A push by the Ministry of Health to increase awareness among drinking-water suppliers of their responsibilities has led
to tighter auditing and a boost in overall compliance, with standards up by 2.4% compared to last year.
There was also a slight decrease in overall legislative compliance for all supplies – a drop of 0.5% compared to last
year, again attributed to the tighter auditing process.
“The overwhelming majority of New Zealanders served by network supplies have long received water that is safe, and a new
report shows that now thousands more have better drinking-water, following Ministry efforts to improve awareness and
compliance among suppliers,” says Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay.
The Ministry has been running workshops, led by assessors, for water suppliers for the past two years to increase
understanding about both the legislative requirements and the public health assessment underpinning the law – and the
benefits are starting to show, says Dr McElnay.
It comes as the Annual Report on Drinking-Water Quality 2019-2020, published this week, provides the latest information on water quality and associated risks, highlighting the
significance of this important area of human health.
The report covers water supplies that serve populations of more than 100 people, providing drinking-water to 4,077,0000
people across New Zealand, and shows in the past year:Report highlights (of the report population):
· 78.6 percent (3,254,000 people) received drinking-water that complied with all the Standards, up 2.4 percent;
· 99.1 percent (4,104,000 people) received drinking-water that complied with the chemical standards, an increase of 1.6
percent;
· 80 percent (3,313,000 people) received drinking-water that complied with protozoal standards – a process requiring
stringent sampling and monitoring, though up 1.3 percent;
· 96.7 percent (4,003,000 people) received drinking-water that complied with all the legislative requirements under the
Act, down 0.5 percent; and
· 95.2 percent (3,945,000 people) received drinking-water that complied with the bacteriological standards, a slight
decrease of 0.1 percent.
The Act sets out the specific, legislative requirements key to protecting the safety of our drinking-water supplies,
such as monitoring, record-keeping, and clear Water Safety Plans, while the Standards outline requirements for water
quality.
Dr McElnay says she is pleased with current progress but says more needs to be done to ensure more New Zealanders are
provided safe drinking-water.
This is being addressed with the establishment of Taumata Arowai, the new crown entity that will take over from the
Ministry as the regulator when the Water Services Bill is enacted, expected in the second half of 2021, she says.
Meanwhile, drinking-water assessors, supported by the Ministry of Health, are working with non-compliant suppliers to
address poor performance and ensure that they meet Health Act requirements as well as the Standards.
“Safe drinking-water is a Government priority,” says Dr McElnay.
“Work is well underway to continue to drive the improvements we need for drinking-water supply, both in the short and
long term.”
The full report is available at: Annual Report on Drinking-water Quality 2019-2020.