Rules, Standards and Aesthetic Values

Changes to the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules

Changes have been made to the Rules for level 3 supplies serving 501 or more people as well as formatting changes across all Rules, following consultation with the sector.

The updated Rules will come into effect on 1 July 2027.

This follows changes made to the Rules for supplies that serve 500 of fewer people, which came into effect on 1 January 2025. These revised Rules clarify monitoring and reporting requirements for very small communities, and small and medium supplies operating under level 1 and level 2 Rules and remain in effect until 1 July 2027.

These updates are part of our ongoing work to make the Rules clearer and easier to use in practice, while continuing to ensure safe, reliable drinking water for people across Aotearoa New Zealand.

 Read about the updated rules 

Guidance on the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules

We have developed supporting information to help suppliers understand what the changes mean for them. 

We have created guidance for very small communities as well as small and medium suppliers to address the relevant rules and common issues and risks they might face.

If you need to view the previous Rules, they are available on our legislation and regulations page.  

Drinking Water Standardsoutbound set the Maximum Acceptable Values (MAVs) for a range of substances which can affect the safety and quality of drinking water. The MAVs are based on guideline values set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).