Adopting a similar process to the one in 2017, Yarra Valley Water conducted a year-long engagement process to hear from citizens for the next five-year water plan. This included organising a citizens' jury about what matters most to the community regarding water.
Problems and Purpose
Yarra Valley Water sought the input of citizens to know what matters most to them regarding water services, how they can deliver those services and pricing. This is part of "Price Submission" that must be submitted to the Essential Services Commission (which oversees Yarra Valley Water) every five years and documents the services provided and the prices customers pay for those services. [1]
Jurors were specifically asked to consider present and future water needs and services in light of climate change and population growth. [2]
Background History and Context
Five years earlier, in 2017, Yarra Valley Water undertook a similar engagement process which also included a citizens' jury (Participedia case 5870). [3]
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
Yarra Valley Water worked with MosaicLab to organise and facilitate the citizens' jury.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
40 people were part of the citizens' jury.
Earlier in the engagement process, customers were asked to complete online surveys and given the incentive to be one of twenty people to receive $250 credit to their next water bill. [4]
Methods and Tools Used
In the lead up to the citizens' jury in early 2022, Yarra Valley Water undertook a variety of other engagement processes from mid-2021 to hear from the community about their water services concerns. These processes included online surveys about the previous Price Submission in 2017, stakeholder and community groups, six community panels (asking the questions "What matters most to you? What do you think needs to be solved, to better meet customer and community needs?"), combined panel with representatives from each panel to determine what the key challenge is which the Yarra Valley Water board accepted, and engaging with the stakeholder and community groups again to discuss potential solutions to key challenge. [5]
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The citizens' jury was given the specific remit to answer the question "With the challenges of climate change and population growth in mind, the quality and reliability of water supply and sewerage services are critical needs. Clear communication and transparency are essential to empower and inform users to access resources in a respectful, equitable and sustainable way. How can water and the environment be protected and respected, for and by, present and future generations?" [6]
They met online on five occasions from February to April 2022. Along with the specific remit, jurors were asked to consider 12 problem themes and made recommendations to Yarra Valley Water about how to meet those problems. These problem themes were:
- accessible communications with customers
- affordable bills
- caring for country
- consistency and quality of service
- governance
- insecure and insufficient infrastructure
- managing unexpected and emergency situations
- meeting diverse water needs
- protect the natural environment
- reliability and resilience of supply
- water conservation interventions (infrastructure)
- water use and conservation education and awareness [7]
Below is an outline of what took place each of the days the jurors met [8]:
- Day 1 - jurors were informed about task, about Yarra Valley Water, were presented reports, met with Indigenous elders and heard from experts with varying perspectives
- Day 2 - key question and 12 problem areas were discussed, along with the challenges of addressing these areas which led to development of preliminary ideas
- Day 3 - juror-selected expert presentations, further idea development
- Day 4 - refinement of ideas and initial draft recommendations, received Indigenous and expert feedback and reworked draft recommendations
- Day 5 - heard from Yarra Valley Water about draft recommendations, finalised recommendations and presented them to Yarra Valley Water's board
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
This process is still ongoing. Yarra Valley Water is busy combining recommendations with other feedback and insights they had gathered and expect to submit their final report to the Essential Services Commission in September 2022, which is when the report will be made public. Reports from earlier in the engagement process, such as survey responses and community panel summaries can be found on the Yarra Valley Water price submission engagement page. [9]
Analysis and Lessons Learned
This process is still ongoing. This section will need to be completed once the process is complete.
See Also
References
[1] Yarra Valley Water (2022). (Engagement webpage). Available at: https://yvw.mysocialpinpoint.com.au/thevalueofwater
[2] Ibid.
[3] Yarra Valley Water (n.d.). Price Submission 2018-2023. Available at: https://www.yvw.com.au/pricesubmission2018-23
[4] Yarra Valley Water (2022). (Engagement webpage). Available at: https://yvw.mysocialpinpoint.com.au/thevalueofwater
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
