Drinking water quality

Most New Zealanders take water for granted. We expect our drinking water to be clean, safe, and always available. About half our water is pumped from the ground, while the rest comes from surface sources such as lakes and rivers. But the clean, sweet water that flows from the tap in our communities, large and small, is the result of quality control by water suppliers – a system that relies on good-quality information.

While the Ministry of Health oversees water quality, it is the responsibility of the water supplier to ensure that water complies with national drinking water standards. In towns and cities, district and city councils ensure that there are no harmful bacteria present before the water is piped to users. Supplies must also be tested regularly to ensure the water is safe to drink. In small communities, the water supplier may be the board of trustees (in the case of a school), the proprietor of a motor camp, or the marae committee. They too must monitor the quality of the drinking water they supply.

Water Information New Zealand (WINZ) is a web-based tool developed for the Ministry of Health by scientists at ESR, a Crown research institute, to help water-supply managers monitor their water supply. WINZ provides them with information on when to collect samples, what the results mean, and what to do about them if problems are identified. WINZ also helps them prepare risk management plans and demonstrate compliance with the standards. WINZ centralises the data so that all parties concerned can access it. The WINZ database records information on more than 2,000 communities throughout New Zealand. Summary information is available to the public at: www.drinkingwater.co.nz.

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