Drinking water

Water used for drinking, teeth cleaning, hand washing, bathing, showering, food preparation and cooking needs to be free from harmful germs (such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Campylobacter, Salmonella and E.coli 0157) that can cause serious illness and chemicals (such as arsenic and nitrate). 

There are national standards which drinking-water suppliers must meet to keep our drinking-water safe. You can find out more about your community water supply at the Drinking Water for NZ website and in the Ministry of Health’s Annual Report on Drinking Water Quality.

Members of the Health Protection Team are part of the Central North Island Drinking-water Assessment Unit, an Internationally (IANZ) accredited inspection body that works on behalf of the Ministry of Health to ensure community drinking-water supplies are safe. This is done by:

• Supporting drinking-water suppliers to implement the Drinking-water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (Revised 2018) (DWSNZ) and meet compliance with Part 2A of the Health Act 1956. Suppliers are encouraged to also use the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Management for New Zealand which complement the DWSNZ.
• Assess and audit suppliers Drinking-Water Safety Plans
• Investigate any outbreak of a notifiable infectious disease, which includes water-borne diseases (such as Campylobacter and Giardia)
• Assist supplies in responding to contamination events
• Being aware of Cyanobacterial blooms and issuing health warnings
• Submitting on resource consents and regional/district plans
• Provide information and advice to suppliers, consumers and members of the public on how to make drinking-water safe including;
  • Possible sources of contamination
  • Treatment
  • Sampling and monitoring
  • Transgression/contamination event response
  • Water conservation
  • Water in an emergency

Resources

• Annual Reports on Drinking-water Quality (Ministry of Health)
• Blueprint for Safe Drinking Water video (Ministry of Health)
• Boil Water Advisory Fact Sheet (HBDHB)
• Communicable Disease Information Sheets
• Cyanobacteria (Blue-green algae) in Hawke’s Bay waterways (HBRC)
• Drinking-water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (Revised 2018)
• Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Management for New Zealand (Ministry of Health)
• Guidelines for the Safe Carriage and Delivery of Drinking-water (Ministry of Health)
• Health Act 1956
• Household Water Supplies information booklet (Ministry of Health)
• Ministry of Health Drinking Water Publications
• Ministry of Health Drinking Water Resources (including application and registration forms)
• Register for Drinking water Suppliers for New Zealand (Ministry of Health, ESR)
• Rural Agricultural Drinking-water Supply Guideline (Ministry of Health)
• Saving water during water shortage while staying healthy poster (Ministry of Health)
• Secure Groundwater Bores and Wells for Safe Household Water information sheet (Ministry of Health)
• Water collection tanks and safe household water information sheet (Ministry of Health)
• Water Fluoridation (Ministry of Health)
• Water Testing Laboratories in Hawkes Bay
• WS03 Form (used to notify the Medical Officer of Health of a temporary drinking-water supply)