Springwood resident Phillip Birtles believes that there is an essential connection between people and water. Through his work at Sydney Water, he taps into that connection, strengthening it and contributing to healthier, happier communities while simultaneously improving waterway health.
Key Points:
How we use and manage water is crucial to healthy waterways and happy communities, especially in the face of challenges like climate change and urbanisation.
Built form can have negative impacts on the natural water cycle, leading to stormwater runoff, pollution, erosion, and sedimentation of waterways.
Integrated Water Cycle Management takes a holistic approach to managing water for healthier environments, minimal waste, and better public amenity.
Available at the turn of a tap, mindlessly consumed, flushed and forgotten. Water is essential to life, and yet so often taken for granted. Springwood resident and Integrated Water Cycle Manager at Sydney Water, Phillip Birtles, is working hard to change how people understand the water cycle and to create better systems of water management.
“How we use water is so important because there’s only so much of it,” he said. “Truth is, there is enough water in Sydney, but we have to work harder to set up better systems in urban areas. We need to have a more mature view of water and the water cycle. So much water is being flushed and so much storm water is running off because of all the hard surfaces – we need to get better at capturing that, especially with climate change and urbanisation. But that’s exciting. It requires different thinking. My job is to move the dial on those things.”
Happy kids enjoying Blue Mountains waterways. (Photo: Belle Butler)
Phillip became interested in rivers and waterway health while studying environmental science at university. He developed a particular interest in urban waterway restoration and later worked at the Department of Land and Water Conservation, promoting Water Sensitive Urban Design concepts and best practice around managing stormwater. “I was trying to protect tiny little streams from development, and I realised the biggest impact was stormwater.”
Water Sensitive Urban Design accepts that conventional urban development can have negative impacts on the natural water cycle. Built-form is full of impervious surfaces that prevent water from doing its natural thing and soaking into the soil. Instead, the water runs off into stormwater drains and watercourses, causing erosion of natural waterways, sedimentation of creeks and rivers, and carrying pollutants with it along the way. Not only is this causing damage to the environment, but it is also enabling the large-scale wasting of water.
Water Sensitive Urban Design aims to integrate the water cycle into urban design, thereby minimising the damage to natural waterways while harnessing, treating and re-using stormwater.
Rock-lined flow paths as part of the Glenbrook Raingardens Project (Photo: Julie Nance)
Sydney Water and Blue Mountains City Council’s jointly funded ‘Glenbrook Raingardens Project’ is an example of this approach. The project involves constructing raingardens and a naturalised stormwater channel with embedded biofilters to remove nutrients from stormwater flows that enter the Hawkesbury Nepean River via Knapsack Creek, thus improving waterway health, creating habitat and improving biodiversity.
At Sydney Water, Phillip’s job has two major focal points: Setting up Integrated Water Cycle Systems in the new development areas around the Western Sydney Airport; and improving water management systems in Parramatta as part of the Make Parramatta River Swimmable Again project.
Integrated Water Cycle Management of Western Sydney Parkland City. (Click to enlarge. Image supplied by Sydney Water)
“Integrated Water Cycle Management is about considering the balance of water sources and sinks in the urban contexts at the same time to provide efficiencies and reduce waste. In this way extra benefits can also be identified and considered,” Phillip said.
He explained that Wianamatta (‘The Mother Place’ in Dharug), or South Creek as it’s commonly known, is the most significant waterway that runs through Western Sydney. Already degraded from past and present land-use practices since European settlement, it is also a catchment area that is experiencing rapid urban development. Phillip’s aim is to set up Integrated Water Cycle Systems that improve and protect the health of the natural waterways, manage and utilise water efficiently, and vastly improve the liveability of the area.
“The biggest risk to freshwater streams like Wianamatta is stormwater, causing erosion and then sedimentation,” he said. “One solution is to hold stormwater, harvest as much as possible and put it into a distribution system as a recycled product, mainly used for irrigation and by industry. This reduces the draw down on the dam and protects the system, creating almost unlimited water supply in the urbanised areas of Western Sydney, which are getting hotter and hotter.”
Artist impression of treatment wetlands and trunk drainage channels and creeks (Photo supplied by Sydney Water)
While the science and tech are all there to create and implement these systems, the task is not so simple. “A truly integrated approach to something as complex as the water system is really difficult,” Phillip said. “It requires a holistic approach, and change, which can be hard because people resist change, even when we can see the benefits of it. A lot of what I do is getting different people to talk about it – connecting people and helping them understand. So it’s a people game.”
Connecting people with water is a driving force of Phillip’s work. “Human connection to water is really important,” he said. “It seems that people are drawn to it – real estate value near water is an indicator of that. There are lots of studies that show significant mental health improvements from connection with water, so it’s really important communities have access to clean waterways that aren’t sanitised.”
1938 swimmers at Lake Parramatta. (Photo State Library of NSW)
In line with his passion for bringing water and people together, one of the highlights of Phillip’s career has been his involvement in the Parramatta River Masterplan and Make Parramatta River Swimmable Again. “This was the first time we really connected catchment management with a swimming outcome,” he said, “and it was an example of effective community engagement.”
The process involved engaging a PR firm that asked the local community what resonated with them and the Parramatta River. The answer was swimming, and so ensued the Parramatta River Catchment Group’s project, Make Parramatta River Swimmable Again. “We started by asking the people a question, then looked at the data to see if it was possible. We were able to create a management program focussing on an outcome that the community wanted – rather than the usual way of looking at data first, then moving the dial on it to loosely match community outcomes last.”
The project involves rigorous modelling to find out which sites on the Parramatta River are possible to improve and make safe for swimming, the implementation of stronger requirements on stormwater management and sewer system upgrades, auditing major construction sites, and water quality testing as well as real time monitoring at the designated swim sites. “This changed the conversation in Sydney around waterway management,” Phillip said. “It legitimised that you can have a stormwater management outcome and swimming in urban areas.”
Concept impression of a potential future swimming site. (Image Studio Octopi, supplied by Sydney Water)
In this project, and at the heart of Phillip’s work, is the simple equation that a positive outcome for waterways equals a positive outcome for people. “Improving water quality for swimming means improving waterway health in general. It creates a positive feedback loop – if people care about swimming in water, then people care about clean waterways.”
Take Action:
Individuals can make changes at home to better manage water. Some small actions can make a difference, including:
Installing a rain water tank.
Building a raingarden. Find tips on how to do it yourself here: Building a raingarden
When embarking on building work, being conscious of sediment runoff and install a temporary silt fence.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
We`re thrilled to announce that tickets are now on sale for our inaugural Blue Mountains Food Security Fair at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba on Saturday 18 October! Register here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/food-security-fair-or-planetary-health-initiative
The day will include stalls, talks and demos about growing, sourcing, cooking, preserving and enjoying plant based food and protecting habitat for wildlife.
Our fabulous line up of speakers and workshop tutors includes Dr Milena Bovic on the Future of Food; Holly Davis, co-founder of Iku and author of `Ferment`; Michael from Good Fat Pastry; Nev Sweeney from Under the Choko Tree on how to build a Solar Powered Food Dehydrator; Lloyd Sharp from Mid Blue Mountains Seed Savers; Marnee Fox from Forage to Feast; Teya Brooks Pribac from Plant Inspired; and Erin Hall on Weaving with Weeds. Stalls will include EarthRising Mushroom Farm, edible native plants, the Planetary Health Cafe and more. Each session needs to be booked individually as numbers are strictly limited.
This event is being supported by a sEEd grant from the Australian Association for Environmental Education.
This Saturday 4 Oct, on the centenary of World Animal Day, you can meet other people passionate about protecting our wild neighbours, and contribute to restoring habitat for wildlife with them, by coming along and joining our dedicated team of Planetary Health Bushcarers as we regenerate the bushland at the Planetary Health Precinct. Learn more and register to attend (1.30pm) here: (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-bushcare-spring-summer-2025
Woohoo! We are so thrilled. Katoomba poet David Brooks has just won the Prime Minister`s Literary Award for Poetry with his book "The Other Side of Daylight: New and Selected Poems". Come and celebrate with us this coming Saturday night when he`ll read from his work for a World Animal Day celebration at the Planetary Health Centre. Bookings here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/world-animal-day-raising-the-bar-for-nature
(apologies for dodgy screenshots ... we`ve been watching the awards streaming on YouTube tonight)
Join us next Sat 4th Oct to celebrate the exciting news that Katoomba writer David Brooks has been shortlisted for the Australian Prime Minister`s Literary Awards for his book of poetry: "The Other Side of Daylight: New and Selected Poems". It will be a night of art, poetry and delicious food as we also celebrate the centenary of World Animal Day, with David reading from his work alongside local poet Louise Wakeling, a tribute to artist, poet and founder of Animal Liberation, Christine Townend, and an Open Mic for poetry about the extraordinary species we share our world with. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/world-animal-day-raising-the-bar-for-nature
With each extreme weather event more hazardous materials enter our environment and impact human and planetary health, which is why, for 2025, we’re bringing together the Australian Bushfire Building Conference and the Asbestos & Hazardous Materials Management Conference in Katoomba on 20-22 Nov, to address how we can all work together, from design to disposal, to both reduce disaster risk and the risk of hazardous materials. We urgently need to design, build and live differently, as well as better manage those hazardous materials that are already impacting our health and the health of our frontline emergency staff and volunteers.
At Full Cycle 2025 we’re bringing together leading experts to address how we can do this.
We`re thrilled to announce that Shane McArdle, Head of International Projects for the Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute (ADDRI) in Sydney, will present on local and global actions for eliminating asbestos and dust-related diseases. Shane has spent almost 10 years at the Australian Government Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA) overseeing awareness raising and international strategies to prevent exposure to asbestos and to eliminate asbestos-related diseases.
Early bird registrations for the conference close on 7 October. You can learn more and register here (link in profile): www.fullcycleconference.com.au
The last six years have seen catastrophic and unprecedented wildfires in Australia and California. At the Full Cycle Conference on 20-22 Nov, A/Prof Owen Price will share his research which compares the patterns of housing loss in the NSW and Californian wildfires. With every fire, more hazardous materials are dispersed through the environment.
Owen has spent the past 18 years analysing empirical evidence of the effectiveness of bushfire mitigation strategies. This has included examining the effectiveness of prescribed burning, the drivers of fire spread and severity, fire suppression and house loss. He has published ~140 research papers and he is the Director of The Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires (CERMB) at the University of Wollongong. Owen is one of many leading speakers who will be joining us at Full Cycle 2025 to explore how we can reduce disaster risk and hazardous materials in a changing climate. Early Bird Registrations close on 7 October. Visit the website to learn more and register here (link in profile):
Keynote speaker Julian Cribb AM announced as anticipation builds for the inaugural Full Cycle 2025 Conference which will address some of the most critical issues of our time, and what we can do about them. Julian Cribb will speak on how we can cleanse our polluted planet and tackle the existential megathreats of the 21st century as he sets the context for the two day conference and community expo that`s a collaboration between the Australian Bushfire Building Conference, the Asbestos & Hazardous Materials Management Conference and the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative.
Co-founder of the Council for the Human Future, he has written over 9000 articles and 12 books, including How to Fix a Broken Planet, Earth Detox, Poisoned Planet, Surviving the 21st Century, The Coming Famine and Food or War. He will outline how climate change and the toxic tsunami of hazardous substances engulfing the world are two of ten megathreats that need to be addressed together and at the same time, urgently, and he’ll propose a plan for doing this.
Early Bird registrations close on Tuesday 7 October and there is still time to make a submission to be part of this seminal event. Read more about the conference and register here (link in profile): www.fullcycleconference.com.au
We had a fabulous dinner meeting last night to launch Rotarians 4 Planetary Health. It was exciting to bring together so much expertise and care for our community and the health of our planet! Initially we`ll be meeting fortnightly on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 6pm. If you`d like to join us register for the next meeting on Monday 13 October here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/copy-of-rotarians-4-planetary-health
For tonight’s first meeting of Rotarians 4 Planetary Health we’re cooking up a hearty minestrone with freshly harvested veggies from the Planetary Health Garden and Blackheath Community Farm. Come along to the meeting tonight if you’d like get involved in growing food security for the Mountains, and SAVE THE DATE for our inaugural Food Security Fair on Saturday 18 October. Contact us if you’d like to be part of the Fair. If you’d like to come along to learn more about Rotarians 4 Planetary Health, register here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/rotarians-4-planetary-health
Planning your day? The Blue Mountains Peace Collective is meeting at the Planetary Health Centre at 10am today and there will also be a Planetary Health stall at the Biodiversity Discovery Day at the Cultural Centre from 10am to 2.30pm. You can also join us on Monday night for the launch of Rotarians 4 Planetary Health. Register here if you`d like to attend on Monday (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/rotarians-4-planetary-health And coming up on 4 Oct: Planetary Health Bushcare and Raising the Bar for Nature on World Animal Day!
Join us at 6pm this Mon 22 Sep when we launch Rotarians 4 Planetary Health at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba. We`re building on the collaborative work that Rotary and Planetary Health have done over the last three years with our workshops on how to use tools and upcycle fashion, the Pollinator Program and local storytelling. We`ll meet every Monday evening, with a different focus each week: from expanding our local Skill Share program, to prioritising strategies for disaster risk reduction, to learning communication skills and expanding community media. Refreshments will be available to purchase from the Planetary Health ‘Cafe’. Please register at this link to help us with catering (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/rotarians-4-planetary-health
Belle Butler is a writer, musician and occasional photographer. She likes mix-and-matching these artforms and often explores the same themes through each of them. Her short fiction has been published in numerous Australian literary journals and she recently received a WestWords Fellowship and Mentorship with Delia Falconer for her novel manuscript, ‘River.’ Hopefully it will be published one day.
There is an army of hard-working environmental warriors all around us: in soil, on plants, in the air and in the water. Insects are our hidden allies. They protect, develop and maintain our natural environments, and yet their contribution is so often misunderstood, ignored or actively maligned.
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