Fact Sheet 3, Water Services Act 2021
Key Terms under the Act
This fact sheet is not intended to give a complete list of definitions of key terms under the Act, but rather provides a short list to help the reader understand the more important key terms in the context of the legislation.
Drinking Water Supplier
- A person who supplies drinking water through a drinking water supply.
- Includes a person who ought reasonably to know that the water they are supplying is used as drinking water.
- Includes the owner and the operator of a drinking water supply.
- Includes a person described in paragraph (a), (b), or (c) who supplies drinking water to another drinking water supplier; but does not include a domestic self-supplier.
Drinking Water Supply
Means the infrastructure and processes used to abstract, store, treat, transmit, or transport drinking water for supply to consumers. Includes:
- The point of supply.
- Any end-point treatment device.
- Any backflow prevention device.
Supply Size
- A very small supply serves less than 25 people.
- A small supply serves 26-100 people.
- A medium supply serves 101-500 people.
- A large supply serves more than 500 people.
Water Supply Categories
- Very small communities.
- Networked drinking water supplies.
- Self-supplied buildings.
- Water carrier services.
- Water carrier supplies.
- Community drinking water stations.
- Varying population water supplies.
- Temporary drinking water supplies.
Drinking Water Supply Owners and Operator
“Operator” means:
- The person who operates the supply or supervises its operation or aspects of its operation.
- Includes an organisation or individual involved in the operation of a drinking water supply if the organisation or individual is authorised or included on a register.
“Owner” means the person who has effective control of the drinking water supply:
- Owns drinking water infrastructure.
- Has a long-term control of the land on which the drinking water infrastructure is based.
- Directs or has control over decisions about the funding or maintenance of the drinking water infrastructure.
- Collect fees, levies, or other charges from consumers in relation to the infrastructure.
- Controls how the management of the supply is resourced (e.g., power to subcontract work).
All New Zealanders need access to SAFE drinking water.
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