he provision of wholesome, affordable and safe drinking water that has the trust of customers is the goal of the international water utility sector. Risk management, in terms of protecting the public health from pathogenic and chemical hazards has driven and continues to drive developments within the sector. In common with much of industry, the water sector is formalizing and making explicit approaches to risk management and decision-making that have formerly been implicit. Here, we review the risk management frameworks and risk analysis tools and techniques used within the water sector, considering their application at the strategic, programme and operational levels of decision-making. Our analysis extends the application beyond that of public health to issues of financial risk management, reliability and risk-based maintenance and the application of business risk maturity models.

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Financial pressures, regulatory reform and sectoral restructuring are requiring water utilities to move from technically inclined, risk-averse management approaches toward more commercial, business-oriented practices. Risk analysis strategies and techniques traditionally applied to public health protection are now seeing broader application for asset management, assessing competition risks and potential threats to the security of supplies. Water utility managers have to consider these risks alongside one another and employ a range of techniques and devise business plans that prioritise resources on the basis of risk. We present a comprehensive review of risk analysis and management strategies for application in the water utility sector at the strategic, programme, and operational levels of decision making.

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