Role of local government in drinking water managementCouncils are expected to supply their communities with a clean, safe supply of water that meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). The ADWG provide the national reference to make sure councils provide safe water to their community.
As water service providers, councils need to comply with the Water Act 2000. Councils must be registered with the Regulator (Department of Natural Resources and Water). Smaller councils can be exempted (excused) from registration. For more information on applying for registration or exemption, please see the Water Legislation page on this site.
Sustainable management of the water supply service includes providing people in the community with information about water quality and about their obligations to use water wisely.
More information on maintaining water quality is available in the DNRW Water Quality Fact Sheets and the enHealth Council's publications.
Where water is not available locally all year round, councils bring in water by truck or barge and store it in tanks or covered dams. Councils are responsible for seeing that this water is safe for people to drink, and does not help spread disease by breeding mosquitoes. The council must ensure that the water is regularly tested. Tanks and dams should also be protected from animals and birds.
Please also see: Manage the Whole Water Supply System.
Private water supplies, such as bores and rainwater tanks, are an important source of water for many people. In general, the householder is responsible for making sure their private water supply is clean and safe. However, councils have responsibilities under some specific laws for private water supplies. One of these laws is the Public Health Regulation 2005. The regulation requires that councils make sure rainwater tanks are built, installed and maintained in a way that stops mosquitoes breeding. (Please refer to the Regulation for more detail.)
Councils may also offer a program where samples of private water supplies are taken and sent away for analysis at a laboratory free of charge to the community.
Councils must make sure owners of rainwater tanks install and maintain their tanks in accordance with the regulation to stop mosquitoes breeding.
The enHealth Council has developed 'Guidance on use of rainwater tanks'. A summary of the Guidelines is in the enHealth brochure. Queensland Health also has a brochure "Rainwater tanks - a guide to keeping your tanks safe ".
The council is likely to be one of the biggest water users in a small community. It should take the lead in ensuring that the water supply is sustainable. Your council might not have the funds to recycle water, but some water can be reused for other purposes (eg. settling dust, watering playing fields).
If your council is interested in developing a recycling program, you'll find good information in Queensland Water Recycling Guidelines, December 2005. (This is a large PDF file, but chapters can be downloaded one at a time.)
At this time, there are lots of changes going on in relation to recycled water. Keep in contact with your Environmental Health Coordinator, local Population Health Unit or the Environmental Health Unit in Brisbane for more information.
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