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WaterWastewater Collection, Treatment and DisposalWater Supply and TreatmentQueensland
Tonkin's People Spotlight gives you behind the scenes insights about the technical specialists in our business.
Patrick Tunnah - Tonkin's East Coast Water Lead - has a strong track record of performance in engineering, leadership and project management in the water and wastewater industry.
Patrick Tunnah - Tonkin's East Coast Water Lead - has a strong track record of performance in engineering, leadership and project management in the water and wastewater industry.
With a versatile skillset and adaptability to perform a range of roles, Patrick has the capability to manage, lead and provide valuable input throughout all stages of a project’s development, from the modelling, planning and business case phase, through to concept design, detailed design and support during construction.
Why did you want to be an engineer?
Well, originally, I didn’t want to be an engineer – I wanted to be a physiotherapist! In high school I did a week of work experience at a physiotherapy clinic and quickly discovered it wasn’t for me. After that, I started considering engineering as a potential option. My dad was an engineer, and I think sometimes when you’re young, you don’t necessarily want to follow the same path as your parents. But I was good at maths and enjoyed solving challenging problems (not that these are necessarily prerequisites to pursue engineering!), so I realised engineering would probably be a good fit for me, just like it was for my dad. I did multiple maths subjects and physics in my senior high school years, and while I still enjoyed other subjects, like music and PE, from that point I was quite set on an engineering career. After high school I took a gap year, and I was fortunate to be hired as a cadet engineer, a role that I continued in while I completed my Bachelor of Civil Engineering at university.
The early years of my career were in the planning space – water networks and wastewater network modelling and planning. I built hydraulic models, ran them, and undertook network assessments and master plans on water and wastewater systems. I then transitioned into engineering design and construction support whilst always staying involved in the upfront strategic and planning engineering space. Ever since starting my engineering career, I have been hooked and love what I do! It is very rewarding solving problems that impact communities, in an industry where there are many different paths to take that are suitable for all kinds of people.
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How did you come to be working at Tonkin and what’s a typical day at work like?
I joined Tonkin in 2024 and it’s been quite exciting to take the next step in my career. Being at Tonkin has given me the opportunity to draw on my project technical leadership skills, while also taking on a whole range of other responsibilities, including business management and managing a wider group of people to help them succeed.
I don’t think there’s a ‘typical’ day in my role; constant variety is part of what makes the job exciting for me and keeps me motivated. On any day I could be: getting deep into the details of designing and reviewing pump station and trunk pipeline infrastructure; providing advice to clients on water and wastewater network planning; leading a range of projects to ensure we are producing efficient and quality designs for our clients; acting as a sounding board for my team to discuss any issues that might be holding us back and how we can improve on them; or developing and implementing our group strategy.
What are some of the key challenges your clients are facing now and into the future?
One of the key challenges our clients are facing is the need to deliver a lot of new water and wastewater infrastructure to service population growth and help address the housing crisis that we’re facing, particularly in South-East Queensland. This usually needs to happen within short time frames and with what appears to be a shortage of engineers within the industry. In parallel to delivering all this new infrastructure, our clients are looking to manage existing aging water infrastructure as efficiently as possible. Our East Coast Water Team is well-placed to help our clients with their critical water and wastewater assets, particularly with larger trunk infrastructure needed to unlock residential development areas or maintain service to customers within existing networks.
How do you think Tonkin differs from other engineering consultancies?
At Tonkin we can be very adaptable to our clients’ needs with the ability move quickly on projects. We have a growing water team on the East Coast, and we’re backed up by a large water team in South Australia who are sought-after water industry leaders. Our size and experience mean we’re well-resourced and have industry leading technical expertise, while also being very focused on delivering exceptional service and solutions for our clients. This is all supported by a drive to deliver on our promises through a collaborative approach with our clients.