Quality management plans for drinking water providers

A drinking water quality management plan (DWQMP) is the cornerstone document of a regulated risk management framework to ensure the safety of customers of drinking water service providers.

As a registered service provider supplying drinking water in Queensland, you are required to have an approved DWQMP in place.

DWQMPs are prepared by drinking water service providers and approved by the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water.

Use the following forms when preparing and amending a DWQMP:

Approved DWQMPs are required to be regularly reviewed and audited. As a service provider, you must also submit drinking water service annual reports summarising the implementation of your DWQMP. These annual reports must be published on your service provider website.

What is covered in a drinking water quality management plan

You must include in your DWQMP:

  • details of the infrastructure for providing the services
  • identification and assessment of the hazards that may affect water quality
  • identification of how you as the provider intends to manage the risks, including
    • operational procedures
    • management of incidents and emergencies
    • risk improvements plans
  • details of the operational and verification monitoring of water quality.

Read the Guideline for the preparation, review, and audit of DWQMPs (PDF, 3MB).

When do I need to have an approved drinking water quality management plan

If you are an existing drinking water service provider, you will already have an approved DWQMP in place.

All newly registered drinking water service providers have 12 months from the date of registration to have an approved DWQMP in place. During this 12-month period, mandatory water quality monitoring and reporting will apply as detailed below.

Mandatory water quality monitoring and reporting

The department will issue a 'Monitoring and reporting requirement notice' to newly registered drinking water service providers. Service providers are required to monitor and report on their drinking water quality on a quarterly basis.

Compliance with the notice is mandatory and remains in place until the provider has an approved DWQMP.

The notice requires newly registered service providers to:

  • monitor and report on Escherichia coli (E. coli) in accordance with the Public Health Regulation 2005
  • continue with their existing drinking water quality monitoring program for other parameters (where one is in place), plus monitor any parameters the regulator states in the notice
  • report any incident or event that will or is likely to adversely affect drinking water quality
  • report all drinking water quality monitoring results on a quarterly basis.

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