Water watchdog 2 years away
A new regulator responsible for safe drinking water nationwide will be a standalone Crown entity and independent from Government, the Cabinet has decided.
The watchdog is a result of a major overhaul of water infrastructure and legislation in the wake of the 2016 Havelock North contamination that left 5000 people ill and four dead.
Ministers will task it with improving regulations that have become ‘‘fractured and increasingly ineffective’’ and reducing the 34,000 times Kiwis contract waterborne diseases each year.
Politicians considered making the regulator part of existing organisations but decided a standalone body would offer the ‘‘high degree of focus and independence needed to provide the best protection for New Zealanders’’, Health Minister David Clark said.
The watchdog, announced
earlier this year and expected to cost up to $8.6 million to set up, will oversee and deliver new regulations around drinking water under a new Water Services Bill that could be enacted next year. It will also have the power to consider exemptions for mandatory treatment of water supplies. But it could be two years before the independent regulator is up and running, meaning a long wait for local authorities desperate for clarity on what they have to do to remain
‘‘New Zealanders have every right to expect clean, safe drinking water.’’ Nanaia Mahuta
Local Government Minister
treatment-free. In Christchurch, the city council has been forced to chlorinate drinking water against its will for the past 18 months after wells supplying water from aquifers were deemed no longer safe. A strict new Government approach to risk and the unexpected removal in June of the drinking water assessor’s power to approve upgraded wells as secure forced a prolonging of the chlorination.
The council has sent revised plans for water safety to the Ministry of Health but the regulator potentially not being in place until late 2021 will stoke fears treatment may have to continue for longer.
Announcing details of the watchdog, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the independent regulator marked a ‘‘stepchange’’ that would lead the way in providing safe drinking water and planning urban development. ‘‘New Zealanders have every right to expect clean, safe drinking water,’’ she said. ‘‘Unfortunately, over many years, our regulatory regime has not kept pace with international best practice.
‘‘In addition, enforcement of the existing regulations has become fractured and increasingly ineffective,’’ Mahuta said.
The new watchdog will strengthen drinking water regulation and focus specifically on safety to build public confidence, promoting education and training among drinking water suppliers.
It will have its own board and chief executive, have the power to bring in technical experts, and will be able to respond to and support Ma¯ ori and iwi over concerns they have. The new regulator is likely to cost the Crown up to $44m a year to run once it has been up and running for five years.
Reform of the drinking water industry is expected to cost water suppliers up to $700m in capital expenditure, and potentially $117m a year to run their operations.
Ministers are concerned drinking water suppliers, particularly smaller ones, will struggle to cope with new regulations, and the watchdog has been specifically tasked with helping them meet the new requirements.
Mahuta said: ‘‘New Zealanders must be able to turn on household taps and drink the water without fear of getting sick.
‘‘We all care deeply about the quality of our water.
‘‘This new dedicated drinking water regulator will help ensure public safety, underpin community wellbeing and meet our people’s rightful expectations.’’