Amanda Smith, Service Performance Manager for City West Water

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Resident of Yarraville

And known for liking sewage!

I’m known as someone who likes sewage. I think it’s where the most interesting part of my role is. Most people like water, and how it’s delivered to make it safe. It’s not as interesting to me though. No one really likes talking about it but I love it. The role allows me to provide a good service to our community, protecting the environment and promoting good health.

A lot of my career has been in pollution response, sewage and recycling. In my previous role, I looked at what goes into sewage, dealing with everything from waste from boutique beer breweries, hospitals and big chemical plants. As of 2018, I’ve been in City West Water for over ten years.

When someone asks me what’s so fascinating about sewage, I will tell them that it says a lot about society and that it’s even possible to track community health and crime from sewage. This sort of detection is starting to be used in various parts of Australia.

I’ve lived in the West my whole life and moved to Yarraville in the late 90s as a renter. I like how close it is to the city, and it’s got a lot of character. Yarraville was really different then. There used to be shops that I called ‘Greek men’s card shops’ as there were always men passionately conversing in Greek. They would be playing cards and cigarette smoke would be pouring out the shops’ open door. One of them is where L’uccellino is now. I’ve seen a fair bit of change.

After renting in Yarraville, my partner Tim and I bought a flat in Seddon and adopted a dog from the pound. We had kids after and couldn’t fit into a one-and-a-half room flat so started looking for another house.

We eventually found one along the train line, on the same street as where we rented. It’s the only one we could afford. It’s an unsexy brick house built in 2000 and not the typically attractive period home in Yarraville. It is, however, really practical with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small yard.

We are like the Mary Poppins family. On Sundays, we love seeing the steam train going past. When everyone is up at around 9am, we yell out ‘The steam train is coming!’ Then we all stand out on the street in our PJs as a family, watching the train go past, rattling the house.

Before kids, I used to get pretty annoyed with the trains as they would wake us from our Sunday morning hangovers. Now that we have kids, we all look forward to it. In fact, our neighbours are also into it. They look forward to the trains too and we often meet out on the street!

I was responsible for the first rollout of recycled water to homes in Melbourne’s West in Wyndham Vale. I ensured the scheme came alive by engaging with the customers and residents, making them comfortable about using recycled water before turning the supply on.

I have two young kids, the older girl is six and the younger boy is four. Tim’s a local teacher.

I was born in Bolton, not far from Manchester and came with my parents and brother when I was three. Dad was a dye chemist and used to make carpets in Braybrook but was made redundant in the late 90s. We were given a choice of moving to Williamstown, Essendon or Hoppers Crossing. Mum and Dad were attracted to the open spaces in Hoppers Crossing as it was a country area then. I remember catching tadpoles in Skeleton Creek.

In hindsight, we should have moved to Williamstown or Essendon, but Williamstown was more industrial then. Maybe it reminded my parents of industrial Bolton. Mum and Dad never really considered Essendon.

Mum cried for the first 12 months in Melbourne and only really wanted to be here for a year. She kept telling herself ‘just one more year’ and persevered and met other British families that have become our surrogate extended families. Over the years she’s worked various jobs while raising us kids, including being a barmaid and a receptionist. Mum’s a real people person.

I don’t really cross the Yarra River that much. I may go to St Kilda, or Fitzroy or Carlton. I don’t even know the North West. If I need to get out of town I tend to venture down the west coast or overseas. I am hopeless! If someone says ‘Glen Iris or Bentleigh’ I would have no idea.

I have everything around me, and all my friends have moved from the Outer West to the Inner West. The best things about the area are the people. You could go to the park and you instantly have people who would talk to you. Friends who live elsewhere would tell me they don’t have that. People here just seem to strike up conversations with other people.

I have a dog named Molly. She’s a three-year-old Jack Russell Terrier cross, and unfortunately has agoraphobia – a fear of being outside. When we got her I envisaged myself walking my dogs in the area, but Molly is scared of everything. I think there may have been serious issues prior, but we were not aware of it as we got her from the pound. The history didn’t say that and just said ‘not great on the lead’.

Molly has become the devil dog; ‘not great’ has become the biggest understatement in her life. We’ve been working with a trainer but it’s a long and slow process.

Molly is not a dog of Yarraville, but a dog of our house. She is very good inside and loves the kids. I’ve had to adjust my expectations about what it is to adopt a dog.

City West Water services some of the heaviest and biggest industries in the Western suburbs. We work with them to make sure what they put in the sewers is safe. I have also worked with the industries to help them be more water efficient, and they benefit by saving water and energy. I really loved doing that.

Having worked for many years with industries in the West, I know a few interesting sites. One of my most favourite places is the Pump Room in Scienceworks, where you can hire it for functions. Another is the Federation bike trail that crosses Kororoit Creek where nature meets industry. We sort of live side-by-side and I love seeing the interesting areas that aren’t really accessible.

You can find me in Cafe Terroni on rare date nights. It reminds me of a trattoria in Italy. I love how some of the stuff they serve is seasonal and only on the menu at certain times, like their stuffed zucchini flowers. I also love how the Sun Theatre has reinvented itself; I remember going there with blankets on the knees, sitting on broken chairs, and wondering if the movie is coming on!

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