Drinking water
The Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 includes new provisions that regulate drinking water quality to protect public health. The regulations apply to service providers registered with the Department of Environment and Resource Management, particularly those involved in treating, transmitting or reticulating water for drinking purposes.
The regulations will be introduced in two stages in which providers will be required to:
- carry out an initial drinking water quality monitoring and reporting program from 2 January 2009 (Stage one)
- develop and implement a drinking water quality management plan (DWQMP) (Stage two).
Stage one—regulatory requirements commencing 2 January 2009
In November 2008, all drinking water service providers were issued a Monitoring and Reporting Requirement Notice requiring them to address drinking water quality by:
- monitoring and reporting Escherichia coli (E. coli) as specified in the Public Health Regulation 2005
- continuing current drinking water quality monitoring program(s) for other parameters (where one was in place)
- reporting any incident that will or is likely to adversely affect drinking water quality
- reporting all drinking water quality monitoring results on both a quarterly and a yearly basis.
Compliance with the notice is mandatory, and providers must continue to comply with it until an approved drinking water quality management plan is in place.
To help them understand the requirements, providers have been sent an information pack which includes:
- Drinking water quality information guide (PDF, 221K)*
- Drinking water quality: current monitoring program form (PDF, 86K)*
- Drinking water quality: current monitoring program— Explanatory notes and instructions (PDF, 525K)*
- Drinking water quality: incident reporting form (PDF, 72K)*
- Drinking water quality: incident reporting—Explanatory notes and instructions (PDF, 413K)*
- Incident reporting protocol flowcharts (PDF, 702K)*
- Escherichia coli (E. coli) guidance notes (PDF, 135K)*
- Sampling procedures for drinking waters (PDF, 436K)*
- Water quality and reporting guidelines for a drinking water service—consultation draft
- Drinking water quality and reporting guideline feedback form (PDF, file unavailable)*
Non-reportable parameters from 1 April 2009
From time to time, in consultation with Queensland Health about any potential risk or risk to public health, the Office of the Water Supply Regulator may declare a particular parameter or parameters to be ‘non-reportable’ as an incident. These parameters may be subject to specific conditions and may be applicable only in some circumstances.
The following list is subject to change, so providers should review it regularly for updates:
| Parameter non-reportable as an incident | Condition(s) |
|---|---|
| Alkalinity | None |
| Calcium | None |
| Colbalt | None |
| Geosmin | None |
| Langelier Index | None |
| Magnesium | None |
| 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) | None |
| pH | None |
| Potassium | None |
| Silica | None |
| Temperature | None |
| Tin | None |
Stage two—Drinking water quality management plan
The purpose of a DWQMP is to protect public health in relation to drinking water quality. In a DWQMP, the provider:
- gives details of the infrastructure of the registered service
- assesses the hazards and hazardous events that may affect drinking water quality
- undertakes a risk assessment and documents the process for managing these risks
- outlines day-to-day operational requirements for managing the system, including how mandatory criteria will be monitored, how operational and verification monitoring will be conducted, and reporting arrangements to ensure safe water.
Detailed requirements of a DWQMP will be specified in a regulatory guideline to be developed in consultation with stakeholders in 2009–10.
Transitional arrangements
DWQMPs must be approved by the Office of the Water Supply Regulator and will be subject to ongoing reviews and regular audits.
Schedule 3 of the Act defines drinking water service providers as large, medium or small entities.
Under transitional arrangements, DWQMPs will need to be in place by:
- July 2011—for large drinking water service providers
- July 2012—for medium drinking water service providers
- July 2013—for small drinking water service providers.
The regulator can bring these dates forward at its discretion.
Exclusions
Service providers who store or treat source water containing recycled water for augmenting a drinking water supply must have an approved DWQMP before recycled water enters the storage.
No transitional arrangements apply.
Contact us
Office of the Water Supply Regulator
GPO Box 2454
Brisbane 4001
Email: Office of the Water Supply Regulator
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Last updated: 13 May 2009