Translating technical water infrastructure and planning concepts with a community reference group.
Situation Explained
Seqwater is upgrading Somerset Dam as part of its Dam Improvement Program. Part of the project scope was to understand local impacts, concerns and priorities. Our involvement with the project started in 2020 when we facilitated 6 CRG meetings designed to inform a voluntary draft Social Impact Management Plan.
Between late 2024 and mid-2026 we designed, facilitated and reported on 7 meetings with the re-established CRG. These meetings focused on building understanding of the project and its approval pathway, and updating, refining, testing and prioritising the list of potential legacy projects.
Our Approach
LPC designed and facilitated 13 CRG workshops over six years:
- Six workshops in 2020: three face to face and three online.
- Seven face-to-face workshops from 2024 to 2026.
Across both stages, the CRG provided a trusted, formal channel between Seqwater and the Somerset Village community. Members brought local knowledge and diverse perspectives, including fishing, tourism, recreation, emergency services, local business and community life.
In early 2020, LPC helped Seqwater establish a CRG of 12 self-nominated community members from across the Somerset Region.
LPC designed and facilitated six five-hour workshops. The first three were held face to face. When COVID-19 restrictions began, LPC quickly moved the remaining workshops online. We adapted quickly when COVID-19 disrupted the 2020 program. We recreated the in-room experience online using breakout rooms, digital brainstorming tools and live polling. We also built in regular breaks to manage screen fatigue.
The workshops explored issues that mattered locally:
- Recreation, lifestyle and heritage
- Noise, dust and health
- Employment and the local economy
- Roads and traffic
- Legacy projects
Members worked in small groups to identify concerns and ideas. They then used online polling to prioritise and rank potential management measures.
Seqwater reformed the CRG in 2024 to continue community input into the SDIP. LPC designed and facilitated seven face-to-face workshops between 2024 and 2026.
Each workshop created space for two-way conversation. Seqwater shared updates on communications, civic works, approvals and legacy projects. CRG members responded with feedback, questions, local insights and ideas.
LPC used a mix of activities to keep discussions practical and inclusive:
- Whole-group discussions
- Small-group brainstorming
- Prioritisation exercises
- Pairwise comparisons of legacy project options
The pairwise activity helped members compare each legacy project option against the others. This made trade-offs visible and helped the group identify the projects with the strongest community support.
After every workshop, we prepared a workshop summary report. The reports captured what Seqwater shared, what community members said and the outcomes of each session. Seqwater used the reports to inform the voluntary SIMP in the first round of workshops, and the dam improvement application material in the second round. The reports were published on Seqwater’s website so the wider community could see how feedback was being used.
Results
The CRG helped Seqwater understand what mattered most to the Somerset community. It surfaced local concerns early, tested potential impacts and brainstormed practical management measures.
In 2020, the original CRG helped identify potential legacy projects. The reformed CRG explored, refined and prioritised those ideas between 2024 and 2026. This process resulted in eight legacy projects progressing into further development and implementation.
The CRG gave community members a meaningful way to influence a major infrastructure project. It turned local knowledge into practical input and built a clear, ongoing line of communication between Seqwater and the community.