Hygiene Code of Practice

Introducing our Hygiene Code of Practice

Our Hygiene Code of Practice for Safe and Healthy Drinking Water has received approval from the Safe Drinking Water Committee. 

This Code of Practice is a requirement of G11 of the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules 2022 prepared by Taumata Arowai, in accordance with Section 49 of the Water Services Act 2021.

Key requirements 

The Hygiene Code of Practice outlines our expected standard of care and work practices for all people working on the drinking water supply network to prevent contamination of drinking water and ensure the delivery of safe and healthy drinking water to the public.

A high standard of care must be embraced

Carrying out work in accordance with the Hygiene Code of Practice is a key part of demonstrating our commitment to Principle 1 of the six principles of safe drinking water set out in the Report of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry: Stage 2 as follows:

"Unsafe drinking water can cause illness, injury, or death on a large-scale. All those involved in supplying drinking water (from operators to politically elected representatives) must therefore embrace a high standard of care akin to that applied in the fields of medicine and aviation where the consequences of a failure are similarly detrimental to public health and safety. Vigilance, diligence, and competence are minimum requirements and complacency has no place."

To maintain safe drinking water supplies, people working on the water supply network must continue to be vigilant and take appropriate steps to minimise ways in which the water supply could become contaminated.