Improvement plans for service providers

If an investigation reveals risks to water security or continuity of a water or sewerage service, and there are not adequate measures in place to manage this risk, the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water will issue a show cause notice to the service provider.

We will consider any response by the service provider to the show cause notice to decide if an improvement plan is required by the provider. An improvement plan will need to address how the identified risks to water security or service continuity will be managed.

If an improvement plan is required

If the provider is required to make an improvement plan, an improvement notice together with an information notice about the decision will be sent to the provider. The improvement notice will specify the outcomes that must be achieved by implementing the plan and the time frames for providing a copy of the improvement plan to the department.

The types of issues that might need to be addressed in an improvement plan could include:

• a projected lack of capacity of sewerage or water treatment plants to meet demand
• insufficient water supply to meet anticipated demand with no contingency plan in place
• unmanaged high levels of leakage and system losses
• unusual levels of interruptions of service delivery to customers.

A service provider must comply with its improvement plan unless it has a reasonable excuse.

Contents of an improvement plan

An improvement plan will detail:

• how the service provider intends to address the relevant recommendations from an investigation
• the funding options for addressing the recommendations
• the time frames for implementation
• requirements for reporting on implementation.

Reporting on an improvement plan

A service provider is required to report on the implementation of any improvement plan in their annual performance report. An audit of the key performance indicator data in a performance report does not need to consider any information supplied about the implementation of an improvement plan.