Water
Paerewa inu wai

Drinking water standards

New Plymouth District Council is committed to providing safe drinking water.

In 2020 New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) created and approved their Drinking Water Quality Policy. NPDC recognises drinking water is critical to sustaining the health of its community and is committed to managing its water supplies effectively to provide safe, high-quality drinking water.

The Water Services Act 2021 requires New Plymouth District Council to prepare and implement a Water Safety Plan for all four of the district’s water supplies. 

The purpose of the Water Safety Plan is to summarise the processes in place to assure the consumer that any risk to the safety of the drinking water supply is either eliminated or mitigated to as low as reasonably practicable and to ensure NPDC meets their obligations under the Water Services Act 2021.

Under the Water Services Act NPDC have a duty to supply safe drinking water which complies with the drinking water standards and must take all reasonably practicable steps to comply with the aesthetic values.

The treatment plants all adopt a multi barrier approach and the water is disinfected with either chlorine or UV light.  To ensure the water remains safe a residual water disinfectant is maintained throughout the reticulation. 

The reticulation system is routinely monitored for bacteriological organisms, including E Coli and Total Coliforms. NPDC also carries out field testing for Free Available Chlorine, pH and Turbidity.   Monitoring for a range of metals, including lead, is also required.

A Register of Drinking Water Suppliers for New Zealand can be viewed on the Taumata Arowai website .

Taumata Arowai (TA) publishes a yearly drinking water regulation review.  The report can be accessed on its website under News and Events.

If individuals require a higher level of treatment than what is required by the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand, they will need to install the requisite treatment facilities on their own site as indicated by our bylaw:  'If a customer has a particular requirement for an uninterrupted level of service, (flow, pressure or quality) it will be the responsibility of that customer to provide any necessary storage, back-up facilities or equipment.’

Drinking water quality

New Plymouth District Council’s laboratory samples the tap water from all four treatment plants twice per month and analyses it for pH, alkalinity, temperature, dissolved solids, calcium, magnesium, total hardness and nitrates.

Analysis results for the last year is shown in document below. The quality parameters are fairly consistent, with minor seasonal variations.

Tap water report March 2024

Flush your taps each morning

The Ministry of Health advises that some plumbing fittings have the potential to allow minute traces of metals to accumulate in water standing in the fittings for several hours.

Although the health risk is small, the Ministry recommends that you flush a mug full of water from your drinking-water tap each morning before use to remove any metals that may have dissolved from the plumbing fittings.

The Ministry is recommending this simple precaution for all households in New Zealand, including those on public and private water supplies.

This advice is provided throughout the country.

Page last updated: 09:29AM Mon 29 April 2024

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06 759 6060 enquiries@npdc.govt.nz
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84 Liardet Street
New Plymouth

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