This paper provides a snapshot of the integrated systems analysis of the Greater Melbourne region used to provide evidence for the Ministerial Advisory Council for the development of the Living Melbourne Living Victoria water policy and, the ultimate cabinet approval of the Melbourne’s Water Future strategy. The systems analysis was built on local scale (the people) inputs (a “bottom up” process) rather than traditional analysis of metropolitan water resources that commences with regional scale assumptions (a “top down” process). The process using Big Data within a Systems Framework has revealed a range of challenges and opportunities in the Australian water industry that were hitherto obscured by more generalised analysis techniques.