Hunter Water has celebrated two engineers whose work is helping shape water, stormwater and community infrastructure across the region.
The utility recognised Water Asset Team Lead Steph Hayes and Civil and Stormwater Engineer Kara Agllias for International Women in Engineering Day, held on 23 June 2026.
Their roles cover different parts of Hunter Water’s infrastructure responsibility.
Hayes manages water assets through their full life cycle, while Agllias works across stormwater channels, pipes and culverts.
Together, their stories show how engineering in the water sector combines technical judgement, field knowledge, community outcomes and long-term asset planning.
Who is Steph Hayes?
Steph Hayes has spent 11 years at Hunter Water across civil engineering, operations and planning.
She now leads the Water Asset Team, managing water assets from maintenance through to renewal and replacement.
Her week can include advising on a new reservoir, supporting a complex pipe repair or assessing how to renew an ageing asset.
Hayes said strong engineering practice depends on understanding assets from the field, not only from the desk.
Her approach has been shaped by working with operators, maintenance crews and people who use the infrastructure every day.
That practical style reflects her pathway into engineering.
Growing up in a family of builders gave her an early connection to the built environment, while her interest in maths and science made civil engineering a natural fit.
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What work is Hayes most proud of?
Hayes said incident management has been one of the areas she is most proud of during her time at Hunter Water.
That work includes helping coordinate fast responses when severe weather disrupts services.
She has also contributed to innovative and complex repairs, including flexible liners in large-diameter pipes.
Those projects often require engineers, operators and project managers to work through problems where standard solutions may not be enough.
For Hayes, success in engineering is linked to authenticity and continuous learning.
“I believe being your authentic self is the most important attribute to succeeding in any career,” Hayes said.
“Engineering is such a broad subject. You’ll work with many different engineers, and there will always be someone who can offer a different perspective. My advice would be to have a learning attitude. In engineering, the learning never stops.”
Who is Kara Agllias?
Kara Agllias works as a Civil and Stormwater Engineer at Hunter Water.
Her role includes assessing the condition of more than 95 kilometres of stormwater channels, pipes and culverts.
Agllias said the variety of the profession is part of what drew her to engineering.
“The natural and built world is all around us and provides so many great engineering challenges for us to solve.”
That mix of problem solving, teamwork, creativity, maths and science remains central to her work.
It also places her close to infrastructure that communities see and use, particularly where stormwater channels connect with local waterways and public spaces.
How is stormwater engineering changing local places?
One of Agllias’s proudest projects has been revitalising stormwater channels across the region.
The initiative turned five sites from concrete utility into urban oases through native plantings, rockwork, water retention, public art, and improved accessibility.
The work invited local communities to see stormwater channels as living parts of the local environment, rather than only drainage assets.
That is an important shift for urban water management.
Stormwater infrastructure still has to move and manage water safely.
However, renewal projects can also improve local amenity, habitat, access and community connection when they are planned with broader outcomes in mind.
What advice are they giving future engineers?
Both profiles point to engineering as a profession built on both people and technical skills.
Hayes encouraged young women to embrace hands-on learning and listen to people with lived experience of the assets being managed.
Agllias said mentors have helped her through difficult periods and shaped the engineer she has become.
She encouraged younger engineers to seek formal and informal mentors outside their immediate team.
Agllias also said communication is essential because engineering takes place in real communities.
“Engineering doesn’t just happen in a black box. It happens in the real world with real people.”
Her message to girls and young women interested in maths or science is direct.
“We need this industry to reflect the diversity of the community we serve, and there is a place for you! The field is exciting and impactful, and women belong here.”
