Hydraulic design
Expert hydraulic engineering consultants
Hydraulics is all about clean water supply, efficient usage, and hygienic waste solutions that keep your building’s occupants safe and comfortable. Hydraulic engineering includes designing pipes, plumbing systems, drainage, hot and cold water supply systems, rainwater collection, waste disposal, wastewater treatment, and more. Whether fluids need to be supplied to or removed from a building, an experienced hydraulic engineer can make it happen.
STA Consulting Engineers have decades of experience in building hydraulics, providing practical, functional, and sustainable designs that deliver real value for clients at all stages of the project. Water usage, sustainability, and efficiency in Australia are a priority for governments, businesses, and homeowners alike. They are a priority for us too, and a central part of all our hydraulics designs. That’s why we’re the preferred hydraulic consultants by many councils and builders throughout Queensland and New South Wales.
We provide a full spectrum of building hydraulics services and first-time compliant designs, with experience across residential, commercial, retail, health care, child care, aged care, warehousing, multi-storey apartments, and other sectors. Whatever your hydraulic needs, we’ve got the skills and experience to deliver.
Our hydraulic engineering process
Review
Check site and design
Engineer design and solution
QA check and review
Deliver reports and certification
Why choose us?
Why choose STA for hydraulic engineering?
Full service engineering
Experts in hydraulic engineering
Clear communication
High standards
Steve Bignill // Construction Manager
Work with an experienced hydraulic engineering team
FAQs
Tell me more about building hydraulic design
What is hydraulic engineering?
As the name suggests, hydraulic engineering is a type of civil engineering that focuses on fluid management and flow. Building hydraulic engineers primarily use gravity to help fluids move, whether it’s freshwater flowing into the pipes, or wastewater flowing away from the building. Any parts of the building that touch water – whether pipes, taps, tanks, drains, or gutters – are designed by a hydraulic engineer.
Some hydraulic engineers work on large-scale projects, like water distribution networks, dams, levees, flood and stormwater catchments, and sewage collection systems. But here we’ll just focus on building hydraulics, as this is our area of specialty.
Why and when is it needed?
Storing, controlling, regulating, measuring, transporting, collecting, and using water doesn’t just happen on its own. You need a hydraulic engineer to develop designs so that your building has the right features to safely and efficiently move fluids.
That’s why it’s important to consider hydraulic engineering early in the planning process. Depending on your project type, this could happen in conjunction with foundation and structural designs or even after the build is complete, if you need to add an additional hydraulic element on.
Examples of hydraulic designs
Some of the features building hydraulic engineers design include:
- Sanitary plumbing and drainage
- Articulation joints
- Sanitary and/or stormwater pipework
- RPEQ engineer certified pipe articulation
- Site stormwater drainage
- Residential and dual occupancy plumbing and drainage
- Stormwater management
- Roof water gutter and downpipes (box, eaves, and valleys)
- Rainwater harvesting and reuse
- Reticulation systems
- Hot and cold potable water reticulation
- Tempered circulating systems
- Gas reticulation (natural or LP)
- Trade waste plumbing and drainage
- Fire hydrant and hose reel coverage assessments (residential or commercial)
- Assisted ‘wet’ fire service design systems (boosters, tanks, and pumps)
What kinds of projects require hydraulic engineering?
All buildings need plumbing and drainage systems. We’ve worked on a range of project types, including:
- Residential
- Dual occupancy
- Townhouses
- Age-care facilities
- Early learning centres
- Office complexes
- Warehouses
- Cafes
- Sporting complexes
- Hospitals and health care
- Multi-residential developments
- Multi-story apartment projects
