Transforming Stormwater Management: eWater MUSIC Shaping Sustainable Futures

Original article was published in Future Water Magazine 2025 Edition (Edition 11, May 2025)

Supporting smarter, more sustainable urban planning is critical to improving water quality across Australia.

Rapid population growth and urban expansion are straining infrastructure, while climate change and the extreme weather events make traditional stormwater management approaches less effective. Balancing development, sustainability, and environmental protection is essential.

Urbanisation is transforming landscapes, increasing impervious surfaces, disrupting natural hydrological cycles, and introducing pollutants into waterways. These changes demand innovative stormwater management solutions.

Australian councils face the challenge of planning stormwater systems, implementing sustainable stormwater strategies, and ensuring environmental compliance even before development commences. 

To support councils, engineering firms, and stormwater management professionals in predicting flow and protecting waterways – they use eWater MUSIC™.

A leading software tool for stormwater quality modelling, MUSIC is integral to the development approval process. Designed to assess Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) measures, it simulates treatment options, such as rain gardens, wetlands, and biofiltration systems, effectively reducing pollutants like sediments, phosphorus, and nitrogen from urban runoff.

By modelling catchment runoff at scales ranging from individual properties to large urban areas, MUSIC provides valuable insights into how different WSUD measures can improve stormwater quality and meet environmental goals.

Grounded in decades of Australian research, the tool’s strength lies in its ability to evaluate urbanisation’s impact on stormwater quality and identify the most effective treatment strategies. It helps councils determine the optimal combination of WSUD measures to reduce contaminant loads, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect waterways.

To further support councils, MUSIC offers MUSIC-link, a tool that streamlines the approvals process and make it easier for both councils and those submitting development applications to ensure compliance with local WSUD design guidelines, including water-quality targets.

With a proven track record, MUSIC is scientifically rigorous and yet user-friendly, making it essential tool for urban planners, engineers, and environmental consultants designing and implementing sustainable stormwater management practices.

Beyond providing tools and licenses, eWater Group – owner of eWater MUSIC and custodian of eWater Source™, Australian’s National Hydrological Modelling Platform – offers training, technical support, and software development to extensive user community.

While addressing current challenges remains a top priority, we also collaborate with more than 12 of Australia’s top universities to teach MUSIC to equip future urban planners, water engineers and urban development professionals with skills to manage waterways sustainably.

eWater Group is committed to meeting our customer needs and continuously enhance eWater MUSIC’s capabilities, ensuring it remains Australia’s leading stormwater quality modelling tool.

Learn more about eWater MUSIC: eWater MUSIC – eWater
Future Water Magazine 2025 Edition: Future Water 2025

From L to R: eWater Software team led by Navan Tirupathi, Chief Technology Officer, and eWater Hydrology led by Dr Paradis Someth, Head of Hydrology