Full Description

Risk-causing scenarios in the water supply industry can be classified as either nonoperationalscenarios or operational scenarios. The former, which includes natural andanthropogenic disasters, have been well studied using quantitative risk analysis andvulnerability assessment methodologies. Their study will undoubtedly continue due torecent financial allocations for infrastructure vulnerability assessments in the wake of lastyear's terrorist attacks in the United States of America. For daily water supply operations,however, utilities are concerned with operational failure events that result in decreasedproduction quality, quantity, and pressure without long-term disastrous consequences. Inspite of this concern, few methodologies for operational risk assessment currently exist.This brief paper introduces the concept of conditional risk-based performance indicatorsand demonstrates their application to the identification and quantification of operationalrisk in the water supply industry. The utility of the methodology is demonstrated throughthe examination of operational risks related to water quality at a full-scale treatmentfacility in Canada. Through the application of conditional risk-based performanceindicators to historical operational data, utilities can identify raw water quality andoperational conditions that are more likely to cause system failure, lengthen failureevents, and increase the severity of failure. Includes 3 references, tables.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/15/2003 Number of Pages: 5File Size: 1 file , 250 KB