Department of Primary Industries Home
Victorian Resources Online

5.2 Have I considered all of the risks associated with the options?

Return to Main Menu | Return to Step 5


There are risks and uncertainty attached to any option(s) that you choose. Risk refers to the probability that an event or situation will occur (such as a breakdown, or drought). You should be able to manage the risk to some extent. Risk management is the process of measuring or assessing risk and developing strategies to manage it.

You have to do your homework beforehand to find out what kind of risks you are dealing with. One of the ways of identifying the risk will be to go through the planning, design, management and costs sections of Step 4 and identify the potential risks on each of these sections for your selected option(s). Many risks can be minimised or even eliminated with good planning, design and management.

To identify risk, you can consult with other landowners or with service providers. Although you will often not have all the information you need for identifying risks, try to do the best you can with the information available.

Given below are checklists that you may want to consider for identifying and managing risks for your irrigation option. There might be other issues that you may want to consider which are relevant to the final selection.
      Photo: 5.2
      The risk of pivots colliding with trees is small, and can be eliminated with a little planning