Water Security Level of Service Objectives: Guidelines for Development Iii
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Water security level of service objectives Guidelines for development April 2018 This publication has been compiled by Water Markets and Supply, Department Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. © State of Queensland, 2018 The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. Note: Some content in this publication may have different licence terms as indicated. For more information on this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The Queensland Government shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information. Summary Water is a vital resource, essential to the lives and livelihoods of every Queenslander. Fluctuations in water availability due to population growth, demand and climate variations highlight the need to plan for water supply security. A water service provider, with its knowledge of the local water supply system and understanding of water use and community expectations, is the most appropriate entity to undertake this planning. Fundamental to planning for water supply security is a good understanding of the water supply characteristics, the water demand of the community as well as the expectations of the community. All of this information underpins an evaluation of the current level of water supply security. A water service provider can then assess what level of water supply security may be appropriate in the future and engage with the community on this. This will ultimately lead to a planned level of water supply security, defined by appropriate LOS objectives, for a community. To determine appropriate water security level of service objectives a water service provider will need to: 1. Assess the available information, including the characteristics of the water supply and the community expectations. 2. Consider the trade-offs, for example identifying the costs of potential changes required to the water supply system to achieve a particular level of water supply security. 3. Determine a suitable target, by considering the ability to meet the level of service objective under varying circumstances. This level of service approach can result in both the water service provider and the community having a greater awareness of the potential risks to the water supply and can lead to more efficient water management and appropriate investment in water infrastructure. This guideline provides information about what water security level of service objectives are, why they are beneficial and how they can be developed for a community. They relate only to the availability of bulk water as there are regulatory requirements in place to ensure there are appropriate measures and plans in place to ensure the water is treated to the appropriate quality. Water security level of service objectives: Guidelines for development iii Table of contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Purpose ......................................................................................................................................... 1 3 What are level of service objectives? ........................................................................................ 1 3.1 Scope of these guidelines .............................................................................................................. 1 3.2 An example of water security LOS objectives ................................................................................ 2 3.3 Considerations ............................................................................................................................... 3 4 Why develop LOS objectives? .................................................................................................... 5 4.1 Benefits ........................................................................................................................................... 5 4.2 Role of water service providers ...................................................................................................... 5 5 Relationship with other legislative and regulatory requirements ........................................... 6 6 Towards water security ............................................................................................................... 7 6.1 Success factors .............................................................................................................................. 7 6.2 A water security framework ............................................................................................................ 8 7 Developing LOS objectives – process overview..................................................................... 10 7.1 Gather information ........................................................................................................................ 11 7.2 Identify LOS objective indicator types .......................................................................................... 13 7.3 Determining LOS objective targets .............................................................................................. 13 7.3.1 Assess information ........................................................................................................ 13 7.3.2 Consider trade-offs ........................................................................................................ 13 7.3.3 Set target ....................................................................................................................... 14 7.4 Statement of level of service objectives ....................................................................................... 14 7.5 Community engagement .............................................................................................................. 15 7.6 Implementation and evaluation .................................................................................................... 15 8 LOS objectives – indicator types and targets ......................................................................... 16 8.1 Water demand .............................................................................................................................. 16 8.1.1 Benefits of defining the objective .................................................................................. 17 8.1.2 Planning considerations ................................................................................................ 18 8.1.3 Development ................................................................................................................. 19 8.2 Water restrictions ......................................................................................................................... 22 8.2.1 Benefits of defining the objective .................................................................................. 22 8.2.2 Planning considerations ................................................................................................ 23 8.2.3 Development ................................................................................................................. 24 8.3 Emergency measures .................................................................................................................. 27 8.3.1 Benefits of developing this objectives ........................................................................... 27 8.3.2 Planning considerations ................................................................................................ 27 8.3.3 Development ................................................................................................................. 30 8.4 Other objective indicator types ..................................................................................................... 32 Water security level of service objectives: Guidelines for development iv 8.4.1 Triggers and contingency supply measures ................................................................. 32 8.4.2 Specific operational parameters.................................................................................... 33 9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 34 10 Glossary and acronyms ............................................................................................................. 34 10.1 Glossary ........................................................................................................................ 34 10.2 Acronyms ...................................................................................................................... 35 Appendix 1: Water security LOS objective development template ............................................... 36 Water demand objective ....................................................................................................................