Applying international best practice in drinking water supplies. Lessons learnt from Hastings District Council

In the wake of the Havelock North contamination incident in August 2016, the Hastings District Council undertook a comprehensive review of its people, systems, practices, and processes to enable the organization to respond to the outcomes of the Board of Inquiry investigation. Because of this review, they have adopted the World Health Organisation’s preventive, risk-based approach to managing water quality and have been implementing a new strategy and business plan that aligns to a proactive risk-based framework as opposed to a purely compliance-based regime.

Two years later, HDC’s management practices and systems for supplying drinking water look fundamentally different. Before 2016, HDC was focused on complying with all the requirements in the New Zealand regulatory space, namely the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand and The Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Act.

However, after the scrutiny following the Havelock North incident, HDC looked to best practice around the world and this paper looks at the findings from this research. The findings from this major change in focus, detailed in this paper, include:

• World Health Organisation Guidelines,
• Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and
• Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.
• Hazard Assessment Critical Control Points,

• Treatment and infrastructure options (considering capital and operating expenditure)
• Managing resource needs and staffing (both recruitment and training)
• Integration of systems and applying new technologies
• documentation development
• data management and reporting
• communication with stakeholders

The lessons learnt can be summarised as – there’s more to adopting the World Health Organisation’s preventive, risk-based approach to drinking water supply, than getting a tick for a Water Safety Plan every 5 years.