Overview
ISO 24518:2015 - Activities relating to drinking water and wastewater services - Crisis management of water utilities - provides general guidance for water utilities to develop, implement and maintain a crisis management system. Applicable to public and private utilities of all sizes, the standard covers preparing for, responding to and recovering from crises that interrupt normal drinking‑water supply or wastewater collection and treatment. ISO 24518 follows the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) approach and emphasizes protecting public health, the environment and service continuity while ensuring effective communication and cooperation with relevant authorities.
Key topics and technical requirements
ISO 24518 organizes practical requirements and guidance across the lifecycle of crisis management:
- Context and scope
- Understanding the organization, interested parties and determining the scope of the crisis management system.
- Terms and definitions
- Standardized definitions tailored to water and wastewater services to ensure consistent application.
- Leadership and governance
- Top‑management commitment, policy setting and defined roles, responsibilities and authorities (including a crisis management team structure).
- Planning
- Risk and opportunity assessment, crisis objectives, and elements of a crisis management plan (pre‑crisis planning).
- Support
- Resource allocation, competence, awareness, documented information and communication (internal and external).
- Operation
- Operational planning and control, activation and workflow of the crisis team, response actions and recovery to normal operation.
- Performance evaluation
- Monitoring, measurement, internal audit and management review of the crisis management system.
- Improvement
- Nonconformity handling, corrective actions and continual improvement of procedures and plans.
The standard also addresses the three crisis phases - pre‑crisis, crisis, and post‑crisis - and recommends coordination with external stakeholders and authorities.
Practical applications and who should use it
ISO 24518 is designed for:
- Municipal and private water utilities (drinking water suppliers and wastewater utilities)
- Utility managers, emergency planners, operations teams and risk managers
- Consultants and auditors advising on business continuity, emergency planning and service resilience
Typical uses:
- Building or improving a crisis management plan and team activation procedures
- Establishing communication protocols with the public and authorities to prevent panic and protect public health
- Structuring post‑crisis recovery and lessons‑learned processes to strengthen service resilience
Related standards
ISO 24518 references and complements other sector standards:
- ISO 24510 - Guidelines for assessment and improvement of service to users
- ISO 24511 - Guidelines for management of wastewater utilities and assessment of wastewater services
- ISO 24512 - Guidelines for management of drinking water utilities and assessment of drinking water services
Note: ISO 24518 is voluntary guidance (not intended as a direct certification specification) and is complemented by a separate standard on technical good practices for crisis management.