Name the objective before the risk
Frame a water utility risk as uncertainty affecting a specific service objective.
The move: start risk work with the objective that could be affected. In ISO 31000 language, risk is managed because uncertainty can affect objectives. For a water utility, objectives are concrete: maintain pressure, meet drinking-water standards, protect public health, respond within a target time, keep capital work affordable, and serve neighborhoods equitably. A risk statement gets sharper when it says which of those objectives is exposed. Use this sequence: objective first, uncertainty second, consequence third, treatment fourth. Objective first stops the room from arguing about a generic hazard. Uncertainty second keeps the statement honest about what could happen, not what…
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