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Managing the whole drinking water supply system

To protect the quality of the water that people get from their taps, councils need to start by protecting their water catchment area. The catchment includes all the paddocks, hills, creeks, scrub and open country that channel rainwater into the community's water reserves (the local river, dam, or groundwater). As water runs off the catchment area, it can pick up pollution from fertilisers, pesticides and from human and animal waste. Natural hazards, such as blue-green algae, can also build up in rivers and dams.

Framework: 'Catchment to Consumer'

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (Chapter 2: Framework for Management of Drinking Water ) recommends that water providers take a holistic (total) approach to managing the water supply 'from catchment to consumer'. Following are some key points from Chapter 2 of the Guidelines.

2.1 A preventive strategy—from catchment to consumer

The best way to ensure drinking water quality is to work on preventing problems in every step of the water supply including the catchment area, the water storage facilities, treatment plant, pumps, and distribution pipes.

The ADWG's Framework for Management of Drinking Water takes in four main areas. The water provider should:

1. have a commitment across the whole organisation to delivering good quality drinking water
2. understand their whole water supply system, including the hazards that can affect drinking water quality and the controls needed to ensure drinking water supplies are safe and reliable
3. support the system with programs such as employee training, community involvement, and systems for documenting and reporting performance
4. have the system reviewed regularly by a senior person to ensure that the whole management system is working properly.

2.3 Benefits of the framework

Some important benefits of a holistic management strategy aimed at preventing problems are that it:

• promotes general community health
• sets up better checks on the whole water system
• makes hazards easier to identify and address before they become a threat to water quality and community health
• gives all stakeholders opportunities to identify their responsibilities and become involved
• sets up a framework for communicating with the community and with employees.

More information on catchment care

You'll find background information on caring for the local water catchment area on the EPA web page: Catchment Care.

Monitoring the water delivery system

Through the EHW, the water officer, or essential services officer, councils should regularly:

• inspect the water sources (eg. bores, dam, water holding tanks, intakes)
• inspect the reticulation system (pipes) for leaks, breaks, or illegal connections
• test water samples.

You'll also find information on how to take samples of water in a fact sheet on the Department of Natural Resources and Water site.

To have your samples tested, you need to send them to a laboratory. If you are up on the Cape, you can send them to the Cairns Water Lab. If you are closer to Brisbane, you can send them to Forensic and Scientific Services at Coopers Plains.

Action plan

The council should have a plan to act quickly to fix a break in the system and to manage problems with water quality and reliability. You'll find a recommended routine for monitoring the water supply system in the EHW General Duty Statement.  The Duty Statement recommends EHWs work closely with other local officers, such as the water officer or essential services officer, to protect community water supplies.

Enforcing local laws

The safety of the water supply system depends on the council enforcing water laws. For example, the council should take quick action against a person who makes an illegal connection to the water supply service. An illegal connection might be made to steal water from the community (avoiding the water meter). An illegal connection could also allow pollution or harmful bacteria into the system. Problems that can arise with community water supplies are discussed in Why Manage Water Supplies.

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