How we are managing the key operational risks - Water continued
Risk Actions
• Compliance with legislation
The supply of water , and its safety and reliability for drinking is highly regulated by the State Government :
Water Supply ( Safety and Reliability ) Act 2008 ( 423 pages )
Water Supply ( Safety and Reliability ) Regulation 2011
Public Health Act 2005 Public Health Regulation 2018 .
Council must have in place a Drinking Water Quality Management Plan ( DWQMP ) approved by the State Government and review , audit and report on the plan in accordance with the Water Supply ( Safety and Reliability ) Act 2008 and Regulation 2011 .
The legislation also includes stringent obligations , for which there are financial penalties for non-compliance .
The controls we have in place :
• Key due dates are incorporated in both the Corporate and Operational Plans .
• External ( independent ) audits of the Drinking Water Quality Management Plan * are undertaken at Queensland Government specified intervals . Council works with the Darling Downs & Surat Basin ( DASB ) Regional Water Alliance Program which coordinates the external audits for member councils including Toowoomba , Western Downs , Maranoa , Goondiwindi , Balonne and Southern Downs .
• Officers report to Council on the results of the audit and progress in addressing recommendations for major or minor non-compliances and opportunities for improvement that have been identified .
Water ( and Sewerage and Gas ) functions have been included in the development of an integrated quality , safety and environment system .
Extract from Audit Report : * The statutory requirements for DWQMP regular audits are detailed in the Act . The relevant provisions in the Act for providing audit reports are :
• section 99 ( 2 )( c ) - if the regulator approves the plan , the notice of the decision or information notice for the decision , will state that if the regulator requires audits of the approved plan – the intervals at which the audits must be conducted
• section 99 ( 4 ) - the interval for regular audits will not be less than two years
• section 108 ( 1 ) - the provider must arrange for regular audit reports to be prepared about the provider ’ s plans and compliance with the plans
• section 108 ( 2 ) - regular audit reports must be prepared in accordance with the notice given by the regulator under section 99
• section 108 ( 3 ) states that the purpose of the regular audit report for this plan is : - to verify the accuracy of the monitoring and performance data provided to the regulator under the plan - to assess the service provider ’ s compliance with the plan - to assess the relevance of the plan in relation to the provider ’ s drinking water service .
• section 108 ( 6 ) outlines that the regular audit report for this plan must be prepared by a person , other than an employee of the service provider or someone employed in operating the service provider ’ s infrastructure , who is certified under the Drinking Water Quality Management System Auditor Certification Scheme to conduct an audit of the type to which the report relates , or has a qualification the regulator is satisfied is at least equivalent to this qualification
• section 108 ( 6 ) also states that the regular audit report must be : - prepared in accordance with the guidelines made by the regulator about preparing regular audit reports - given to the regulator within 30 business days after its completion - made available for inspection and purchase .
• section 575 states that the provider must keep a copy of the audit report available for inspection by the public during office hours on business days at the office of the service provider .
Our plans for 2021 / 22
• Total loss of supply due to source or power failure as potable water is essential and customers cannot be deprived of this for more than a limited time
• Adequate storage is provided to ensure a source of water while issues are addressed .
• Generators are installed to provide backup power in the event of an electrical failure .
• The installation of SCADA at each site will provide early warning of issues .
• Failure of a bore as this would take some time to restore
• Back up arrangements are provided as far as practical with multiple bores in Roma , Mitchell , Injune and Wallumbilla .
• Adequate storage is provided to provide a source of water while issues are addressed .
• Fill points are being installed in Jackson and Muckadilla with a single bore supply .
• Early intervention where there is a known issue at a bore that is able to be addressed .
17