Good news for many rural landowners – if your bore or drinking water supply serves fewer than 25 people, you may no longer need to register as a drinking water supplier with Taumata Arowai. If your supply is still considered a regulated drinking water supply, the compliance requirements have also been simplified.

Shared domestic supplies no longer require registration

If you supply water to multiple households as a shared domestic supply serving fewer than 25 people, and the water is only for domestic use, you are generally no longer considered a regulated drinking water supplier and do not need to register your water supply.

However, if your supply also provides drinking water for employees (for example, a dairy shed lunchroom, employee accommodation), or additionally supplies a public, commercial or community facility (for example, a café, marae, hall), it will likely still be considered a regulated drinking water supply.

What if I still need to register?

Regardless of whether your supply is required to be registered, you have a legal obligation to provide safe drinking water.  Additionally, if you need to register your supply you will need to meet the requirements that apply to your supply size category.

Water suppliers can choose between two compliance pathways:

  1. Follow the requirements of the relevant supply category (eg: Very Small Community Supply, Small Supply) under the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules; or
  2. Follow a pre-defined Acceptable Solution. Acceptable Solutions are ready-made solutions that specify the treatment, monitoring, and management requirements for common types of drinking water supply.

 

Compliance options and requirements

A Very Small Community Supply is a regulated supply serving fewer than 25 people (or up to 50 people for less than 60 days per year) that is not a shared domestic supply. Under the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules, requirements are simple and focus on 6-monthly microbial monitoring.

If your supply is larger and serves 26-100 people, you are classified as a Small Supplier. You will require more water sampling, and generally also treatment systems (if bore depth is < 30 m) such as filtration, UV disinfection (or chlorination), treated water monitoring, backflow prevention, and be subject to additional management and reporting requirements. Alternatively, adopting one of three available Acceptable Solutions may provide the simplest compliance pathway for supplies this size (and those serving >100 people), as these clearly set out the required treatment, monitoring and management steps. You can find examples and details of these on the Taumata Arowai website.

Keeping your drinking water safe

Regardless of whether your farm water supply is required to be registered, anyone providing drinking water to others has a duty of care to ensure the water is safe. If contamination occurs and reasonable precautions have not been taken, there may be serious consequences for the supplier.

If you are a bore water supply owner you can significantly reduce the risk of contamination by ensuring the borehead is raised above ground level, sealed, and fenced from stock access. Keeping chemicals and effluent clear of the bore reduces the risk of contamination.

Regular water quality testing for E. coli and nitrate is advised for bore water supplies in Canterbury. Water storage tanks should also be regularly cleaned and disinfected as these are often a source of microbial contamination.

Consider installing treatment systems after storage tanks such as filtration and UV units. Routine maintenance of these systems is also essential to ensure effective protection.

Keeping an eye on the quality of drinking water and understanding your obligations helps protect the health of your family, employees and anyone using your water supply, regardless of registration responsibilities.

On-Farm Water Management