Understanding the Extent
of Contamination in Australia

Professor Michael J Manefield, Water Research Centre:
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of New South Wales

Introduction & context
Professor Michael J. Manefield is a leading academic within the Water Research Centre at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney. His work spans contaminant degradation processes, commercialised through Micronovo Technologies, as well as teaching wastewater engineering and engineering design.
UNSW is recognised globally as a top-tier research and teaching institution, with its engineering faculty ranked among the best in the world.
For Professor Manefield and his team, a fundamental challenge lies in understanding the extent and distribution of land and water contamination across Australia. This insight is essential for maintaining research relevance, securing competitive grants, and supporting advocacy efforts within the contaminated land and groundwater ecosystem.
However, until recently, reliable and credible information on the scale of contamination was incredibly difficult to obtain.

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The challenge before Lotsearch
Unlike consulting firms conducting site-by-site investigations, Professor Manefield’s research requires nationwide context and credible environmental intelligence rather than parcel-based due diligence.
The primary challenge was simple but significant, in Professor Manefield’s words;  “Credible information has been difficult to obtain.”
Without a dependable and consolidated view of Australia’s contamination footprint, long-term research planning and justification for funding applications were harder to substantiate. Fragmented datasets limited visibility, meaning the team lacked the evidence base needed to frame their research in the broader national context.

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The solution: why Lotsearch
Everything changed when Professor Manefield attended a presentation by one of Lotsearch’s co-founder, Howard Waldron during an ALGA (Australasian Land and Groundwater Association), webinar.
Until that point, he and his team had “no sense of the scale of the problem.”
Lotsearch’s nationwide contamination mapping and datasets offered something they had never had before:
A credible, consolidated understanding of the contamination landscape
The ability to quantify and illustrate the scale of the issue
Reliable environmental intelligence to anchor research direction
Data that strengthens the narrative in grant applications and academic publications
Lotsearch became an essential information source, providing context that simply wasn’t available through other providers or public datasets.

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The experience of working with Lotsearch
Although Professor Manefield’s team does not use site-specific reports in the same way as commercial consultants, Lotsearch’s data transparency, clarity and national perspective have been pivotal.
The ability to see contamination hotspots, historical activities, and spatial patterns across the country has provided a depth of insight that supports both research relevance and sector-wide advocacy.

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The results: impact & outcomes
The impact has been substantial.
Professor Manefield explains:
“A good understanding of the extent of contamination issues in Australia is extremely valuable in securing funding to conduct research to develop solutions. It also has value in advocacy work addressing issues within the contaminated land and groundwater ecosystem.”
Lotsearch’s nationwide datasets have enabled:
Stronger research positioning
More persuasive grant applications
Improved ability to quantify national research needs
Enhanced sector advocacy
A clearer narrative for addressing contamination challenges
Greater confidence when communicating environmental issues to funding bodies and industry groups
In short, Lotsearch has become an important enabler of academic impact, giving researchers the environmental intelligence they need to drive innovation and influence policy discussions.
 

In short, Lotsearch has become an important enabler of academic impact, giving researchers the environmental intelligence they need to drive innovation and influence policy discussions.