Home Advisory Committee for the Purity of Water

Advisory Committee for the Purity of Water

The Advisory Committee for the Purity of Water is a non-statutory inter-departmental committee that operates under the chairship of the Department of Health Western Australia.

Amongst other functions, the Advisory Committee provides advice to the Ministers for Health and Water on protecting, monitoring and managing drinking water quality in Western Australia and fosters inter-agency co-operation on related matters.

The history of the Committee

The Advisory Committee was originally established in 1925 to address drinking water quality issues and to provide a link between the then Department of Water Supply Sewerage and Drainage and the Department of Health. It was comprised of senior officers from each department and was empowered to communicate directly to the then Minister for Works.

From the first meetings, the Advisory Committee identified the importance of secure catchment areas and adequate treatment processes and sought representation from senior officers from the Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Land Management and the Chemistry Centre of Western Australia.

In response to the water industry reforms of 1995, the Advisory Committee resolved to transfer the Chair and Secretariat to the Department of Health, to amend its terms of reference and to provide advice to the Minister for Health.

Additional members from the then Department of Water, the Economic Regulation Authority, Aqwest, Busselton Water Board and others were invited at the time to join the Committee to better reflect the water industry in Western Australia.

With the implementation of the 2004 “Australian Drinking Water Guidelines”, the Advisory Committee created two specialist sub-committees – one focussing on source protection and catchment management, the other focusing on drinking water sampling, results and monitoring.

Both sub-committees provide valuable additional expertise to review, monitor and advise the full Committee on any issue affecting drinking water supplies within the State, from catchment to consumer.

The Advisory Committee continues to evolve, reflecting the diverse and complex issues associated with the provision of drinking water in a changing environment. However, its primary role of ensuring that Western Australians have access to safe drinking water which they can trust remains unchanged.

What is the role of each Committee?

The main role of the Advisory Committee for the Purity of Water is to provide sound health-related advice pertaining to the quality of drinking water to both the Minister for Health and the Minister for Water. In this role the Advisory Committee determines the water quality compliance requirements for drinking water providers across Western Australia.

The Minister for Health has the lead responsibility with respect to issues of health, however it has been customary for both Ministers to consider recommendations of the Advisory Committee.

Members are at liberty to discuss matters openly and frankly. Issues that may be commercial and in-confidence are dealt with accordingly.

The Results Sub-Committee and the Source Protection Sub-Committee have been established to provide specialised support for their respective areas of interest.

To ensure close liaison, the Chair for each sub-committee is a member of the Advisory Committee and the Secretariat attends all meetings. Advisory Committee members may attend sub-committee meetings at any time.

The Terms of Reference of the Advisory Committee and the Source Protection Sub-Committee were updated in 2019 and are included in this document.

The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Committee were originally endorsed on 15 April 1998 and updated and re-endorsed by the Minister for Health on 5 May 2019. Terms of Reference for the Source Protection Sub-Committee were endorsed on 8 August 2011 and updated and re-endorsed by the Advisory Committee on 18 February 2019. The Terms of Reference are set out below.

It should be noted that the Committees do not have an incident management or emergency response role, nor do they routinely consider matters specific to the provision of bottled or packaged water under the food regulatory framework.

Code of Conduct

Whilst the Advisory Committee is a valuable forum for discussion and interaction, and appropriate feedback to the agencies they represent is encouraged, there remains an obligation on members to suitably respect the confidentiality and integrity of the data presented.

Advisory Committee members, including sub-committee members, all advising officers to the Committees and all departmental employees supporting the Committees, are expected to comply with the Advisory Committee’s Code of Conduct whilst undertaking their duties in relation to the Advisory Committee.

Committee members commit to upholding the principles of the Code of Ethics (external site) and taking responsibility for contributing in a constructive and positive way to enhance good governance and the reputation of the Advisory Committee.

More generally, the Committees operate in accordance with applicable record keeping, conduct and privacy provisions for the Western Australian public sector.

When do the Committees meet?

The Advisory Committee meets four times each year, in February, May, August and November.

The Results Sub-Committee meets four times each year, in February, May, August and November, usually two weeks prior to the Advisory Committee’s meetings.

The Source Protection Sub-Committee meets monthly, usually on the fourth week in each month.

How is drinking water regulated in Western Australia and where does the Advisory Committee fit in?

Regulation of drinking water in Western Australia is divided into licensed and non-licensed providers, with the Advisory Committee an integral part of the monitoring framework.

The Economic Regulation Authority (external site) licenses larger water service providers such as the Water Corporation, Aqwest (Bunbury Water Corporation) and Busselton Water Corporation, as well as Rottnest Island Authority, Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, Robe River Mining Co Pty Ltd, Lancelin South Pty Ltd, Moore River Water Services Pty Ltd, Harvey Water, Aqua Ferre (Muchea) Pty Ltd and Country Heights Water Pty Ltd.

As part of the license arrangement each licensed water provider is required to establish a binding Memorandum of Understanding for Drinking Water Quality with the Department of Health.

All other non-licensed drinking water providers, such as caravan parks, roadhouses, camps, small or remote communities and mine sites are monitored directly by the Department of Health, through either Local Government environmental health officers or by direct reporting by mine sites. Information about remote community water supplies can be found at Remote Essential and Municipal Services program (external site).

Through both sub-committees the Advisory Committee reviews all drinking water monitoring and catchment management activities undertaken throughout the State. Combining this information with scientific and industry knowledge, the Advisory Committee is able to identify and respond to longer term trends and anomalies that may affect public health in Western Australia.

The Advisory Committee endorses the adoption of the edition of the “Australian Drinking Water Guidelines” that was published by the National Health and Medical Research Council in January 2022, known as “Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011 - Version 3.7 Updated January 2022 ” (external site), as the basis for setting policy on the quality and safety of drinking water supplied in Western Australia and the risk management framework that applies thereto. This document was subsequently endorsed by the Minister for Health in October 2022 for this purpose.

Would you like more information?

For more information about any aspect of the Advisory Committee for the Purity of Water please contact:
Mr Richard Theobald
Secretary
Advisory Committee for the Purity of Water
Department of Health
P.O. Box 8172
Perth Business Centre WA 6849

Telephone: (08) 9222 2000

Email: richard.theobald@health.wa.gov.au or ehinfo@health.wa.gov.au