Integrated Project Risk Management for Residential Recycled-Water Schemes in Australia

Abstract

In recent years, the Australian water sector has been criticized for inadequate project risk management and overinvestment in inefficient water services, such as large desalination plants and recycled-water schemes. To aid water infrastructure decision making, this research study sought to define the critical risks to the long-term viability of residential recycled-water schemes and identify measures for managing critical risks. The research provides purposeful risk management practices derived from eight in-depth interviews with expert practitioners and a peer-review workshop with 11 expert practitioners. The critical risk factors and risk management measures were characterized by five major themes: organizational risk, stakeholder risk, political and regulatory risk, technical risk, and financial and economic risk. Because this is the first research study of its kind, disseminating the vast knowledge and experience of recycled-water-scheme practitioners will be valuable learning for industry practitioners and researchers investigating the management of water infrastructure projects.