An examination of resilient water services

Resilience is a word that has been used a lot in the recent past and particularly in policies. The policies call for resilient infrastructure. But what exactly does resilient infrastructure mean? How is resilience defined and operationalised in the water sector? This research examined all the above questions. It used a case study approach to determine how resilient a water service provider’s infrastructure is; that is Severn Trent. It also examined the role the policies played in making their infrastructure and services resilient. Data was collected through policy review and document analysis of Severn Trent’s reports. The results indicated that policies and guidelines had similar approaches to resilience. Severn Trent’s approach was informed by the policies therefore they operationalised resilience the same way the polices did. However, Severn Trent description of resilience varied from one document to another and they did not have a definite definition. Most of the policies did not adequately represent the adaptability characteristic of resilience and this was translated onto Severn Trent. Adaptability was only mentioned with reference to climate change. Even though the utility had made progress towards achieving resilience, it still has a long way to go towards ensuring that their services are resilient in the face of future challenges. The research also showed that there was also room for the policies to grow as they play a key role in enhancing resilience in the sector.