Multi-barrier approach

The water that comes from your tap starts as rain, which runs over the land, and into rivers and under the ground, where it becomes groundwater. The water sector calls this ‘source water’.

It’s easier to treat water that has fewer contaminants in it. So, it’s important to prevent lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater from becoming contaminated.

At a minimum, drinking water suppliers must know about the hazards and risks to their source water, and have a plan for how they will deal with them. However, taking steps to improve source water can make other aspects of running a drinking water supply much more effective and efficient.

Removing dirt, leaves, and other particles is usually the first step that drinking water suppliers take to make water safe to drink. These particles can be removed using:

• screens, which remove larger particles when water is first collected from rivers, lakes and other sources
• processes that make small particles stick together so that they’re easier to filter out of the water
• filters or membranes, which remove smaller particles and some bacteria, viruses or other micro-organisms.

Did you know?

There are lots of different water filters and filtration systems. Some only remove large particles, while others can remove almost everything from the water.

Next, the water is disinfected to remove micro-organisms in the water that could make you sick.

When people say things like ‘germs’ and ‘bugs’, they’re often talking about micro-organisms. These are living things so small they can only be seen using a microscope. Viruses, bacteria, and protozoa are common types of micro-organisms.

When a drinking water supplier disinfects water in the treatment plant, this is called ‘primary disinfection’. At this stage, water can be disinfected by:

• killing micro-organisms, usually using chlorine
• ‘inactivating’ micro-organisms by using ultraviolet (UV) light to make them harmless
• removing micro-organisms, using very specialised filters.

Once drinking water suppliers have worked hard to treat water to make it safe for their community to drink, they want to keep it safe.

A range of barriers (safeguards) can be used to do this, for example:

• ensuring pipes that carry treated water to homes are kept in good repair
• keeping treated drinking water reservoirs in good repair
• ensuring any work done on pipes and reservoirs is done in a hygienic way
• controlling pests around treatment plants and drinking water reservoirs
• adding small amounts of chlorine to keep water disinfected while it travels through pipes to homes (in the water sector, this is called ‘residual disinfection’)
• using equipment to prevent ‘backflow’.

What’s backflow?

Water networks are designed to send water from the plant to the people who use it. However, problems with pressure in the pipes can cause contaminated water, or other liquids, to be sucked into the water network from a tap, hose, trough, or other place where treated water usually flows out. If this happens, it’s called backflow.

Many drinking water suppliers are required to have a Drinking Water Safety Plan. Among other things, these must show how suppliers will take a multi-barrier approach to drinking water safety.

Section 31(2) of the Water Services Act 2021 says:

A multi-barrier approach to drinking water safety is one that Taumata Arowai considers will—

(a) prevent hazards from entering the raw water; and

(b) remove particles, pathogens, and chemical and radiological hazards from the water; and

(c) kill or inactivate pathogens in the water; and

(d) maintain the quality of water in the reticulation system.

Go to the legislation

Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules (the Rules) set out the minimum treatment and monitoring requirements a drinking water supplier must meet.

The Rules align with international practices and are tailored for different and the size of the community served.

In addition, drinking water suppliers must have an up-to-date Drinking Water Safety Plan (DWSP), unless they’ve adopted an Acceptable Solution or have an exemption.

Among other things, DWSPs need to clearly explain how the supplier is implementing a multi-barrier approach to drinking water safety.

Acceptable Solutions give small drinking water supplies options to provide safe drinking water, without meeting all of the requirements above.

Find out more

• Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules
• Drinking Water Safety Planning
• Acceptable Solutions

As New Zealand’s water services regulator, our aim is safe water, every day for everyone.

Achieving this aim is only possible if all drinking water suppliers have an effective multi-barrier treatment approach in place.

We make sure drinking water suppliers are taking a multi-barrier approach by:

• reviewing Drinking Water Safety Plans
• monitoring and report on how suppliers are performing against New Zealand’s Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules (the Rules).

To have an effective multi-barrier approach, a drinking water supplier must:

• have effective barriers in place for all types of possible contamination
• meet the minimum requirements in the Rules
• have appropriate monitoring in place
• have well-trained, experienced team members managing drinking water supplies who:
  • understand the minimum requirements set out in the Rules to ensure safe water is provided to the community
  • are aware of the kinds of hazards that can impact a drinking water supply
  • proactively identify and manage risks from any potential hazards through active use of an up-to-date Drinking Water Safety Plan and awareness of how their supply operates and performs.