Following a successful week in Tasmania, we’re looking back on the Devonport and Hobart Stormwater Symposiums, which took place on Tuesday, 12 May 2026 and Thursday, 14 May 2026 respectively. With insights from local and interstate experts, extended Q&A sessions, and lively panel discussions, both events focused on ways to improve stormwater management and ultimately waterway and community health.
Devonport Symposium
The day opened with a localised examination of urban stormwater impacts and their implications for the Derwent Estuary, followed by an exploration of strategies for erosion and sediment control, urban waterways as green assets and a look at the real-world performance of gross pollutant traps in protecting local platypus populations.
The midday sessions turned to the broader picture: an overview of Australia’s stormwater policies, the evolution of stormwater treatment from past to present and future scope, and lessons learned from Mainlanders’ missteps along the way.
The afternoon covered radar-driven rainfall reconstruction, drainage constraints in established infrastructure networks, and modern climate adaptation factors, before wrapping up with a lively networking session.
This event was proudly supported by Ocean Protect, Tamar Estuary and Esk Rivers (TEER) Program, CSIRO, and IPWEA Tasmania.
View photo highlights from the day below.
Hobart Symposium
The Hobart program kicked off with a session on recent water quality monitoring trends before pivoting to engineering strategies for constrained drainage assets and local wildlife preservation case studies.
National policy gaps and the broader historical philosophy of stormwater treatment took centre stage mid-day, challenging attendees to rethink standard infrastructure designs.
The final sessions addressed radar data integration for predicting severe weather events and practical methods for implementing climate change resilience models into Tasmania’s current planning frameworks.
This event was proudly supported by Ocean Protect, Derwent Estuary Program, CSIRO, and IPWEA Tasmania.
View photo highlights from the day below.
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