Dobbie, Meredith FrancesBrookes, Katie LouiseBrown, Rebekah Ruth2026-01-012026-01-011573-062Xhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/733801615Transition to a water-cycle city, a sustainable urban water management future, requires the implementation of centralised and decentralised systems to augment potable water supply, protect waterways and enhance urban liveability. Risk is simultaneously driving and impeding this transition. However, risk perceptions of water practitioners and how they affect practitioner receptivity to future modes of urban water supply are poorly understood. This study characterises risk perceptions and attitudes of Australian urban water practitioners towards alternative water systems and uses a receptivity framework to suggest how receptive practitioners are to these systems. Differences between cities are identified, suggesting how familiarity might influence receptivity. These results can inform strategies to enhance receptivity, including improved communication within the water industry and beyond with its various stakeholders, improved cost-projection frameworks to provide a quantitative metric of the benefits of sustainable water options, and a shift from 'learning to manage' to 'managing to learn'.The authors wish to acknowledge, with thanks, funding from CSIRO and the Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (now known as Monash Water for Liveability) to support this research.17enreceptivityrisk perceptionsustainable urban water managementwater practitioners201410.1080/1573062X.2013.79523584901691164