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  • Women in Water

Meet Bridey Pearn

  • December 15, 2024

Meet Bridey Pearn, a valuable and high-performing member of the water industry. Bridey is the Coordinator of Water Systems at North East Water (NEW), and a member of NEW’s Women in Operations group. She is a strong leader and advocate for women in water.

Tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to NEW.

Towards my last year of uni I was starting to question how to turn a chemistry degree into a practical and rewarding career outside of the world of laboratories and academia. Turns out all I needed was a couple of passionate environmental lecturers to take us out sampling along Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra River. I was hooked and wanted to know how I could apply these approaches back home.

Thinking about the region I had come from and how water will always service a genuine need, I started asking questions to people in my community who worked at North East Water and researching what treatment-based jobs I could apply for that would be transferable to my skillset. I was fortunate that when I applied, people recognised this enthusiasm and gave me a chance, even though I had limited practical experience.

What roles have you had at NEW?

I have been exposed to a variety of roles, including within mixed-discipline reticulation, water and wastewater treatment teams. I have also spent time working within water quality teams, contributing to operations from a compliance perspective.

What have been some of the biggest challenges working as an Operator?

At times, I have found physical challenges to working as an Operator. Additionally, as someone with limited mechanical prowess, I used to believe these types of limitations diminished my worth to a team. However, what I’ve come to understand is both of these things are not necessarily a weakness — and often expose either a hazard others are disguising behind physical ability (which can be addressed with new controls) or an opportunity to capitalise on expertise that adds value through a new or different perspective (i.e there will be others who can teach you these things on the job, likewise there will be other ways you can contribute in areas that play to your strengths).

What have been the biggest rewards/achievements?

At the start of my traineeship, I was given an opportunity by my mentors to perform a process optimisation project and present our findings in a paper at a WIOA conference. This presented a chance to learn the plant I was operating, draw upon my scientific strengths and provided a platform to begin networking with the broader industry. This remains one of the most rewarding experiences to me, not just because we delivered a successful optimisation outcome, but because my colleagues showed me the value of supporting others (such as a trainee) right at the start of my career.

What do you see for the future of women working in water operations?

I see operators coming from STEM backgrounds becoming more relevant to a diversifying workforce, as we embrace technology and adapt to a changing climate. Women need to be part of this diversification approach, alongside all types of age, experience and personal background —not because we are required to meet a quota, but because we are representative of the population and offer a balanced approach to delivering for our communities.

Have you had any role models or mentors in the water industry?

The water industry seems to draw people in who are equal parts solution-based and people-focused and I have always found people adjacent and above who have been willing to give their time to help me understand a topic or tackle a challenge. The brilliant thing is as an industry we work hard to network and share, and it’s great to know we have many opportunities even beyond our own organisations to find mentors and other like-minded people.

WIOA Women in Water Operations (WiWO) is a national initiative to support women within the operations sector of the water industry. WIOA will be launching WiWO in early 2025, if you are interested please email [email protected].