian purposes,” Sudeep said.
With any science-based software and technology tools, there is also room for improvements in areas such as stability, accuracy, and performance improvements, and eWater Group is diligent in improving our software platforms to enable our owners, partners and water experts have an enriched user experience.
For our hydrologists, Dr Wang and Sudeep Nair, MODSIM provided a great back drop to generate interest and discussion on hydrologically modelling methods in general and eWater Source in particular.
Both Sudeep and Dr Wang co-presented a session with Rachael Holden from Power and Water Cooperation: Providing Water for All: Modelling to Improve Water Security for Communities, the Environment and Industry, which helped spearhead conversations on the impact of water modelling to inform decision-makers and the role of eWater Source.
Conferences like MODSIM play a significant role in the water space. It is an avenue for learning, networking, and informing of the latest research and modelling outcomes in Australia and beyond; and an important opportunity for eWater Group and our people to showcase who we are and what we are doing to address the new challenges in the hydrological modelling realm.
Who are we?
eWater Group is owned by the Australian Federal, State and Territory governments to further develop Australia’s world-class modelling tools and to provide support and training nationwide and internationally.
Our organisation is comprised of three divisions – eWater Solutions, the Australian Water Partnership and the Mekong Water Solutions to deliver water management solutions for communities in Australia and overseas.
We also partner with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and research groups and institutions to provide expertise and support for sustainable water management solutions in Australia and internationally, now and into the future.
