Testing Water Quality

The Council is serious about providing clean, safe drinking water. We maintain a rigorous water quality programme that tests over 100 samples each month.

Our programme complies with the Ministry of Health's Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005.

Water Testing

The Wellington water supply is sampled and analysed by Environmental Laboratory Services, an independent IANZ accredited laboratory.

Water samples are tested for:

• E.coli (Escherichia coli) – an important indicator of potential contamination and disease.
• Chemical levels – chloride, fluoride and water 'hardness' (the amount of naturally occurring minerals in water).

The city is divided into 11 water supply zones. Within each zone, samples are taken from several different sites on a weekly schedule.

Two main bulk water supply pump stations are tested daily for chemicals and E.coli, averaging over 100 tests per month.

The Council has 18 bulk water supply points where water arrives in the city from the treatment plant. Ten supply points are tested weekly for E.coli, and fortnightly for chemicals.

Results

In the 2006/07 financial year, all samples taken complied with the Ministry of Health's Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005.

Related Links

• Drinking Water - Ministry of Health website
• Environmental Laboratory Services website

Department Details:
Capacity (Wellington Water Management Ltd)