Dr Stephen Perrens has died in Sydney aged 73.
Steve was born in Rugby, England on 20 May 1944. He moved to Uganda when he was three, where his parents worked as missionaries and teachers until he was 18. Steve spent his early years in Uganda and then went to boarding school in Kenya from the age of five. His upbringing and childhood in East Africa taught him the importance of flexibility, resilience and service to others.
Steve graduated from the National College of Agricultural Engineering (UK) (Cranfield University) in 1966, where he received First Class Honours and a Gold Medal. In 1970, he gained a Masters of Engineering Science in Water Engineering from UNSW and followed that in 1977 with a Ph.D. (Physics of Infiltration and Sub-Surface Flow), also at UNSW. He was awarded the Ford Foundation Travel Scholarship (East Africa) in 1965 and the Fulbright Senior Fellowship (US National Soil Erosion Laboratory) in 1984.
Between 1973 and 1987, Steve was Senior Lecturer, then Head of the Department of Resource Engineering and subsequently Dean of the Faculty of Resource Management at the University of New England. He was responsible for academic leadership and management at departmental and faculty level and undertook research, investigation and teaching related to water and natural resource management.
Steve worked as a Project Manager for the Irrigation Department in Rangoon, Burma from 1984 to 1986, as part of a two year World Bank funded project. His role involved provision of in-house training and consulting services for water resource development projects at the Yin Dam and irrigation area in central Burma and flood protection and drainage systems for the Irrawaddy delta.
Steve commenced his consulting career in 1987 as Managing Principal and Principal Water Resources Engineer at Dames and Moore in Sydney. He subsequently joined Lyall and Macoun Consulting Engineers before establishing Perrens Consultants in 1999. In 2003, Steve joined Hughes Trueman before joining Evans and Peck (later Advisian) in 2004.
Steve was a recognised expert in water resources and catchment management, with extensive experience in consulting and applied research. He was a Policy Adviser to a number of International and Australian Agencies including the United Nations, the East–West Environment Policy Institute in Hawaii and the Institution of Engineers Australia. He had over 80 technical publications in journals and conference proceedings. He prepared and gave evidence in the District Court, the Supreme Court, the Land and Environment Court, and to Commissions of Inquiry.
Over the years, Steve was involved in a range of major projects including the design of water resource systems for irrigation, water supply and power generation; integrated water servicing strategies for urban development; land rehabilitation for mines, quarries, landfills and industrial sites; integrated land and water management in urban and rural settings; stormwater quality control and effluent disposal; urban and rural floodplain management; and environmental impact assessment and environmental management for industrial and mining projects.
Steve was sought after by his clients, who repeatedly came to him as their trusted expert and adviser in water resources management and water engineering. He has left a significant body of work, providing lasting value and rigour for his clients, their projects and the natural environment. In the words of one client, Steve provided solutions that were ‘game changers’.
Steve made many deep and lasting relationships with colleagues and clients within the water industry. He was passionate about all aspects of his work, but especially about the importance of personal connections, taking a real interest in the people with whom he worked. Steve was a true gentleman whose friendship, intellect, energy and enthusiasm will be greatly missed by all who knew him.