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Water Services Act 2021

Standards, enforcement, and other matters - Powers of compliance officers - Dealing with serious risk to public health

105: Compliance officer powers where serious risk to public health exists

You could also call this:

"What to do if there's a big risk to people's health from their drinking water"

Illustration for Water Services Act 2021

If you think there is a serious risk to public health, you can take action. A serious risk to public health means a risk to the drinking water people get or a risk that people will not get enough drinking water. You can take immediate action to stop the risk. If you are told to do something by a compliance officer, you must do it. The compliance officer can tell you to stop doing something that is causing the risk or to use a different water supply. They can also tell a water supplier to make sure people have access to safe drinking water. The compliance officer must follow certain rules when giving directions, which are outlined in section 125. They can tell people to treat the drinking water to make it safe. You have to follow the compliance officer's directions to keep people safe.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS374805.

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Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Public healthEnvironment and resources > Food and water safety
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Part 3Standards, enforcement, and other matters
Powers of compliance officers: Dealing with serious risk to public health

105Compliance officer powers where serious risk to public health exists

  1. This section applies if a compliance officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that there is a serious risk to public health.

  2. In this subpart, serious risk to public health means a serious risk relating to—

  3. the drinking water supplied to consumers; or
    1. the ongoing supply of a sufficient quantity of drinking water to consumers.

      1. If this section applies, the compliance officer may—

      2. take immediate action, or direct any person to take immediate action, to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the serious risk to public health:
        1. direct any person to stop, or prohibit any person from starting, anything that the Water Services Authority believes, on reasonable grounds, is a cause of, or contributes to, the serious risk to public health:
          1. direct all persons within a specific area to use an alternative drinking water supply:
            1. direct a drinking water supplier to make arrangements to ensure that an alternative drinking water supply is available to affected persons (for example, by water carrier).

              1. Every person who is directed by a compliance officer under subsection (3) must comply with that direction.

              2. A compliance officer must issue a direction under this section in accordance with the requirements in section 125.

              3. To avoid doubt, a direction issued under this section may require the treatment of drinking water.

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              Notes
              • Section 105(3)(b): amended, on , by section 111(2) of the Local Government (Water Services) (Repeals and Amendments) Act 2025 (2025 No 43).