Water leadership, delivery and future security: Episode 7 of Inside Water Podcast, David Middleton

David Middleton, Group Technical Director, Water at McConnell Dowell, joins Inside Water to discuss a 35-year career across the water industry and the lessons that have shaped his view of customers, infrastructure and leadership. Middleton’s career began with a short-term role at the Ballarat Water Board. Since then, he has worked across utilities, government, consulting, operations, maintenance, major infrastructure delivery and board leadership. In this episode, Middleton discusses why every water project must come back to the end user, whether that is the person turning on the tap, flushing the toilet or relying on essential services every day. He also explores the pressures facing utilities, including ageing infrastructure, population growth, climate variability, capital constraints and the need to do more with less. The conversation covers: David Middleton’s career pathway into water Why customer purpose remains central to the sector Leadership and culture in water organisations Lessons from utilities, consulting and infrastructure delivery Why delivery partners should be involved earlier in planning The role of AI, predictive analytics and asset data Workforce challenges and opportunities for young professionals Recycled water, sewer mining and data centre demand Australia’s future water security challenge For more water industry news, insights and analysis, visit Inside Water: https://insidewater.com.au/ Follow Inside Water: LinkedIn:   / inside-water   Facebook:   / insidewatermagazine   X/Twitter: https://x.com/InsideWaterMag Newsletter: https://insidewater.com.au/subscribe/