WOMEN IN ENGINEERING
Nadine Story
Nadine Story is a Team Leader Sewer Network at Urban Utilities. She has a Bachelor of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and a Masters of Complex Project Management , both from the University of Southern Queensland. Hello, I’m Nadine Story and I’m proud to lead the Sewer Isolations team at Urban Utilities. Every year, there are well over 500 sewer maintenance and new connection jobs within the Urban Utilities’ service territory that require an isolation plan. These ‘flow control plans’ ensure the network is isolated in a way that is safe for our workers and the environment, minimises impact on residents and businesses, and is economical. We also schedule jobs to ensure there are no conflicts in the network and, where possible, we leverage jobs to be more cost-effective. My team develops nearly all flow control and contingency plans, which keeps them very busy. Working as a sewer engineer is not the most obvious career choice, so how did I end up in this field? Sixteen years ago, after graduating from high school in Germany (my home country), I delayed my university studies to take a gap year with a friend in Australia. Not long after our arrival, we found ourselves working at Story Fresh – a grower and processor of leafy vegetables in Toowoomba. The name is no co-incidence, as years later, I married into the lettuce family! I extended the gap year by a few months and in 2007 I returned to Australia to commence my Bachelor of Environmental
32
Engineering studies at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. During my studies, I worked in the lettuce processing factory and a few years later as an undergrad engineer for the Toowoomba Regional Council. After graduating from university, I was accepted into the full-time Council Graduate Program, which laid a strong foundation for my career. As part of the program, I rotated through the Stormwater, Water & Wastewater planning departments to expand my skills and, fortuitously, my fulltime tenure came shortly after the global financial crisis which saw demand for engineers drop significantly. In 2013, we relocated to Brisbane with our newborn daughter, Grace, and the cat to pursue my husband’s career opportunities. Following maternity leave, I continued to commute with Grace to Toowoomba every week for work, but after eight
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS | JUNE 2021
months, the travel was becoming increasingly difficult. I decided to stay in Brisbane full time to finish my Masters in Complex Project Management and then reevaluate career options. In 2014, I was offered the role of Operations Engineer at Urban Utilities, which was akin to winning a lottery ticket! Our family could finally stay together – permanently – in Brisbane. In 2016, our second daughter, Lexa, joined the Story clan. Now, after nearly seven years at Urban Utilities, my team and I find ourselves at the forefront of Brisbane’s most exciting sewerage projects. Most recently, the team was involved in the connection of the new Centenary Highway rising main in Kenmore, the connection for the new Queens Wharf development at North Quay, the new Grey Street Pump Station and the condition assessment of Brisbane’s biggest rising mains from Eagle Farm Pump Station SP10 to Luggage
