Risk assessment model for planning and design processes of wastewater treatment plants

Abstract

Before joining the European Union, Serbia faces a big task related to the treatment and purification of wastewater. The capital of Serbia, Belgrade, and some larger cities do not have wastewater treatment plants. Although there are no plants in larger cities in Serbia, they still exist on the territory of the state itself. However, either they are not in good condition, or they do not work with the projected capacity or they do not work at all. This paper presents the model for risks quantification for the planning and design processes of wastewater treatment plants in which the risks are divided into 6 categories: legal, financial and economic, logistics, environmental protection, management and design risks. 37 risks have been defined, analyzed and evaluated by the experts participating in the Delphi method. Experts in various fields dealing with the planning, design or construction of wastewater treatment plants were selected to assess the risks through 2 rounds of Delphi methods and reach the consensus on major risks. By using statistical methods, it is determined that the experts reached the consensus after which each risk received its own relative weighting coefficient. Risk model has been initially verified by experts from Delphi team on two projects during construction phase. This model is important in the initial phases of the project, when the investor starts the project, as well as in the design phases.