Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Miscellaneous provisions - Offences - Offences relating to wastewater networks

313: Negligently disposing of materials or substances into wastewater network causing specified serious risk

You could also call this:

"Don't put bad things into wastewater pipes carelessly, or you might get a big fine."

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you put things into a wastewater network in a careless way, you can get in trouble. This is because you might cause a big problem that puts people or the environment at risk. You do this when you negligently dispose of materials or substances into the network.

When you do something like this, you commit an offence and can be fined. The fine is different depending on who you are - if you are an individual, the fine can be up to $50,000, but if you are a company or a group, the fine can be up to $1 million.

You can look at similar laws, like the one mentioned in the Local Government Act, to see how they compare to this one.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1006759.


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312: Disposing of materials or substances into wastewater network causing specified serious risk, or

"Don't put harmful things into the wastewater network, or you could face big fines or prison time."


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314: Connecting to, disconnecting from, or discharging into wastewater network without authorisation, or

"Don't connect to or mess with wastewater systems without permission or you might get a big fine."

Part 5Miscellaneous provisions
Offences: Offences relating to wastewater networks

313Negligently disposing of materials or substances into wastewater network causing specified serious risk

  1. A person commits an offence if they negligently dispose of materials or substances in, or discharge them into, a wastewater network and that disposal or discharge causes a specified serious risk.

  2. A person who commits an offence against this section is liable on conviction,—

  3. for an individual, to a fine not exceeding $50,000:
    1. for a body corporate or an unincorporated body, to a fine not exceeding $1 million.
      Compare