Melbourne’s water sector stands at a turning point. A growing population, the pressing reality of climate change, and heightened community expectations are reshaping how services are delivered across the city’s east, west and south. The challenges are complex, but so are the opportunities: advances in technology, stronger collaboration between utilities, and a renewed focus on culture and community trust.
Leadership matters most in moments like these. The three metropolitan water corporations, Yarra Valley Water, Greater Western Water and South East Water, together serve more than four million people. Their influence reaches beyond service delivery, shaping the resilience of entire communities and contributing to Victoria’s wider economic and environmental outlook.
Against this backdrop, the sector has welcomed three new managing directors. Natalie Foeng leads Yarra Valley Water, Craig Dixon is Acting Managing Director of Greater Western Water, and Carla Purcell is Managing Director of South East Water.
Each brings a different background and perspective, yet all share a commitment to strengthening customer trust, preparing their organisations for the decades ahead, and working with peers through The Managing Director’s Accord, VicWater and the Intelligent Water Networks. Their voices offer a rare chance to see where Melbourne water utilities are heading and how the leaders guiding them intend to navigate today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s needs.
Putting people first
Customers have always been at the heart of Melbourne water utilities, but expectations are shifting rapidly. Rising costs of living, more diverse communities, and growing demand for transparency are prompting utilities to reassess how they engage and deliver value beyond the tap. For Yarra Valley Water this focus has long been part of its identity.
“I think our success will always come from how well we listen to our customers,” Foeng said. “That means being proactive, not reactive, and making sure every interaction, whether it’s a bill, a phone call or a new service, shows that we care and understand their lives.”
Her view reflects Yarra Valley Water’s established reputation for putting customer experience at the centre of decision-making.
“Customers expect more than reliable water,” Foeng said. “They want us to operate in a way that is social and environmentally responsible.”
Greater Western Water has felt these pressures recently. Billing system upgrades tested community confidence, reminding the organisation of the fragility of trust. Dixon put it this way: “Honesty builds trust.” His focus is on rebuilding customer confidence by demonstrating to customers that the utility is listening and acting.
Digital engagement has become another frontier for customer experience, particularly at South East Water. Digital meters, sensors and online tools are helping households understand and manage their own water use.
“Our role is to empower people with information, not just provide a service,” Purcell said.
Foeng emphasised that customer expectations are not static.
“What customers value today may not be what they expect in five years and beyond,” she said. “Our challenge is to stay close enough to understand those shifts and be adaptable.
“To do this, we need to ensure our workforce is a reflection of the diverse community we serve, and that it has the skills and capabilities to match the future landscape.”
Facing tomorrow’s tests
Behind every customer interaction lies a set of systemic pressures.
For Melbourne water utilities, the next decade promises more complexity than the last. Growth corridors are stretching infrastructure, climate variability is tightening supply, and cyber and financial risks demand constant vigilance. These issues converge most sharply in Melbourne’s west and Greater Western Water. Dixon describes the scale of change as unprecedented.
“The population growth in our service area is outpacing infrastructure in some places, and that means we need to think differently about how we plan, invest and deliver,” he said. “Growth can’t come at the cost of reliability.”
His comments capture the pressure to balance housing expansion with the need for reliable services, especially in outer suburban developments.
This challenge requires more than laying new pipes.
“We have to design networks that can keep pace with rapid development while still being efficient,” Dixon said. “That includes building flexibility into the system so water can be moved where it’s needed most, and making sure new suburbs don’t outstrip the infrastructure that supports them.” Such flexibility is essential in a region where demand can shift quickly and where the effects of climate variability add another layer of uncertainty. Foeng also recognises the weight of long-term pressures.
“The biggest challenge is balancing the short-term expectations of customers with the long-term realities of climate and population change,” she said.
Her words reflect a broader sector view: choices made now will determine Melbourne’s resilience for decades to come.
South East Water is facing its own vulnerabilities in an increasingly digital environment.
“Whether it’s climate events, cyber threats or supply chain shocks, our challenge is to prepare for disruption and still deliver confidence to the community,” Purcell said.
Smarter ways forward
Innovation has become more than a catchphrase in Melbourne water utilities; it is now a necessity.
As assets age and customer expectations rise, new ideas and technologies are being tested to extend the value of investments and unlock new forms of value.
South East Water has been at the forefront of this work through its commercial subsidiary Iota, which continues to refine and commercialise technologies adopted by utilities across Australia and internationally.
“Innovation has to be practical and customer-centred,” Purcell said. “If it doesn’t help people, it’s not the right solution.”
Digital technologies, such as leak detection devices and smart billing platforms, not only improve service delivery but also give customers greater control.
“We want to provide households and businesses with the information they need to use water wisely and to feel confident that their utility is anticipating problems before they become visible,” she said.
That focus on practical outcomes is shaping South East Water’s broader approach.
“Innovation isn’t just about gadgets,” Purcell said. “It’s about building systems that are resilient, flexible and ready for the future. Whether that’s digital sensors in the field, new treatment methods or community-facing apps, it must make life better for the people we serve.”
For Yarra Valley Water, innovation is also about reimagining the way land and infrastructure are used.
“At our Upper Yarra Sewage Treatment Plant site, we’re transforming an otherwise unused piece of buffer land into a new habitat for the critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater and Lowland Leadbeater’s Possum,” Foeng said.
The 35-hectare habitat will feature a mixture of woodland and wetland environments, utilising recycled water from the treatment plant.
“We’re partnering with various organisations to maximise the benefits of this project. It highlights how collaboration and innovation can have profound environmental benefits.”
Foeng said that innovation must also be embedded in an organisation’s culture.
“It’s about creating an environment where staff feel empowered to question how things are done,” she said.
For Dixon, the most immediate value lies in operational efficiency.
“We recently brought our field maintenance services inhouse. This is a market-leading approach, which is creating 91 new roles, and provided our teams with more control over training, career development and our service delivery,” he said.
For Purcell, the test is simple: “We know technology will keep changing. The challenge is making sure we apply it in ways that genuinely improve people’s lives.”
Preparing for extremes
Climate change is no longer a distant scenario for Melbourne water utilities. The city has already experienced its driest autumn on record, with declining inflows into major reservoirs. For the three metropolitan corporations, resilience is not an abstract concept but a pressing operational reality.
Foeng stressed that the challenge cannot be solved by supply alone.
“Rainfall alone will not sustain Melbourne in the decades ahead,” she said. “That means we need to drive greater water efficiency, expand the use of recycled water, and work with communities so conservation becomes second nature.”
For Yarra Valley Water, resilience is as much about behaviour as it is about infrastructure.
“We’ve learned that conservation has to be embedded into daily life. It’s not about asking customers to make sacrifices in a crisis but about building habits that protect resources over time.”
Purcell highlighted how climate pressures can manifest suddenly and have a dramatic impact.
“Climate change affects every aspect of what we do,” she said. “Extreme weather or natural hazard events have shown us how quickly critical infrastructure can be disrupted. Our role is to integrate resilience into everyday operations so that when shocks occur, our systems can adapt and recover without customers losing confidence.”
For South East Water, this means designing assets that can withstand extremes and building redundancy into networks that serve growing communities across Melbourne’s south-east and on the Mornington Peninsula.
Dixon reinforced the importance of long-term planning.
“Resilience means ensuring that when the next dry spell comes, and it will, our customers continue to have safe, dependable water,” he said. “We know that storage levels can shift from healthy to under pressure in just a year when rainfall is below average and demand is high. We can’t wait until we’re in a drought to start building resilience. In our region, we’re also planning for a community that’s doubling in size. We need infrastructure that can handle both challenges at once, serving more people while conserving our water supplies.”
Culture at the core
Behind every strategy and asset lies the workforce that must deliver it.
For Melbourne water utilities, building capability and culture is just as important as investment in pipes, plants and technology.
The sector faces an ageing workforce, growing demand for digital skills, and the need to ensure that its people reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.
Dixon acknowledged that Greater Western Water has faced challenging periods before.
“We’ve been through testing times, and that can affect confidence,” he said.
“What matters now is building pride in what we do and supporting our teams to feel ownership of the future. Culture isn’t built overnight. It’s built by being consistent, transparent and celebrating successes together.”
His view highlights the link between internal resilience and external trust: when staff feel confident and supported, customers are more likely to see their utility as dependable.
Foeng sees culture as the cornerstone of resilience at Yarra Valley Water.
“We want to create a workplace where staff feel safe to challenge, innovate and collaborate,” she said.
For her, the way people interact inside the organisation directly shapes the quality of service customers receive. A positive culture also makes it easier to retain talent in a sector where technical skills are in high demand.
Purcell connected culture to capability development.
“We need to attract people who are curious, adaptable and willing to learn,” she said.
“That means investing in training, giving staff the chance to work on new projects, and making sure leadership pathways are clear.”
By positioning professional growth alongside organisational goals, South East Water is ensuring that its people remain engaged and future-ready.
Strength in unity
No single utility can solve Melbourne’s water challenges alone. The three metropolitan corporations work closely with each other, but collaboration increasingly extends beyond city boundaries into regional Victoria. Working together allows ideas to be tested at scale, risks to be shared, and innovation to be spread more quickly.
Purcell emphasised that South East Water sees collaboration as part of its core responsibility, not just an optional activity.
“The Victorian water sector is stronger when we treat innovation as a collective asset,” she said.
“We’re proud to contribute tools and knowledge that can benefit others. Working together isn’t just good governance; it’s essential for effective leadership. It’s how we build resilience for the whole state.”
Her comments reflect the reach of Iota, which has commercialised South East Water technologies now used by other utilities across Australia and overseas.
Foeng echoed the importance of shared initiatives.
“When we act as one sector, we can achieve outcomes that no single organisation could manage alone,” she said.
“That means building on projects like the carbon offsets partnership or joint workforce training, and making sure our people feel connected across corporate boundaries.
“Customers don’t care which logo is on the pipe; they care that the system works for them.”
Her remarks underline how collaboration extends beyond technical gains to affect customer trust.
Dixon noted that growth and climate pressures often blur the boundaries of service areas.
“The challenges we face don’t stop at our service area,” he said. “Our Training Academy provides employees across the water sector with hands-on training that closely mirrors their day-to-day jobs. This program is building the skills pipeline the entire water industry needs.”
Respecting Country
Partnership with Traditional Owners is increasingly recognised as central to the future of Victoria’s water sector. The state is moving toward Treaty and self-determination, creating both an obligation and an opportunity for utilities to listen, learn and act differently.
For Greater Western Water, these responsibilities are felt keenly across a service area that includes some of Victoria’s most significant First Nations communities and cultural landscapes.
“Our communities in the west are home to deep and diverse First Nations histories,” Dixon said.
“We want to make sure those histories are recognised in how we manage water today. That means building genuine relationships with Traditional Owners and supporting self-determination.
The Cultural Heritage Onground program at our Training Academy was created in collaboration with cultural knowledge leaders and operational specialists. The program supports our operational teams to ensure that cultural heritage is fully considered in all that we do.”
His view reflects a shift from consultation toward shared decision-making, where First Nations voices help shape the long-term planning of assets and services.
Foeng stressed that respect must be embedded, not added after the fact.
“We know we have a responsibility to work alongside Traditional Owners in caring for Country,” she said.
“That means creating space for voices that haven’t always been heard and ensuring that cultural values are considered alongside technical ones.”
For Yarra Valley Water, this principle extends to everyday decisions, from land management to the design of community projects.
Purcell added that practical collaboration is key.
“We are learning from Traditional Owners about how to care for Country,” she said.
“That might be through projects that reflect cultural flows, or by working together on land management.”
Her emphasis highlights the tangible steps utilities can take to build lasting partnerships.
Shaping what comes next
Leadership transitions mark a new chapter for Melbourne water utilities.
Each managing director inherits organisations with proud histories, but also ones defined by years ahead that are uncertain and in flux.
The task now is to steer these utilities through rapid growth, climate pressure and rising expectations, while ensuring that customers continue to feel supported and connected.
Dixon said the test is not about rhetoric, but about outcomes.
“Growth in Melbourne’s west is happening faster than anywhere else in the state, and we have to keep pace.”
He added that resilience must be built deliberately.
“Every decision we make now has to account for what the community will need for the next 50 years.”
Looking ahead, he stressed the importance of trust.
“If we can prove to our customers that we’re reliable partners, then we’ve done our job.”
Purcell pointed to innovation as both a challenge and an opportunity.
“Technology is changing so quickly that utilities can’t afford to stand still,” she said.
For her, the sector’s success depends on making progress visible.
“Customers don’t just want new tools; they want to see that those tools make life easier.” She also emphasised leadership responsibility.
“Our role is to make sure innovation doesn’t just exist in pilot projects but becomes part of everyday service.”
Foeng framed the long view for the sector.
“Our job is to leave the sector stronger than we found it,” she said.
“That means building organisations that are adaptable, trusted and capable of serving generations to come.
“We have to make choices today that anticipate the pressures of tomorrow.
“The community expects us to be reliable stewards of water, but they also expect us to innovate, prepare for climate change, and genuinely partner with Traditional Owners.
“If in five or 10 years people can look back and say their water services were dependable, their voices were heard, and their future was made more secure because of the work we did, then we will have fulfilled our responsibility.”