24 Jun 2025
Sit down with water resource engineer Helena Grilliot and get to know the person behind the engineer. Find out what sparked her interest in engineering, what problem needs solving now and what common engineering myth or misconception she most wants to bust.
Photo: supplied
Name: Helena Grilliot
Job title: Water Resources Engineer
Organisation: Riley Consultants
Location: Christchurch
Favourite chip flavour: Snackachangi BBQ
What's your Engineering Envy?
I took a course on ecohydrology while I was in uni, and we read a case study about a river restoration project. The river had been forced into pipes under a city and was causing all kinds of flooding and seepage issues – not to mention the effect that being shoved into pipes had on the health of the river. The project was to bring the river back to life, with the inclusion of a new park. I would love to be involved in a project like that someday.
What first sparked your interest in engineering?
I took a global politics class in high school, where we learned about sustainable development. I wanted to know how cities could be more sustainable, and when I enrolled in university I wanted be able to actually do something towards that. I wanted something that was more tangible than policy and more hands-on than urban planning. This led me to civil engineering. My main area of interest is water infrastructure (especially green stormwater infrastructure), although my work so far has been in maintaining existing water resources infrastructure like irrigation schemes. I think it’s important that our water infrastructure mimics the natural water cycle as much as possible, both to maintain the health of the river and ecosystem and because it is more resilient.
Where has engineering taken you?
Engineering has literally taken me to the other side of the world. I’m from the States, and went to uni over there as well. In my third year, I did a semester abroad at the University of Canterbury and absolutely loved Christchurch. I started casually browsing for jobs and liked the way engineering consultancies here have specific roles for recent graduates which allow us to be involved in design work. After going back to the States to finish my degree, I looked for jobs but none seemed as well-suited for me as a graduate position at Riley. A few interviews and a graduation later, I was able to move to Christchurch to join the Riley team!
What's a common misconception about engineering you'd like to correct?
That engineering is really rigid. While there are design standards which need to be followed and industry best-practice to provide guidelines, in my experience engineering is quite creative and involves a lot of problem solving. Working on older infrastructure, sometimes it feels like you’re a detective, piecing together the story of how something got to be the way it is. Other times, the more usual solutions don’t fit the on-the-ground situation so you have to come up with something new.
What challenge to engineers need to solve right now?
The whole world really needs to find a better way to set up water infrastructure of all different types. Scarcity of drinking water is going to be even more of an issue around the world with population growth and climate change; stormwater infrastructure with a focus on rapid conveyance causes flooding, worsens downstream water quality, and disconnects runoff from ground water; cities have been built in old floodplains and swamps, which now have poor drainage and are susceptible to extreme flooding; rivers run dry from over-irrigation; the list goes on…
What do you spend your time doing outside work?
My favourite weekend activity is whitewater kayaking! I’ll try to get on the river even if it’s snowing – if I can talk any of my paddling friends into it. In the evenings after work and when it’s too cold for running rapids, you can usually find me either in the climbing gym or making a painting.
