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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Miscellaneous provisions - Offences - Offences relating to water supply network

310: Discharging into water supply network without authorisation

You could also call this:

"Don't put things into the water supply without permission or you might get fined."

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you put something into a water supply network without permission from the water service provider, you are doing something wrong. You need written authorisation to discharge anything into the network. If you do not have this authorisation and you discharge something into the network, you can get in trouble with the law.

If you are found guilty of doing this, you can be fined. The amount of the fine depends on who you are. If you are an individual, the fine can be up to $50,000. If you are a company or a group, the fine can be up to $500,000.

You can find more information about this law by looking at the Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 and similar laws, such as s 416 from 2022.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1443895.

Topics:
Environment and resources > Food and water safetyGovernment and voting > Local councils
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309: Negligently engaging in conduct relating to water supply network that causes specified serious risk, or

"Causing a big risk to the water supply network by being careless can lead to a big fine."

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311: Connecting to or disconnecting from water supply network or supplying water to another person without authorisation, or

"Don't touch the water supply without permission or you might get a big fine."

Part 5Miscellaneous provisions
Offences: Offences relating to water supply network

310Discharging into water supply network without authorisation

  1. A person commits an offence if they discharge anything into a water supply network without written authorisation from a water service provider.

  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 $500,000.

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