Karla is Engineering Project Manager at Sinclair Knight Merz.
Karla wanted to be an engineer from a young age – she wanted to learn how bridges stayed up and what makes light bulbs work; she wanted to solve problems and make things. Engineering seemed like the logical choice.
“After starting work, I discovered that my passion didn’t lie with designing buildings and bridges. Yet because of the flexibility that engineering offers, I discovered water engineering and became involved in designing big pipelines and pumping stations,” she says. “Now, I would not swap being an engineer for any career in the world.”
Karla’s involvement in water engineering hit new heights recently. She was project manager for Melbourne Waters’ Desalination Integration Project, which involved the design of the final link in delivering desalinated water from the Victorian Government’s Desalination Plant into Melbourne’s water supply system.
Karla and her team navigated a range of environmental, political and cultural issues – to do with the location of the pipeline – and came up with a solution that satisfied all groups. Work is scheduled to commence in March, which will help the Victorian Government deliver on its promise to have desalinated water pumped to the city of Melbourne by the end of 2011.
