Water carrier
Information for transporters of drinking water in a vehicle or vessel with a water tank (‘water tanker’) who supply water for people to drink or to other water suppliers.
Key things you need to know as a water carrier can be found on this page.
Register with us
If you're a new carrier, or an existing carrier who was registered under the Ministry of Health but has not yet registered with us, you'll need to register with us on Hinekōrako - our self-service portal. The portal enables you to share important information with us about your carrier service.
Head to the registration page for more information and to access the portal.
To register as a water carrier, you need to identify the drinking water supply or water source you use to fill your tankers.
If you use another drinking water supplier’s reticulated supply, you’ll need to identify the supply from which you take water when you confirm your registration details in Hinekōrako.
If you have your own water source
If you have your own water source that's used only to fill your tankers, you’ll need to register that source as a drinking water supply to complete your water carrier registration. Your water carrying service will then be registered as a separate drinking water supply in Hinekōrako.
You’ll also need to complete a source water risk management plan and monitor your source water quality to ensure its safety. View all requirements that apply to a water carrier supplier.
Drinking water safety plan (DWSP)
Preparing a drinking water safety plan is a risk management process that aims to ensure a safe, reliable and resilient supply of drinking water to your community. You'll need to provide a DWSP when you register with us.
What should be in a DWSP?
Your DWSP records the hazards and risks to your drinking water supply and how you will manage them to ensure that drinking water is safe. Your plan must:
- be proportionate to the scale and complexity of, and the risks that relate to, your drinking water supply
- identify any hazards that relate to your drinking water supply
- assess any risks associated with those hazards
- identify how those risks will be managed, controlled, or eliminated to ensure that the water you supply is safe and complies with the legislative requirements of the Water Services Act 2021
- identify how the DWSP will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and how its implementation will be amended, if necessary, to ensure that the drinking water you supply is safe and complies with legislative requirements
- identify how your drinking water supply will be monitored to ensure that drinking water is safe and complies with legislative requirements
- include procedures to verify that your DWSP is working effectively
- include a multi-barrier approach to drinking water safety that will be implemented as part of the DWSP
- include a source water risk management plan if required
- if your supply includes reticulation, require, and provide for the use of, residual disinfection in the supply unless an exemption is obtained
- identify how you will meet your duty as a supplier to ensure that a sufficient quantity of drinking water is provided
- identify how you will respond to events and emergencies in relation to your supply
- comply with the relevant requirements of the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules (the Rules).
Guidance and template
We’ve prepared additional guidance and a template you can use to submit your DWSP. It’s not mandatory to use the template and you can submit your plan in a different format as long as it addresses each of the elements described under ‘What should be in a DWSP?’ above.
Guide to uploading your DWSP to Hinekōrako outbound
Rule types, reporting and compliance periods
Assurance rules
Only assurance rules apply to water carrier services. Assurance rules cover activities that water suppliers need to undertake, for example hygiene requirements. Assurance rules indicate whether water suppliers undertake activities that contribute to the provision of safe drinking water.
Assurance rules have a compliance period of 1 year.
The rules that apply to this type of supply are listed below. You can download the complete Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules here.
General Rules
The following General Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules apply.
Rule G6 – sample labelling (assurance rule)
All samples collected from drinking water supplies for monitoring that are analysed by laboratories must be labelled with the unique source, treatment plant, distribution zone, or Water Carrier Service identifier allocated by the Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai, to show where the sample was collected from and the time and date that the sample was collected.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule G8 – sample analysis (assurance rule)
All water samples that require laboratory analysis and are used to demonstrate compliance with these Rules must be:
(a) analysed by a laboratory accredited by IANZ for the type of analysis being undertaken; and
(b) collected according to any instructions and specifications provided by the laboratory.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule G9 – sampling equipment (assurance rule)
Equipment used for the analysis of single samples (grab samples) by drinking water suppliers, to demonstrate compliance with any rule, must be calibrated/verified in accordance with the instrument manufacturer’s specified procedures and frequency.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule G10 – worker experience (assurance rule)
All work (planned or unplanned) on a water supply must be completed by suitably trained or experienced personnel.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule G11 – worker hygiene (assurance rule)
Drinking water suppliers must prepare a hygiene code of practice for people working on a water supply which must include:
(a) maintenance of personal hygiene at all times; and
(b) prohibition of people working on a water system who are experiencing any gastrointestinal illness; and
(c) protection of the work site, materials, and tools from contamination; and
(d) how all reasonable steps will be taken to minimise the entry of contamination into the water supply during any activity.
Compliance period: 1 year
Water Carrier Rules
The following special Water Carrier Rules apply to you.
Rule WC1 – water source (assurance rule)
All water to be transported must be sourced from a registered drinking water supply where the water is:
- safe to drink; and
- complies with the Drinking Water Standards; and
- complies with the rules relevant to the supply.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule WC2 – water source (assurance rule)
The water carrier must only take water from a point in a distribution system prescribed by the drinking water supplier.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule WC3 – water source (assurance rule)
If water is sourced from a supply that provides water specifically for water carrier services, that supply must be registered and comply with the rules for water carrier suppliers.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule WC4 – tanks and equipment (assurance rule)
The operator of any vehicle used to transport water must ensure all tanks, and the equipment used for loading or unloading water, are only used for drinking water.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule WC5 – tanks and equipment (assurance rule)
The operator of any vehicle used to transport water must ensure all tanks, and the equipment used for loading and unloading water, are made from material that light cannot pass through, are kept clean and clear of any possible contaminants at all times, with all openings and connections sealed to protect them from possible contamination. The drinking water must be protected from contamination at all times during its loading, transit and delivery.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule WC6 – tanks and equipment (assurance rule)
If tanks and the equipment and fittings used for loading and unloading water are not used for the transport of drinking water for a period of 30 or more days, then before next being used to transport drinking water:
- the tank must be disinfected by filling with drinking water containing at least 5 mg/L FAC for not less than 30 minutes before discharging safely to waste; and
- equipment and fittings should be washed in water containing 5mg/L FAC.
Compliance period: 1 year
Rule WC7 – backflow prevention (assurance rule)
The water carrier must ensure there is backflow prevention or an adequate air gap in place when discharging drinking water from their tank.
Rule WC8 – delivery statement (assurance rule)
When drinking water is delivered, a written statement must be supplied to the customer/consumer stating:
- fill date and time
- registered drinking water supply from which the tanker was loaded
- delivery date, time, location and volume of water delivered
- name and registration number of water carrier
- name and signature of delivery person.
The water carrier needs to keep records of this information for a period of 3 years.
This webpage is intended as a guideline and summarises legal requirements but does not address every requirement under the Water Services Act. It is not intended to be definitive and is not legal advice. Drinking water suppliers are responsible for understanding and complying with their legislative duties. The Authority may review and revise this page over time. If you are using a printed copy, please check the website to make sure it is up to date.