When water risk makes headlines, it’s usually because something has gone wrong at the point of use: think Legionnaires’ outbreaks, algal blooms, or foul tap water.

But these problems rarely start at the tap; they often trace back to decisions made much earlier in the lifecycle, from planning and design through to operations and system changes along the water’s journey.

The mistake? Treating water risk as an operational afterthought. If we want safe, reliable systems, risk management must be embedded at every stage and across the entire physical journey of water, from source to end point.

A Risk-based Approach

Risk, as defined by ISO 31000, is the impact of uncertainty on objectives. For designers, builders, and operators, competing priorities are inevitable, however, safe, reliable water cannot be compromised. Facilities need to be designed, built, and operated to their intended conditions and lifespan. Fortunately, there are numerous proven water risk management approaches that can be drawn on including the WHO’s Water Safety Plan,[1] the Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality within the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines[2], as well as the interpretation of ISO 31000 specifically for water[3].

A risk-based approach shouldn’t be optional; it’s essential, especially in buildings like healthcare facilities with complex water systems and vulnerable users. Yet poor governance in design and planning continues to cause failures, sometimes with devastating consequences, including loss of life.

A source to end point risk-aware approach aligns with internationally recognised Water Safety Plan principles, which emphasise identifying hazards along the water’s journey, and embedding the appropriate controls at every stage. Applying this thinking early, before a single specification is written, ensures risks are anticipated and prevented, not patched later. A precautionary mindset at the design stage is the difference between building resilience into systems and leaving vulnerabilities on the table that can cost lives.

Why System Context Matters

Water systems are complex networks, not isolated assets. Water quality hazards (contaminants) and events can occur at any component from source to end point (Table 1).

Understanding this continuum is critical for building design and operations to build in water risk resilience including:

• Plumbing: Design to prevent back-siphonage, allow isolation, include testing points, design out stagnation.
• HVAC: Avoid aerosolisation risks (Legionella lesson).
• Materials: Comply with relevant standards for contact with drinking water, withstand operational conditions, meet lifecycle requirements.
• Source Water: Trend incoming quality over time; consult with network utility or other providers on changes (e.g., hard water, desalination mix).

Design decisions directly shape operational risk because they set the physical and functional conditions under which a system will run. If hazards and risk events aren’t anticipated during design, they become baked into the infrastructure and operating environment, making them harder, and costlier, to fix later. In short, poor design doesn’t just increase maintenance, it creates systemic vulnerabilities that persist throughout the asset’s life, often leading to health risks, compliance failures, and reputational damage.

The Planning to Operations Workflow

The planning to operations workflow is crucial to fit for purpose water supply systems. We have seen many examples where “joined up” thinking has not been applied or water quality and safety not given proper consideration across this workflow, resulting in unintended outcomes. Every stage introduces different vulnerabilities (Table 2).

Table 2. Example planning to operations water risk factor considerations.

Failing to integrate water risk thinking early can lock in design flaws that are expensive, or impossible, to fix later. But don’t take our word for it.

Lessons from Previous Incidents

Building design choices directly shape water safety for occupants, especially vulnerable users, and determine whether risks are prevented or left to be fixed later. Forward thinking is critical: anticipating changes in source water quality and climate impacts, validating and verifying systems, and embedding precautionary measures from the start can stop failures before they happen.

Growing cases detailed in our Incidents Online[4] database, highlight how water-related failures often trace back to decisions made during planning and design, or to overlooked vulnerabilities that emerge over time.

So, what keeps going wrong?

• Design bakes in risk: Stagnation points, unsuitable materials, sub‑optimal temperature control and aerosol pathways enable biofilms, Legionella, and opportunistic pathogens.
• Operations inherit design flaws: Weak pressure management, undersized/over‑stressed treatment assets and inadequate building management system controls translate into advisories, outages and costly remediation.
• Climate and source variability matter: Warmer water, seasonal shifts, rainfall infiltration and changing supply mixes (e.g., desalination proportions) challenge disinfection residuals and treatment performance.
• Monitoring and assurance gaps: Baseline data, verification/validation, and end‑to‑end hygiene plans are often missing, especially in high‑risk healthcare settings.
• Governance and capability: Contractor water risk awareness training, independent checks at critical stages, and qualified designers/operators are non‑negotiable to prevent repeat failures.

Implications for Building Design and Operations

Designers and operators must:

• Embed water risk management into planning and design specifications.
• Understand legal and formal requirements for any aspect touched by the source to end point water supply chain including plumbing codes, consumer law, contract law (who’s responsible for what, were, how and when), common law, work health and safety obligations and fitness for purpose standards (depending on the end use).
• Apply a risk-informed approach to asset selection, installation, and maintenance.
• Train teams to see beyond their immediate task and grasp the “why” behind controls, including making water quality and safety awareness mandatory for anyone involved in various touchpoints along the planning to operations workflow (including company directors who are ultimately responsible).

The Bottom Line

Water risk is not just a utility issue, it’s an “all of us” problem affecting building and facility management, shareholder value and public and environmental health. Adopting a source-to-endpoint, planning-to-operations mindset enables organisations to understand and manage water quality and safety risk – preventing costly failures, protecting occupants, improving efficiency and resilience, and maintaining compliance. Don’t make water risk an afterthought, design it in. Sound water risk management is your insurance.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Consultant Clinical Scientist Dr Susanne Surman-Lee, for her gracious review and insightful comments, which helped shape this article into a stronger, sharper piece. Thanks also to The Risk Edge Group’s Principal Engineer, Sarah Loder, for grammar-wrangling!

[1] Davison, A., Howard, G., Stevens, M., Callan, P., Kirby, R., Deere, D. & Bartram, J. (2005) Water Safety Plans. Protection of the Human Environment. Water, Sanitation and Health WHO/SDE/WSH/05.06. World Health Organization, Geneva.

[2] NHMRC, NRMMC (2011). Australian Drinking Water Guidelines Paper 6 National Water Quality Management (Version 4, updated 2025).

[3] Davison, A. (2020). Application of ISO 31000 to Drinking Water Quality Risk Management. A Practical Approach. ISBN 978-0-987-5560-0-4 Risk Edge Pty Ltd.

[4] https://www.riskedge.com.au/incidents-online-tool/

Dr Annette Davison, Principal Risk Specialist, The Risk Edge Group

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