Written warning given following failure to issue boil water advisory

The Water Services Authority — Taumata Arowai (the Authority) has issued a Tararua District Council employee with a written warning following an investigation into the Council’s response to a dead possum being found in the Woodville treated drinking water supply. This is the first time the Authority has issued a written warning.

In April 2024, there was a third similar incident of a possum being found within the Woodville West treated drinking water reservoir. In the first two incidents, boil water advisories were issued to the community, but no advisory was issued after the April 2024 incident, and the Authority was not notified of the incident .

The Authority’s Head of Operations Steve Taylor says pests can contaminate a drinking water supply so it’s important to put a boil water advisory in place immediately to mitigate the public health risk.

“A boil water advisory should have been put in place right after the dead possum was found in April 2024. As a result of the failure to do so, the Authority issued a direction to Tararua District Council in May 2024 and began an investigation.”

The direction requires the Council to notify the Authority and issue a boil water advisory each time an animal that poses a public health risk, including rodents, birds and possums, is identified in one of Woodville’s treated drinking water reservoirs, carry out weekly inspections of the treated drinking water reservoirs and provide a weekly report. The weekly reporting requirement has since been removed but the direction remains in place.

“Our investigation found that a staff member failed to report the April 2024 incident and, by not doing so, failed to follow the escalation process in the supplier’s Drinking Water Safety Plan. This led to a possible breach of the Water Services Act 2021 (the Act) for failing to comply with the duty of due diligence. A written warning was issued to the individual,” says Mr Taylor.

“It is not only drinking water suppliers who have obligations under the Act. Staff employed by the supplier also have obligations including due diligence.

“Suppliers should ensure their staff know the importance of pest management, how to escalate when a pest or pest remains are found, and what appropriate action should be taken to protect public health. They should also ensure that adequate pest management processes are in place as part of their Drinking Water Safety Plans including checks on ingress and egress points.

“Tararua District Council has undertaken remedial work to improve pest management around the reservoir and has brought forward funding to make improvements that would prevent pests entering the system. The Authority is satisfied that the Council currently has adequate pest control measures in place and a funded plan for the infrastructure upgrades required.”

More information

The Authority takes a balanced regulatory approach to achieving compliance with drinking water regulatory requirements which is detailed in our Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Strategy 2022-2025.

We focus on using regulatory interventions to promote excellence and good practice in the drinking water sector and to disincentivise behaviours that do not support effective risk management or increase the likelihood of harm to consumers or source water.

Our regulatory interventions are proportionate and directed to address the risk and nature of the behaviours of regulated parties.

Written warnings may be issued for potential breaches of the Act. A warning forms part of the formal history of non-compliance, which can be used to inform future enforcement decisions and can be used in conjunction with other enforcement tools. A written warning can also be used in Court proceedings to support a prosecution.