Auckland's drinking water is 'Aa-okay'.

1/12/2016

Every day, we work hard to deliver ‘Aa’-graded drinking water to 1.4 million people throughout Auckland.

Fresh water is a vital resource, essential for the health and well-being of everyone. We collect Auckland’s drinking water from a number of water sources throughout the region, including dams, rivers and underground aquifers. This raw water can contain contaminants ranging from large debris to micro-organisms. Therefore we treat the water in our water treatment plants to make sure it meets the requirements of the Ministry of Health’s Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (revised 2008). The result is safe water that you enjoy from your taps each day.

The Ministry of Health checks many different aspects of the water before it is given a two-letter grading. The first letter represents the quality of the water leaving the treatment plants, and takes the quality of the source water into consideration. The second letter represents the quality of water received at your home or business. An ‘Aa’ grade means your drinking water is of the highest quality.

We constantly monitor the water as it goes through the treatment process. From 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 we carried out an average of 250 tests each day at various stages of the process, from raw water right through to treated water. In addition, our automated computer network analyses the water quality at our treatment plants 24 hours a day. We also have a number of safety measures in place to protect the water network if our monitoring finds anything unusual. You can be confident that the water flowing from your taps always meets drinking water standards.

In November 2010, we became responsible for the end-to-end delivery of water and wastewater services for Auckland. We inherited water pipes, reservoirs and treatment plants from a number of different local suppliers. This meant there was a considerable amount of inconsistency in the quality of drinking water across the region.

“Improving the quality of the water to bring all of Auckland into line was our top priority at the time, so we began instigating a range of projects to address the problems we inherited,” says chief executive Raveen Jaduram. “Since then we have continued to treat and deliver drinking water at a consistently high standard.”

All of the money we receive from you goes back into your water and wastewater services. We do not pay our shareholder, Auckland Council, a dividend or receive ratepayer money. 

Click here to read more about how we treat your drinking water.