Providing safe drinking water

Safe drinking water is essential for maintaining public health and supporting healthy communities.

SA Health ensures that drinking water is delivered to consumers according to the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2011 and the Safe Drinking Water Regulations 2012.

Who does the Act apply to?

The Act applies to all drinking water providers who supply water to the public, including:

  • SA Water
  • water carters
  • operators of independent town supplies
  • supplies in rural and remote communities
  • providers of drinking water in regulated facilities including hospitals, child care and aged care centres
  • food and accommodation premises.

Exemptions

Domestic rainwater tanks and private bore water supplies are exempt from the Act.

Provisions for exemptions have also been included for the use of boiled rainwater by small, regulated food premises and for small supplies derived from rainwater tanks in low risk premises such as short-term accommodation facilities, recreational or community centres and church and council buildings.

An exemption also applies for the on-supply of drinking water that has been additionally chlorinated. This exemption only applies to water supplied to one premises where the water is directly supplied by another registered drinking water provider and additionally treated with chlorine as a disinfectant. For example, a hospital or aged care facility that chlorinates drinking water supplied by SA Water on-site is exempt from the requirements of the Act.

See the Exemptions page for more detailed information.

Requirements under the Act

The items listed below are required under the Act and apply to all drinking water providers:

Water quality testing must be carried out by an approved laboratory.

All new providers must have a Risk Management Plan in place prior to commencing supply

Incident notification

A drinking water provider must have a Risk Management Plan (RMP) in place prior to commencing the supply of drinking water. A RMP must contain an approved incident identification and notification protocol. If an incident or emergency occurs within a drinking water supply that has the potential to cause a risk to public health, SA Health must be notified immediately. Incidents may include (but are not limited to):

  • Detection of E.coli
  • Exceedance of Australian Drinking Water Guidelines health-based guideline values
  • Contamination events (e.g. dead animal in rainwater tank, wastewater discharge or surface water ingress)
  • Specific concerns over the quality of the drinking water supply

To report a water quality incident, contact the Water Quality Unit, SA Health immediately on 0421 618 311. An incident notification form (DOCX 486KB) must be completed and submitted within 24 hours via email waterquality@sa.gov.au.

Immediate remedial action, including the use of an alternate water source (e.g. mains or packaged water) for drinking purposes is required. Follow the corrective actions outlined in your RMP. The Water Quality Unit can provide further advice or assistance, including the need for follow up sampling, at the time of incident notification.

Registered drinking water providers

A list of registered drinking water providers is maintained by SA Health and local councils are advised of drinking water providers in their area.

See the Registered drinking water providers page for a list of providers, by council.

Further information

For further information on providing safe drinking water, contact:

Water Quality Unit
Email: waterquality@sa.gov.au
Telephone: (08) 8226 7100

Also in this section