Melbourne Water honours its women engineers as part of INWED 2023 celebrations

Now in its 10th year, International Women in Engineering Day 2023 (INWED) is an opportunity to raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available at Melbourne Water.

Women make outstanding contributions in every aspect of our lives, and on International Women in Engineering Day, we are pleased to celebrate and recognise some of their significant and lasting contributions.

This year, we highlight three young engineers Niva Pradhan, Nathali Christy and Emma Gault who contribute every day to making greater Melbourne - a better place.  

Emma Gault, Service Planner, Melbourne Water

Emma’s curiosity and steadfast desire to address some of the world’s challenges through innovative science and technology led her to graduate with a Master of Engineering and a career at Melbourne Water.

Despite the range of roles, industries, and sectors she has worked in, it was her first manager who believed in her ability to pursue a career in engineering. She was able to garner the confidence to now work on various complex projects at Melbourne Water – where safety plays an important part.

Emma is a Service Planner, responsible for delivering pipeline plans and strategies to assist efforts to build capacity at the Western Treatment Plant to support the city’s growing population.

Nathali Christy, Process Engineer at Western Treatment Plant

Access to clean water and basic sanitation as well as reducing single-use plastic production has been a lifelong passion for Nathali, in a major step to reduce the impact on our environment and to our waterways.

Her experience while in Indonesia was a revelation.

She learned that many of the remote communities were living without access to clean drinking water, low sanitation (wastewater), hygiene and lived with lower levels of general health. As such, her passion to become an engineer grew even stronger with a moral obligation to help provide the basic human needs - with care and consideration for all.

For Nathali, the most exciting aspect about being an engineer is the tactical problem solving and to see how the work can make a difference in the world.

Engineering fascinates Nathali as it combines elements of science and mathematics to solve real-life problems.

Today, Nathali is a Process Engineer, responsible for supporting the successful delivery of water treatment projects at the Western Treatment Plant including a new state-of-the-art Nutrient Removal Plant. It is designed to utilise a multifaceted process that aims to safely deliver a low-cost, energy-efficient wastewater treatment process that will shape the future of wastewater treatment plants, globally.

Niva Pradhan, Senior Asset Manager

Niva’s passion for engineering began in her early years, watching mega-infrastructure documentaries on National Geographic with her father.

Her fascination for civil engineering grew as she began to appreciate the many things, we take for granted, from roads to rail, from clean water to bridges, and from sanitation to the homes we live in. She understood, civil engineers influence and shape every aspect of our lives and wanted to contribute by making a difference.

Besides picturing herself wearing Protective Personal Equipment (PPE), Niva pursued civil engineering because it involved problem-solving, critical thinking, analysis, solutions development, just to name a few.

At Melbourne Water, Niva is currently working on the Lake Borrie Foreshore Protection Extension project to safely protect our Lake Borrie lagoons by preventing erosion of the foreshore embankments.

For Niva, engineering is a dynamic career that is continually evolving with the latest technologies to enhance the safety and efficiency in the world around us.

For Details

For more information on Melbourne Water or to discover some of the exciting career opportunities available in engineering and in other specialties, visit melbournewater.com.au/about/careers.  

Media enquiries:
Sandra Aloi, Senior Media Advisor 
 03 9679 7004
 [email protected]