ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a study that was undertaken on 77 water practitioners within government water authorities in Australia, and it considers the objectivity of current risk assessment approaches as well as determining the psychological biases that are inherent in these processes. The study found that there was a wide variation of risk scores that are provided on the same projects using the same organisational risk frameworks. In particular, the study uncovers the psychological biases that present barriers to implementation of new and innovative projects. A feeling of dread on the part of the assessor was significantly linked to higher risk scores and led to a discounting of potential solutions. I argue that these imaginings of future potential hazards evoke a feeling of dread on behalf of the assessor and result in less opportunity to pursue newer forms of water management. Reputational risk was also featured as the most prevalent risk noted by water practitioners working in government. This reputational risk factored higher than any other form of risk such as health safety financial or project related. Consideration of political implications carried a heavy burden on water project managers, especially in locations where water can be politically contested, such as in Australia. This is also linked to the nationalised nature of many of the water entities, leading to increasing fall back on members of parliament. This chapter discusses these implications to provide groundwork for the following chapter on recommendations.
