Policy statement
Barwon Water is committed to managing its drinking water supply assets, processes and systems effectively to ensure it can provide safe, high quality drinking water to its customers.
Scope
All managers and employees involved in the supply of drinking water are responsible for understanding, implementing, maintaining and continuously improving the drinking water quality management system.
Purpose
This purpose of this policy is to direct the implementation and use of a preventive risk management approach and the HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) quality management system to deliver on the key water quality aspects of Barwon Water’s Strategy 2030. This will ensure compliance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 and associated regulations and the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011.
Policy details
Barwon Water is committed to working with its customers and other relevant agencies to:
- utilise a risk-based approach where potential threats to drinking water quality are identified, understood and managed
- sustainably manage drinking water quality at all points along the delivery chain, from source water to the consumer
- protect water quality by improving the health of catchments and waterways through effective partnerships with stakeholders, including council, relevant catchment agencies and private landholders
- ensure that our drinking water supply assets, particularly those critical to ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water, are appropriately maintained and operated
- maintain a current state of knowledge on drinking water quality risks to inform risk-based management
- promote confidence in drinking water supply and management through regular monitoring of drinking water quality and effective reporting mechanisms to provide relevant and timely information
- develop appropriate contingency planning and incident response capability to ensure that public health is effectively protected
- participate in appropriate investigative and process optimisation activities to ensure continued understanding of drinking water quality issues and performance
- establish good working relationships with the Department of Health, and contribute to scientific discussions and risk-based approaches that shape industry regulations and guidelines
- subject our drinking water quality management systems to regular internal and external audits to ensure compliance and continuous enhancement of our practices
- continually improve practices by assessing performance against corporate commitments and stakeholder expectations
- Plan for the needs and expectations of consumers, stakeholders, regulators and employees
This policy was last reviewed 30 September 2024.
