The mentality of crisis engendered by the long running drought across the country has abated, with concerns now squarely focused on infrastructure issues and water management, according to a new joint report published by Deloitte and the Australian Water Association (AWA).

 

According to the State of the Water Sector 2012 the main concerns voiced by the sector are:

  1. Managing and augmenting infrastructure
  2. Ensuring water supplies are secure
  3. Managing catchments effectively
  4. Reducing the skills shortage in the water sector
  5. Responding to community concerns over rising costs

 

The report is based on a survey of around 2,000 members of Australia's water industry, with Deloitte Partner, Paul Liggins, saying the findings show a move towards  securing the long term sustainability of a healthy water industry.

 

“This year’s report indicates a very clear realignment of priorities for Australia’s water industry with managing existing infrastructure the top concern (42%).  The last time we conducted this survey in 2010, the key concerns were sustainability, water security and water scarcity, with ageing infrastructure only the fourth most important concern," Mr Liggins said.

 

Australian Water Association Chief Executive, Tom Mollenkopf, said the drought-breaking rain across most of the east coast of the country has led many respondents to refocus their attention on asset management and system maintenance. However there was a strong expectation that water security would resurface as the most important issue in five years’ time.

 

“Ensuring the security of water supplies (36%) and managing catchments effectively (29%) are important priorities for many in the industry, reflecting the recent memory of critical and persistent drought in the east and continuing dry weather in the west,” he said.

 

The survey also identified community concerns over pricing as a key issue for industry, with 69% of respondents believing water prices are about right or too low while only 22% believe they are too high. However, many respondents recognised the importance of responding to community concern over the rising price of water.

 

“Some of the concern over the price of water has stemmed from some very significant investments over the past five years, including the construction of desalination plants. It is concerning, that 67% of those surveyed believe investment in desalination has been ‘not very or not at all cost-effective’. However, delving deeper into this issue, a majority (59%) said the construction of desalination plants was timely, but almost half of that majority (29%) also felt the plants were also too large or costly,” Mr Mollenkopf said.