AlphaCon Solutions

3 Waters Engineer Self Assessment

AlphaCon Solutions

Three Waters Engineering Capability Snapshot (V1)

Self-assessment (ratings + recent-use ticks). This is not a timed test.

Rating scale (1–10)
  • 1-2 — No exposure / minimal
  • 3-4 — Some exposure, learning
  • 5-6 — Competent practitioner
  • 7-8 — Advanced / can review others
  • 9-10 — Expert / lead practitioner

NZ Delivery Reality (How projects run)

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Design documentation lifecycle (concept → developed → detailed → IFC → as-built)
Revision control & transmittals (superseded sets, drawing registers)
RFI / SI / NCR workflows (raise, respond, track, close out)
Site observations (what to check, what to record, escalation triggers)
Constructability thinking (staging, access, tolerances, buildability feedback)
As-built capture discipline (redlines → record drawings / asset handover)

Consenting, Compliance & Producer Statements (NZ)

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Producer Statements PS1–PS4 (roles, boundaries, evidence, interfaces)
Interpreting consent conditions and translating into design actions
Working with council / authority standards (incl. departures / deviations)
Compliance evidence packs (photos, test results, inspection records, sign-off trail)
Understanding construction monitoring expectations for sign-off / acceptance

H&S, Risk & Quality

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
HSWA awareness and safe working behaviours (inductions, permits, reporting)
Safety in Design (hazard identification, risk controls, residual risk communication)
Risk identification early (technical, programme, consent, construction, operational)
Managing uncertainty (data quality, missing info, assumptions, sensitivity checks)
Design checks / peer review participation (giving and receiving)
ITPs / hold points understanding and verification evidence

Coordination & Information Management

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Multidisciplinary coordination (interfaces, clashes, sequencing, constraints)
Issue tracking discipline (actions, owners, due dates, close-out)
Document control platforms (ACC/BIM 360, SharePoint, Aconex/Procore-style workflows)
Asset/data handover thinking (as-builts, metadata, GIS attributes, O&M inputs)

Consulting Delivery & Commercial Awareness

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Option assessment and recommendation writing (clear trade-offs and risks)
Professional communication (calls, minutes, action lists, follow-up discipline)
Technical report writing (structure, clarity, defensible statements)
Scope management (spotting scope creep and managing variations / change control)
Timeboxing and prioritisation (deadlines, critical path awareness)

Common Software & Tools

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
MS Excel (engineering calcs, QA checks, pivots/lookups)
MS Word (templates, styles, track changes)
MS PowerPoint (client-facing decks)
MS Outlook / Teams (professional comms and coordination)
Bluebeam Revu (mark-up, measurement, QA workflows)
Adobe Acrobat Pro (PDF workflows)
Autodesk Construction Cloud / BIM 360 (Docs basics)
SharePoint / OneDrive (versioning, permissions, libraries)
QGIS / ArcGIS Pro (view/query/export spatial data)

Professional Mindset

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Engineering judgement under uncertainty
Escalation discipline (knowing when to stop and ask)
Continuous improvement / CPD commitment
Ethics and public safety mindset
Mentoring/supporting others (as appropriate to role)

Three Waters Breadth (Generalist)

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Stormwater: network design familiarity (pipelines, inlets, open channels)
Wastewater: network design familiarity (gravity/pressure, I&I considerations)
Potable water: network design familiarity (pressure, zoning, fire flows)
Brownfield/live network constraints (tie-ins, shutdown windows, temporary bypasses)
Asset lifecycle thinking (renewals, resilience, maintainability, O&M practicality)
Interpreting survey/services info and managing uncertainty (potholing, record quality)

General Technical Capability (across 3W)

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Hydraulics fundamentals (headloss, HGL/EGL, capacity constraints)
Pipe material selection (uPVC, PE, DI, concrete/GRP) and constructability
Pumping fundamentals (duty point, redundancy, NPSH awareness, maintainability)
Storage concepts (detention/retention, wet weather storage, reservoirs)
Resilience and critical asset thinking (failure modes, redundancy, contingency planning)
Commissioning support (checklists, QA evidence, operational readiness)
As-built / asset handover requirements (accuracy, metadata awareness)

Three Waters Software (Generalist)

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
AutoCAD Civil 3D (pipe networks/profiles/basic design)
12d Model (surfaces, strings, volumes / basic design)
SWMM-family tools (XPSWMM / InfoSWMM) – general comfort
Water network tools (EPANET / WaterGEMS / InfoWater) – general comfort
Flood tools (HEC-RAS / TUFLOW / MIKE FLOOD) – general comfort

NZ Codes & Standards

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
NZS 4404:2010 – three waters infrastructure for subdivisions
NZBC Clauses E1 (Surface Water), G12 (Water), G13 (Foul Water)
Water Services Act 2021 – drinking water and wastewater obligations
Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules 2022 (Taumata Arowai)
NZ Drinking Water Standards 2005 (revised 2018)
National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F)
NPS for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM 2020)
Resource Management Act 1991 – discharge consent requirements
NZS 3500 Plumbing, Drainage and Gas Installation
Watercare Developer Standards (water and wastewater)
Wellington Water Developer Standards
Christchurch City Council Infrastructure Design Standards
NZWWA three waters design and operations guidelines
IPWEA NZ three waters asset management guidelines
Affordable Water Reform (post-Three Waters context)

Cross-Discipline Design Skills

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Integrated three waters planning for subdivisions and developments
Water supply demand estimation and network sizing
Wastewater gravity reticulation and pump station design
Stormwater network design and overland flow assessment
Coordinated utility corridor design (all three services)
Service separation and conflict resolution
Hydraulic grade line (HGL) analysis across all three systems
Three waters infrastructure staging and sequencing
Coordination with road design for utility installation
Combined service trench design and specification
Three waters asset handover to council / water services entity
Three waters network modelling (InfoWorks ICM)
Developer contribution and capacity charge assessment
Three waters due diligence assessment for land purchase

Asset Management & Renewals

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Three waters asset condition assessment
CCTV survey interpretation (wastewater and stormwater)
Water loss and leakage detection programme
Three waters network renewal prioritisation
Infrastructure strategy and long-term plan (LTP) support
Asset data collection and GIS integration
Levels of service definition and performance monitoring
Renewal vs replacement decision support
Trenchless rehabilitation options assessment
Three waters infrastructure resilience assessment (earthquakes, flooding)

NZ Project Types

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
Greenfield residential subdivision three waters design
Commercial and industrial development three waters servicing
Council three waters network renewal programmes
Three waters pump station upgrade projects
Urban growth area three waters capacity upgrades
Combined sewer separation projects
Rural and small community three waters schemes
Three waters earthquake resilience upgrades
Post-disaster three waters infrastructure restoration
Developer-funded three waters infrastructure agreements
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) three waters project delivery
Affordable Water Reform transition planning support

Technical Software

Skill / areaRatingUsed in last 12 months
InfoWorks ICM (integrated catchment modelling – all three waters)
WaterGEMS (potable water network modelling)
SewerGEMS (wastewater network modelling)
EPANET (open-source water network modelling)
XP-SWMM / XP-Storm (stormwater modelling)
12d Model (three waters reticulation design and drafting)
AutoCAD Civil 3D (pipe network design)
QGIS / ArcGIS (spatial network analysis and asset mapping)
Innovyze suite (water, wastewater, stormwater modelling)
MS Excel (loading calculations, hydraulic checks)