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Water Services Act 2021

Standards, enforcement, and other matters - Offences - Offences relating to failure to take immediate action to protect public health when drinking water unsafe

174: Offence involving recklessness in failure to take immediate action when drinking water unsafe

You could also call this:

"Breaking the law by not keeping drinking water safe when you know it's unsafe"

Illustration for Water Services Act 2021

You can commit an offence if you are a drinking water supplier and you do not take immediate action to protect public health when the water is unsafe. This is because you have a duty under section 21(2)(a), 22(2)(a), or 35(2)(a) to keep people safe. You must not put people at risk of death, injury, or illness without a good reason and you must not be reckless about the risks. If you break this law, you can be punished with a prison term or a fine. The punishment is different for individuals and companies. You can get a prison term of up to 5 years or a fine of up to $600,000, or both, if you are an individual. Companies can be fined up to $3 million.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS374903.

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Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Public healthCrime and justice > Criminal law
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173: Offence involving contamination of raw water or drinking water, or

"Polluting water on purpose is against the law"

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175: Offence involving negligence in failure to take immediate action when drinking water unsafe, or

"Not protecting public health with unsafe drinking water is a serious offence"

Part 3Standards, enforcement, and other matters
Offences: Offences relating to failure to take immediate action to protect public health when drinking water unsafe

174Offence involving recklessness in failure to take immediate action when drinking water unsafe

  1. A drinking water supplier commits an offence against this section if the supplier—

  2. has a duty under section 21(2)(a), 22(2)(a), or 35(2)(a) to take immediate action to ensure that public health is protected; and
    1. without reasonable excuse, engages in conduct that exposes any individual to whom the supplier has a duty under paragraph (a) to a serious risk of death, injury, or illness; and
      1. is reckless as to the serious risk to an individual of death, injury, or illness.

        1. A supplier who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction,—

        2. for an individual, to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $600,000, or both:
          1. for a body corporate or an unincorporated body, to a fine not exceeding $3 million.