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Providing safe drinking water
The Water Services Act 2021 requires schools to provide safe drinking water on their site. Schools need to check that the water supply is safe to drink.
Water Services Act 2021 – New Zealand Legislation
If you think the water is not safe to drink, you should make sure people do not drink it. You need to tell the school community right away. Contact your supplier if your water is externally sourced. If you supply your own water, you will need to resolve the water quality issue yourself.
You will need to make alternative arrangements for drinking water. For short-term issues this can be asking parents to supply a bottle of drinking water for their child.
If there is no safe drinking water supply for a long period of time, contact your property advisor. You may need to close the school until safe drinking water is restored.
Providing enough water
Schools must make sure they provide enough water for drinking and flushing toilets. If the water supply is disrupted, you need to make alternative arrangements like tanker delivery. You may need to close the school until adequate water supply is restored.
Schools using groundwater and surface water sources
Schools using groundwater or surface water sources have legislative and regulatory requirements to meet. Schools must have the right consents and permits to take water from groundwater or surface water sources to meet their requirements.
They must meet all the conditions of the permit or consent. Check with the regional council or unitary authority for consents and permits.
Backflow compliance requirements
Schools must make sure that their drinking water network is protected from bacterial and chemical contamination by installing backflow devices. Backflow devices must be tested annually.
The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) have more detail about the compliance requirements for backflow devices.
Designing water supply systems and preventing backflow – Level
G12 water supplies – Building performance
You must log the device and record water backflow test results on the Argest online register.
If your school supplies its own water
If you are the water supplier, you have much more extensive obligations. These details are on the following page.
Maintaining the water supply network
All schools are responsible for safety and maintenance of the water supply within the school boundaries, including:
- flushing or running water at the start of each day to remove any water that may have been contaminated by metal pipes and fittings
- monitoring for leaks and proactively repairing leaking pipes.
Water that is unpleasant to drink
Sometimes safe drinking water still has a taste or odour that means it is unpleasant to drink.
The Tuamata Arowai Aesthetic values for drinking water notice sets out recommended levels for pleasant drinking water.
Drinking water aesthetic values notice – Taumata Arowai [PDF, 199KB]
The supplier must take all reasonable steps to provide water which complies with the aesthetic values.
Water supply funding
Schools get an operational grant for heat, light and water. Water costs are funded from this budget. This includes any water usage bills, such as for water leaks.
Schools can use our property maintenance grant to cover the cost of repairing pipes.
You should include budget in your 10 year property plan (10YPP) for replacing or fixing ageing water pipes.
