National water award for young engineer

Young URS engineer Sarah Jewell’s passion for water and the environment has led to her being crowned the inaugural Australian Water Association’s Young Water Professional of the Year.

The 32-year-old civil and environmental engineer from South Australia was honoured at the OzWater 09 conference in Melbourne for her ongoing commitment to the water industry in Australia.

Jewell was acknowledged for recent work on water treatment and supply issues in SA, as well as contributions to desalination research. In particular, Jewell has focused on water issues facing the Murray Darling Basin and has contributed to a variety of design projects relating to wetlands and Lower Lakes management.

Jewell has also just commenced a PhD in Coastal Engineering at the University of Adelaide to investigate improvements to the way in which the Murray Mouth is dredged to maintain tidal flows into the Coorong.

The AWA Young Water Professional of the Year award recognises emerging water sector practitioners and researchers who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the early stages of their career and who have the potential to play an influential role in Australia’s water industry in the future.

Sarah was nominated for the AWA Young Water Professional of the Year award after winning the corresponding state award in January. In claiming the national honour, she was chosen ahead of a field of young water professionals from across the country.

Jewell cut her teeth in the water industry with SA Water after completing a double degree in science and civil and environmental engineering at the University of Adelaide. She joined URS’s Adelaide office in 2007.