As central Victoria heads into what is predicted to be a long dry spring/summer, it seems timely Bendigo will play host to a national forum on dams.
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The ANCOLD (Australian National Committee on Large Dams) forum will be held in Bendigo this week from September 13 to 15.
The forum will see water organisations and dam operators from around Australia come together for recognised training and information sharing to improve water dam knowledge.
Cairn Curran, Lake Eppalock in focus
Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) water storages south operations manager and forum convener Paul Beard said nine GMW staff would be attending the forum, with four presenting on various topics.
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As well as a series of presentations, the forum will involve open discussions, and site visits to some of the area's infrastructure, including GMW-managed Cairn Curran Reservoir and Lake Eppalock, to share learnings from the operation of assets of all sizes.
"This national forum aims to bring together the 'boots on the ground' for water dams to openly discuss their experiences with the outcomes of improving dam management systems and dam safety," Mr Beard said.
Key speakers will include Safe Transport Victoria's Geoffrey Swanton, Victoria SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch and Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) National Flood Operations team leader Justin Robinson.
"Justin has over 18 years' experience with the BoM and is responsible for delivering flood forecasts and warnings for Australia," Mr Beard said.
"Tim has been in active in the SES for almost 30 years while Geoffrey has been involved in waterway and navigational safety, regulation and compliance for over 20 years, including regulatory responses to floods and drying waterways.
"This is an incredible opportunity for our staff and other attendees to learn from industry experts and enhance their knowledge about waterway safety, flood operations and how to ensure the safe and effective operation of our dams."
Region's dam safety expert to join nation's peak engineering group
Among the GMW staff who will be making a presentation at the forum is senior dam safety engineer Dr Sonia Fortuna who has recently been appointed by Australia's peak engineering body - Engineers Australia.
Engineers Australia is a professional body with more than 100,000 members which seeks to advance the science and practice of engineering to benefit the community.
Dr Fortuna was one of the four committee members selected in the Victoria Division - from 30 candidates.
Dr Fortuna is not just the only person from regional Victoria selected for the committee, but also the only one from the water sector.
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With extensive experience mentoring women across different sectors, Dr Fortuna said she was determined to help improve diversity within the field.
"There is an under-representation of women and people from minority groups in influential engineering roles," she said.
"Changing this will not only benefit people within the profession, but society more broadly".
"Engineering can be a highly effective driver for social change, and promoting diversity would ensure the profession maximises its potential to effect change."
For more information about the forum, go to the website: https://ancold.org.au/ancold-2023-dam-operators-forum/
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