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Risk Management for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Risk Management for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Simon Pollard

(2008)

Additional Information

Book Details

Abstract

The provision of safe drinking water and the protection of public health and the environment through the treatment of wastewaters is increasingly informed by risk-based decision-making. Aspects of utility management such as process design and optimisation, asset management and compliance monitoring rely on a mature understanding of process risk within a broader context of business and environmental risk management. For operators, risk management is now regarded as a key business function. Understanding risk and being able to implement risk management is critical to the provision of safe drinking water. 
As part of a move towards a more strategic, forward looking approach to utility management, the IWA is promoting a risk-based approach to water utility management, from catchment to tap, through the implementation of the Bonn Charter (2004). 

  • Why manage risk? 
  • Basic probability and statistics 
  • Process risk and reliability analysis 
  • Assessing risks beyond the unit process boundary 
  • Regulating water utility risks 
  • Business risk management for water and wastewater utilities 
  • Managing opportunity and reputational risk 
  • Embedding better decision-making within utilities 
Having provided rationale for the importance of risk management, the text begins with the familiar territory of unit processes and process reliability. It then broadens out to consider, first environmental then organisational risk management. The final sections are concerned with better utility decision-making. The book has been designed for individual self-paced study. Each section of the text gives step-by-step learning in a particular subject, that includes an approximation of how long you will need to spend on that section and provides key points that highlight the principles of the different sections. Each unit includes exercises to help understand the material in the text as well as self-assessment questions to test your understanding and text references.  

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Contents 4
Introduction to the Water and Wastewater Process Technologies series 6
Water Science at Cranfield University 7
Editors 9
Series Editor 9
Volume Editor 9
Acknowledgements 9
How to use this book 10
Risk management for water and wastewater utilities 11
1 Why manage risk? 12
1.1 Risk management and the water utility sector 12
Water and wastewater utilities 12
Risk and regulation 13
1.2 Should organisations manage risk? 14
Do organisations manage risk? 14
Do organisations manage their risks well? 14
1.3 The origins of risk 15
A familiar example of risk 15
Business risk for water and wastewater utilities 15
1.4 Definitions of hazard and risk 18
A risk equation 18
Risk analysis 19
1.5 Management of risk 21
Acceptability of risk 21
Risk management capabilities 21
Corporate risk management 23
1.6 Summary and self assessment questions 24
Further reading 25
2 Basic statistics and probability 26
2.1 Introduction 26
2.2 Key points 27
Variation 27
3. Process risk and reliability analysis 44
3.1 Context 44
3.2 Applying process risk analysis 44
Comparative methods 45
Hazard indices 45
Fundamental methods - qualitative 46
Fundamental methods - quantitative 52
3.3 Systems reliability analysis 53
Reliability block diagrams 53
System redundancy 56
Series parallel networks 57
Partial redundancy 58
Standby redundant systems 59
Evaluation of complex systems 60
Exercise 61
Approximate evaluation of cut sets 63
3.4 Microbiological risk analysis 64
Case study - modelling crop exposures to pathogens in sewage sludge 65
Bypass 67
3.5 Summary and self assessment questions 68
Further reading 68
4. Assessing risks beyond the unit process boundary 70
4.1 Introduction 70
4.2 Approach to risk management 73
4.3 Risk management frameworks in the water utility sector 76
4.4 Risk assessment – catchment to tap 78
Assessing risks in catchments 78
Process risks - the multiple barrier concept 79
Network risks, vulnerability and Markov models 81
Public health implications at the tap 83
4.5 Human factors 84
Overdose of aluminium sulphate 84
Loss of water supply to a city 85
Overdose of lime at a water treatment works 86
Human reliability 87
How accidents happen 88
Violation producing conditions (VPC) 90
Error producing conditions (EPC) 90
Latent failures and flawed management decisions 91
4.6 Summary and self assessment questions 92
Further reading 92
5 Regulating water utility risks 94
5.1 Introduction 94
5.2 Risk assessment for drinking water guidelines 95
The dose - response assessment 96
The exposure assessment 99
Water quality risk management 99
5.3 Managing risks of abstraction and drought 100
Licensing abstractions 100
Droughts 101
5.4 Risks and asset management 102
5.5 Regulating discharges and voluntary initiatives 104
5.6 Summary and self assessment questions 107
Further reading 107
6 Business risk management for water and wastewater ut 108
6.1 Overview and objectives 108
6.2 Risk governance in utilities 109
6.3 Developing capabilities in risk management 114
6.4 Developing a risk management culture 116
6.5 Summary and self-assessment questions 120
Further reading 120
7. Managing opportunities, reputations and emergencies 122
7.1 Introduction 122
7.2 Modern risk governance – incorporating opportunity management 124
7.3 Opportunity and project risk 126
7.4 Investment and opportunity risk 129
7.5 Managing reputational risk 130
7.6 Managing emergencies – an opportunity to build trust 132
Declaration of an incident 133
Mobilisation 134
Key actions of the management team 134
Typical incident management teams for water industry incidents 135
Nomination 135
Training 135
Management centre 136
Target response times 137
Role of customer call cen 137
Emergency equipment 137
Contacts directori 138
Asset information 138
Stand-down procedures 138
Post incident review 138
Emergency planning exercises 138
7.7 Summary and self-assessment questions 140
Further reading 140
8 Embedding better decision-making within utilities 142
8.1 Refresher – why manage risk? 142
8.2 Sector progress in risk management 144
8.3 Tools and techniques 146
8.4 Implementing risk management 148
8.5 Securing a risk management culture 150
8.6 Conclusions - high reliability and ‘mindful’ organisations 152
8.7 Summary and self-assessment questions 155
Further reading 155
9 Summary 158
9.1 Managing change is risk management 158
9.2 Organisations that are mature in risk manageme 158
9.3 Mindfulness for the water and wastewater utility sector 159
Further Reading 160
10 Self assessment question abbreviated answers 162
10.1 Why manage risk? 162
10.2 Basic statistics and probability 164
10.3 Process risk and reliability analysis 164
10.4 Assessing risks beyond the unit process boundary 165
10.5 Regulating water utility risks 166
10.6 Business risk management for water and wastewater utilities 167
10.7 Managing opportunities, reputations and emergencies 168
10.8 Embedding better decision-making within utilities 169