Events

franc.sydney 2022 is powered by Stormwater NSW and is all about challenging the rationality of current practices and perceptions of urban stormwater and its management. It is a community of individuals and organisations who are, in some way, connected to or effected by urban stormwater and are passionate about changing the way the industry operates to become more future-focused, resilient, adaptive and connected.

The stormwater industry has, for decades, tried to shift the balance between vested interests and the greater good, but it has become clear that it can’t do this alone. So franc.sydney 2022 brings together individuals from beyond stormwater to tackle this issue together. Our members include professionals, scientists, academics, researchers and advocates that recognise the need for change, the need to put the long-term prosperity of the health of our waterways, emissions and sustainable development above short-term political and financial interests. Most importantly, we bring these people together to help us all speak with one voice.

And it all begins by having ‘franc’ discussions.

This conference has a total of seventeen (17) guest speakers (up from the traditional four), and will include a range of new topics including:

• How to develop resilient communities.
• The relationship between the environment and human health.
• Finding ways to help protect our aquatic environment and conserve biodiversity; and

Conversations between scientists, planners, hydrologists, environmentalists and academics to ensure we are all on the ‘same page’ going forward.

Franc.Sydney has also moved to become a hybrid event giving everyone the opportunity to be a part of franc either in person or from the comfort of your own home. In-person and virtual registrations are exchangeable at the rate you paid (early bird, standard) if you are to change your mind closer to the date.

We would like to invite you to join us for the 2022 Stormwater Queensland Sustainability Summit.

As the Stormwater Industry gathers for its first National Conference following COVID19 it is clear that the world has changed, and we are an integrated part of that change. Technology has leapt forward in a significant way. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now identifying and counting gross pollutants in stormwater. Remote monitoring of floods, structures and community alerts have become a widespread, standard Best Practice. DNA testing in waterways can now identify if a platypus is nearby – giving a rapid ecosystem health assessment! And Mother Nature has been updating the Intensity Frequency Distributions for Far North Queensland. In this era of rapid change, however, Regulation has struggled to keep pace with legal challenges arising for businesses that have suddenly found themselves operating outside their Licence conditions.

SET 2024 provides an opportunity for the sharing of knowledge in these overlapping areas where stormwater influences the environment, where technology improves our understanding of stormwater and environment, where gaps in environment knowledge could be measured and filled by technology. The National Conference is a collaboration of researchers, designers, scientists, engineers, legal professionals, ecologists, community, modellers, government and technology providers. It gives space for new research findings, and innovation in practice. It encourages both academic and practitioner/industry presentations, with peer-reviewed papers being eligible for publication in an international journal following the Conference. It hosts Exhibitors from stormwater, environment and technology (and others) to open our eyes to the possibilities ahead.

SET 2024, as the National Conference, is deliberately different. Delegates don’t have to be a traditional “stormie”. Conference themes include environmental law, policy, community resilience, IoT, and ecosystem processes, as well as erosion control, urban drainage, water sensitive urban design, nature-based solutions, modelling, water quantity and quality. The world is more connected than ever before, and collaboration between disciplines is the way forward. If you have something to share via paper and presentation, please submit your abstract via the Portal. If you are interested to learn from the best in their field, join us in Brisbane, QLD, Australia on 8-11th October 2024

For more information please visit the conference website here.

Key Dates