The Economic Regulation Authority has published the 2025 asset management system review report and the post-review implementation plan for the Water Corporation’s water services licence WL32.
The Water Corporation is a statutory State-owned corporation that is Western Australia’s principal provider of potable (drinking) and non-potable water, sewerage and drainage services to households and businesses.
Under its licence, the Water Corporation must have an asset management system that sets out the measures for the proper maintenance and operation of its assets.
The review found that while the Water Corporation has plans for asset maintenance and management, resource constraints have prevented full implementation of its maintenance plans and the replacement of aging assets. As a result, performance has declined across nearly all asset management effectiveness processes since the 2021 review.
In response, the ERA has required the Water Corporation to develop and implement an action plan to address the deficiencies. The ERA will actively monitor the Water Corporation’s progress in implementing those actions and will conduct another review in 2028, covering the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2028.
The review found 10 deficiencies that the Water Corporation needs to address. Seven of the deficiencies relate to resourcing constraints, which have resulted in:
- Planned inspections and maintenance not being completed.
- Financial plans not being sufficient to fully address asset maintenance and replacement requirements.
- A growing backlog of maintenance work.
- Declining service performance, including more unplanned interruptions.