Feedback sought on policy for downstream suppliers

The Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai is engaging on proposed factors and scenarios to clarify when downstream drinking water suppliers have responsibilities under the Water Services Act 2021 (the Act).

Drinking water suppliers play a vital role supporting the health and wellbeing of people across New Zealand by providing them with safe, reliable drinking water. A downstream supplier is one that connects to a registered drinking water supply and then on-supplies that drinking water to others. This high-level definition could cover many situations, but we are seeking to capture only those situations where it is clearly contemplated by the Act and provides clarity for suppliers.

Some groups have told us that the current situation is unclear. We’ve heard that developers of new subdivisions and operators of retirement villages, prisons, airports, ports and large industrial sites that are receiving water from another supplier need clarity about whether they are considered a separate drinking water supplier under the Act. We’ve also heard that more clarity is needed about the extent of an upstream supplier’s responsibilities.

The engagement tests some factors and scenarios to base a working definition for downstream suppliers on. We want to provide upstream and downstream suppliers with greater certainty about their responsibilities and to support cost-effective approaches that ensure drinking water suppliers provide good quality water to the communities they serve.

This feedback period runs until 5:00pm, Friday 28 November 2025.

For more information and to have your say, visit the engagement webpage.