When Declan Clausen was in high school, he spent time testing the water in a stormwater drain running through Lambton Park in Newcastle. As captain of his school’s Waterwatch team, he also wrote to local decision makers, asking them to improve it.
Years later, Declan helped turn that same waterway into a greener place for wildlife and the community. By then, he had become an environmental engineer, a water sector leader and a local councillor.
“You can have the best technical solution in the world, but it’s not going to succeed unless it’s understood by communities,” he said.
Today, Declan is Group Manager Strategy and External Affairs at Hunter Water and the Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle. His path shows how a career in water can grow well beyond the role you first imagined for yourself.
Starting with engineering
Declan joined Hunter Water as an undergraduate environmental engineer on a scholarship. It gave him a strong technical foundation and a way of thinking that has stayed with him through every stage of his career.
“Studying engineering taught me different ways of thinking, how to approach problems systematically, and make decisions based on evidence and data.
“It’s something I’ve found really valuable, not just in engineering, but across all the different roles I’ve had since”,” he said.
Those roles have since taken him into strategy, governance and local government. Each has given him a different view of the challenges facing his region and the part water can play in addressing them.
In his current role, Declan helps Hunter Water think about what the Lower Hunter will need decades from now. That means considering future growth and competing priorities, while working with customers and others across the region.
Seeing where water fits
Water services make a difference to daily life, but the work behind them can be easy to overlook when everything is running smoothly. Declan sees an opportunity to help people understand how water connects with the things they care about, from healthy beaches to housing and economic development.
“Water is connected to almost everything we want to achieve as a community, whether that’s more housing, a healthy environment or a strong local economy. We need to consider those connections, rather than look at each issue in isolation.,” he said.
His experience on Newcastle City Council has reinforced the value of listening to communities and explaining decisions clearly. A sound technical proposal needs people to understand what it will achieve and have confidence in how it is delivered.
“I’ve been fortunate to see these challenges from differing perspectives, and think that’s made me better at understanding what it takes to actually get things done,” he said.
It’s a combination of skills that has become central to his work: using evidence to plan for the future, and building the relationships needed to make progress.
Coming back to the creek
The Lambton Park waterway (Lambton Ker-rai Creek) has followed Declan through much of his life. As a student, he monitored its water quality and advocated for improvements. Later, through his work in water and local government, he was involved in the partnership that saw the creek renaturalised.
The former stormwater drain is now a place where people spend time, and surveys have recorded animals using the habitat created along it.
Declan is careful to recognise the many people who contributed to the project. For him, its value lies in seeing what can happen when a community keeps working towards a better outcome.
“I have been involved in advocating for that project as a student at high school, as an elected representative on council and through Hunter Water,” he said.
It also changed what water infrastructure could look like in a familiar local space: somewhere greener, more welcoming and more connected to the people who live nearby.
Finding your own path in water
In 2026, Declan was named Young Water Professional of the Year at the Australian Water Awards. The recognition prompted him to reflect on the mentors and colleagues who had supported him, and on the range of opportunities the water sector had offered.
“One of the things I love about the water sector is just how diverse it is. When I started out as an undergraduate engineer, I had no idea just how many different directions my career could take me,” he said.
His advice to people starting out is to stay curious about roles beyond their first area of expertise. For Declan, working with different teams and stepping into strategy, governance and local government broadened both his skills and his understanding of water.
He also encourages new professionals to meet people, ask for advice and find mentors.
“Technical skills matter, but so too do the people skills and what you can learn as a result of building some of those great relationships,” he said.
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