Dr. Cintia Dotto is the Water Sensitive City Lead at the City of Melbourne, Australia, where she leads strategic initiatives in flood management, climate adaptation and integrated water management. With more than 20 years of experience across research, consulting and government, she is recognised for delivering innovative urban water solutions in complex, multi stakeholder environments.
Cintia graduated in Civil Engineering and completed her masters degree at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. She later moved to Australia, where she completed a PhD focused on urban stormwater modelling at Monash University in Melbourne.
Cintia’s work focuses on sustainable water management as a key adaptation response to climate change, helping cities address increasing flood risk, urban heat, water scarcity and environmental pressures. She has led the development of large scale urban flood resilience and water management strategies for major city renewal and growth areas, integrating traditional drainage infrastructure with nature based and water sensitive solutions.
Her experience spans strategic planning, policy development, infrastructure investment and cross sector collaboration. She has secured significant government funding for climate resilience and alternative water projects, and led pioneering work on hybrid flood management approaches that combine engineered infrastructure, green infrastructure and urban water solutions to reduce climate risk in dense urban environments.
Passionate about translating technical knowledge into practical action, Cintia works at the intersection of engineering, policy and collaboration to support.
