Water consultants, industry structure, regulation and pricing

For more than a decade, ACIL Tasman’s staff have been at the forefront of designing and implementing reform of water services, both in Australia and overseas.

ACIL Tasman has long history of undertaking analysis and providing advice on water-related issues, both in Australia and internationally. Our consultants have a thorough understanding of the importance of water resources to the community and water’s role in economic growth and prosperity. This knowledge has been gained by undertaking research, analysis and providing policy advice on water-related issues in Australia and overseas.

Our experience and expertise encompasses virtually all aspects of the water cycle, from catchment and water resource management through to the delivery of water in both urban and rural settings. Our expertise also captures environmental and other impacts of water use, trade-offs between different water users, and ultimately treatment and disposal of sewerage and trade effluent.

ACIL Tasman’s assignments in the water sector include:

• water planning frameworks, with particular reference to sound risk management
• economic and financial project evaluation
• industry restructuring and reform
• pricing and cost analysis
• advice on regulation and competition policy
• advice on resource management, conservation and environmental issues
• management and organisational reviews
• demand forecasting and market assessments
• risk assessment

Our water sector clients

We have undertaken water related projects for a wide range of private and public sector clients including international agencies, national, state and local government bodies, water and wastewater service providers and their industry associations, regulators and users.

Specific projects have concerned:

• industry restructuring, reform and corporatisation
• review of institutional arrangements for water planning
• best practice for private sector investment in water supply
• privatisation costs for water services
• costs and benefits of competition
• performance measures
• cost of capital and regulatory asset value
• regulation and competition policy
• regulatory price reviews
• competition and third party access in water
• mergers.
• strategic regulatory advice
• economic and financial project evaluation
• risk assessment

Water industry services

ACIL Tasman’s work includes scoping studies, cost benefit analysis and evaluations of a wide range of projects. Projects have covered water strategy and regional supply schemes, pipeline and research projects. They have generally required detailed financial modelling, pricing and cost analyses, and market assessments, and have covered:

• strategic water planning, drought response and climate change
• reuse and recycling
• desalination
• dam augmentation
• water system balancing
• demand management strategies
• cconomic and financial evaluation of infrastructure projects
• pricing and cost analysis.

Our expertise also extends across a broader range of issues such as:

• tariff analyses for water and scarcity value pricing
• sewerage and trade effluent services
• strategies for meeting increased demand
• access issues
• benchmarking and efficiency comparisons
• efficiency of irrigation water use
• dam improvement program funding
• water resource management, conservation and water use savings
• water markets and property rights
• instruments to improve the efficiency of water trading markets
• water sharing
• environmental issues and a triple bottom line approach
• environmental sustainability of water sources
• impact of regulatory instruments on sustainability and the environment
• salinity issues and possible policy responses
• prioritisation of environmental issues
• sustainability and protection of the local ecosystem, river quality issues, land degradation, loss of biodiversity and invasion of exotic species.

See our water resourcescase studies.

Contact ACIL Tasman to obtain a Capability Statement or find out more about ACIL Tasman’s expertise and experience in water resource management projects.