A practical, standards-aligned business continuity framework gave a regional water utilities alliance a scalable plan its member councils could adopt, followed by council-level plans and training.
THE CHALLENGE
A regional water utilities alliance brings together a group of councils responsible for water and sewerage services across a large regional footprint. It wanted to strengthen its ability to manage disruption and keep those critical services running. Agilient had already reviewed existing continuity materials and taken part in the alliance’s working sessions. The next step was to assess the current state and maturity of documented business continuity arrangements across the alliance and its members, and to provide clear, prioritised recommendations. Any approach had to be grounded in evidence rather than assumption, and simple and cost-effective enough for council teams to sustain.
OUR APPROACH
Agilient designed a practical program aligned with ISO 22301:2019, AS/NZS 5050, AS ISO 31000:2018 and industry business continuity guidance for water utilities. The method combined stakeholder consultation, risk and vulnerability analysis and a facilitated Business Impact Analysis. From this work Agilient developed a Tier 1 Business Continuity Plan for the alliance, structured as a scalable framework that individual councils could adopt and expand. Throughout, the emphasis was on simplicity and practicality, delivering useful outcomes with minimal administrative burden on regional council staff. A short scenario exercise was used to test and refine the plan. Agilient also delivered training so that council staff understood the principles of business continuity management and could apply them in their own operations. After the initial engagement, Agilient was re-engaged to support each member council in developing its own plan, tailoring continuity strategies to local operating environments, and to deliver testing and education services.
THE OUTCOME
The alliance and its members gained a risk-informed, practical foundation for maintaining water and sewerage services through disruption.
- A Business Impact Analysis and a scalable Tier 1 Business Continuity Plan for the alliance
- A scenario exercise to refine the plan and training to build internal business continuity capability
- A follow-on engagement to develop individual Business Continuity Plans for member councils, with testing and education
Related services: business continuity consulting, business resilience programs, critical infrastructure and the SOCI Act. Sector experience: utilities security consultants and critical infrastructure security consultant. To discuss a similar project, contact Agilient.