Hunter Water Corporation commissioned ISF to conduct a real options assessment for future water supply options. To clearly understand and communicate the complex interactions between implementation risk, supply security and total cost for a number of supply-side options, ISF developed an interactive options assessment database in MS Excel, which included a wide variety of supply options. ISF facilitated a collaborative approach to defining key inputs (including cost, water provided, lead times), and for sequencing the response options to ensure that the system did not run out of water. A number of drought scenarios were explored.
The easy to use database was a key input to a cross organisational workshop, where the bespoke tool allowed for easy interrogation of the data, and clearly visualised interactions between options' total cost and overall supply levels (see examples below). This allowed the organisation to:
- consolidate a common understanding around potential additional drought supply options.
- map potential pathways, or decision sequences, towards an enduring Secure Water Supply in severe and extreme droughts.
- have an informed discussion on the ability to keep options open during a drought and avoid locking in or locking out options unnecessarily.
- continue to test and refine options as drought conditions and better information became available.
Researchers
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Associate Professor and Research Director -
Professor and Research Director -
Research Principal
Year
- 2019
Location
- Lower Hunter
Client
- Hunter Water Corporation
