Time to Complete lesson: 30 mins

As provided by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), guidelines pertaining to acceptable water levels for consumption are available. There is an extensive document that PWSA can provide upon request (615 pages in length).

The following link, however, is to the Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) website. Here you can access a direct copy of the guidelines:

https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/water-quality-and-health

These guidelines are not mandatory standards but represent a framework for identifying acceptable water quality through community consultation.

2.1 Drinking Water Defined

For the purpose of these guidelines, drinking water is defined as:

“Water intended primarily for human consumption but which has other domestic uses.”

In Summary, water may be consumed directly as it comes from the tap, or indirectly in beverages or foods prepared with water and among its other uses may be bathing and showering.

The guidelines do not cover bottled or packaged water.

Drinking water should be safe to use and aesthetically pleasing. Ideally, it should be clear, colourless, and well aerated, with no unpalatable taste or odour, and it should contain no suspended matter, harmful chemical substances, or pathogenic micro-organisms.

Appearance, taste and odour are generally the characteristics by which the public judge water quality, and are therefore useful indicators of the quality of water.

However, water that is cloudy or coloured or has an objectionable taste or odour may not be unsafe to drink. Conversely, the absence of any unpleasant qualities does not guarantee the water’s safety.

The safety of water, in public health terms, is determined by its microbiological, physical, chemical and radiological quality; of these, microbiological quality is usually the most important.

2.2 Scope of the Guidelines

These guidelines are intended to meet the needs of consumers, and apply at the point of use, for example, at the tap.

They provide the Australian community and the water supply industry with guidance on what constitutes good quality drinking water (as distinct from water which is acceptable).

They are concerned with the safety of water from a health point of view and with its aesthetic quality.

They are applicable to any water intended for drinking (except bottled or packaged water) irrespective of its source (municipal supplied, rainwater tanks, bores, point-of-use treatment devices etc.) or where it is used (the home, restaurants, camping areas, shops etc.).

The guidelines provide:

An authoritative Australian reference on good quality drinking water and a framework for identifying acceptable quality water through community consultation;
Information on the significance of a range of water-born micro-organisms which can cause disease;
Guideline values for a wide range of chemical and radiological substances and physical properties which affect water quality, to ensure that drinking water does not pose any significant health risk to the consumer and is aesthetically of good quality;
Advice to operators of water supply systems on the significance of water quality characteristics of the operation of the system;
Guidance on developing monitoring programs; and
Procedures for assessing performance of a water supply system, and advice on reporting performance to the public and to health authorities.

The guidelines do not address:

Packaged water and ice, which are regulated by Standard S5 of the Food Standards Code;
Water for specialised purposes such as renal dialysis and some industrial uses, where water of higher quality than that specified by the guidelines may be required;
Bottled water.

The guidelines provide a reference for use within the Australian administrative and legislative framework to ensure the accountability both of water authorities, as managers, and of State health authorities, as auditors of the safety of water supplies.

The guidelines should not, however, be construed as legally enforceable standards.

2.3 ADWG Summary

This summary provides a brief introduction to the characteristics of water quality and the management and assessment of public water supplies, followed by summary tables of the guidelines.

It is intended for easy reference, and the emphasis is on presenting information in a language that is accessible to as wide a range of people as possible, while remaining useful to practitioners.

Those wanting more detailed information should refer to the complete Australian Drinking Water Guidelines as denoted in the above introduction.

2.3.1 ADWG Part I

Part I of that document provides more detail on:

Each group of water quality characteristics: micro-organisms, physical and chemical characteristics, and radiological characteristics – including a discussion of how the guideline values have been determined;
Community consultation;
The management of water supply systems, including the various ways in which water quality can be affected within the water system, disinfection of water, and the use of ‘quality systems’;
Assessing the performance of water supply systems over time – this includes monitoring water quality, sampling, and how to use statistics for evaluating the results of monitoring; and
Special problems associated with the supply of water to small communities.

2.3.2 ADWG Part II

Part II presents fact sheets on a wide range of individual water quality characteristics.

Each fact sheet contains the guideline value (where appropriate) and its derivation, a general description of the characteristic, typical values in Australian drinking water, methods for removing it from drinking water, measurement techniques, and health considerations.

The guidelines are based primarily on the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, and any departures from these are detailed in the text of the complete Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

Due consideration has also been given to guidelines published by other overseas agencies.

Quality of Drinking Water

Extracted from the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines – 2004. page 99

The appearance, taste, odour, and feel of water determines what people experience. Other characteristics can suggest whether corrosion and encrustation are likely to be significant problems in pipes and fittings. The measurable characteristics that determine these largely subjective qualities are:

True colour (that is, the colour that remains after any suspended particles have been removed)
Turbidity (the cloudiness caused by fine suspended matter in the water)
Hardness (the reduced ability to get a lather using soap)
Total dissolved solids (TDS)
pH
Temperature
Taste and odour
Dissolved oxygen

2.3.3 Application of the Guideline Values

A health-related guideline value is the concentration or measure of a water quality characteristic (a physical property, a chemical, a micro-organism, or a radionuclide) that, based on present knowledge, does not result in any significant risk to the health of the consumer over a lifetime of consumption.

An aesthetic guideline value is the concentration or measure of a water quality characteristic (physical property or a chemical) that is associated with good quality water.

The guideline values should be used in two separate but complementary ways:

as “action levels”; that is, if the guideline value is exceeded, some form of action is initiated. This will generally be immediate and short-term.For example, if the guideline value for a health related characteristic is exceeded, the response should be to take immediate action to reduce the risk to consumers, and if necessary, to advise the health authority and consumers of the problem and the action taken.If the characteristic is not related to health, the action may be to advise the community of a deterioration in water quality.

As a basis for assessing how well a water supply system meets agreed levels of service over time (performance assessment: as presented, for example, in an annual report)When used in this way, the data are largely of historical rather than immediate interest, and any resulting action to improve the quality of the supply will generally be longer term.

The guideline values relate to the quality of water at the point of use (e.g. kitchen tap, shower rose, etc) and apply to reticulated water at the consumer’s tap, rainwater for drinking and to source water if water is to be used, without prior treatment.

This does not imply, however, that the water authority is responsible for water quality problems caused by plumbing or other factors within the consumer’s property.

The water authority should ensure that the ability of water in the reticulation mains meets the guidelines or agreed levels of service.

Monitoring by the authority would normally be undertaken from a service pipeline directly off a water main selected to represent the quality of the water supplied to the consumer. This is not usually within a private consumer’s property.

However, on occasion it may be necessary to check at the consumer’s tap to confirm that chosen distribution sampling points are representative, for specific investigations such as leaching of metals by corrosive water, or as a consumer service.

It should be emphasised that the guidelines define water which, based on current knowledge is safe to drink over a lifetime, that is, it constitutes no significant risk of health.

For most of the water quality characteristics discussed, there is a grey area between what is clearly safe and clearly unsafe, and often the latter has not been reliably demonstrated.

Thus the guidelines always err on the side of safety, and it follows that for most characteristics, occasional excursions beyond the guideline value are not necessarily an immediate threat to health.

The amount by which, and the duration for which, any health-related guideline value can be exceeded without raising public heath concern depends on the particular circumstances.

Exceeding a guideline value should be a signal to investigate the cause and if appropriate, to take remedial action. If the characteristic is health-related, the relevant health authority should be consulted.

Nevertheless, the guidelines provide the minimum requirements for drinking water of good quality, both aesthetically and from a public health viewpoint.

Water authorities should adopt a “best practice” approach to maintain the supply of water at the highest practicable quality.

The guidelines should never be seen as a license to degrade the quality of a drinking water supply to the guideline level.

With appropriate consultation with the community, the guidelines may be used directly as agreed levels of service, or they may form the basis for preparing or negotiating regional levels of service. This applies particularly to the aesthetic characteristics.

What is aesthetically acceptable or unacceptable depends on public expectations, and must ultimately be determined by water authorities in consultation with consumers taking into account the costs and benefits of further treatment of the water.

These guidelines provide a starting point for this process

2.4 Guidelines for Physical Characteristics of Water

At PWSA, one of the services provided to your clients is to test their water for any chemical or imbalances that may not be visible to the human eye. This service will incur a fee to the customer, and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

In the following section, the ADWG stipulate what is deemed to be the guidelines for the physical characteristics of water. Test results will be compared to these, and subsequently a solution can be presented to the client.

Refer to Section 4.1 for a table of the Acceptable Consumption Levels (ADWG).

The Key Physical Characteristics of Water that we will review here include:

Hardness as CaCO₃
pH
Taste & Odour
Temperature
Total Dissolved Solids

2.4.1 Hardness as CaCO₃

Water Hardness refers to the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. The higher the hardness level, the more dissolved minerals present.

Caused by calcium and magnesium salts. Hard water is difficult to lather. When tested, the following guidelines provide an indication to the water quality:

<60mg/L CaCO₃ soft but possibly corrosive
60 – 200 mg/ L CaCO₃ good quality
200 – 500 mg/L CaCO₃increasing scaling problems
>500 mg/L CaCO₃severe scaling

2.4.2 pH

pH is a measure of how acidic/basic the water is. It is a measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water. The test values range from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. pH’s less than 7 indicates acidity, whilst great than 7 indicates a base.

While extreme pH values (<4 & >11) may adversely affect health, there is insufficient data to set a health guideline.

<6.5 may be corrosive
>8 progressively decrease efficiency of chlorination.
>8.5 may cause scale and taste problems.

New concrete tanks and cement mortar lined pipes can significantly increase pH and a value up to 9.2 may be tolerated provided monitoring indicates no deterioration in microbiological quality.

2.4.3 Taste and Odour

May indicate undesirable contaminants, but usually indicate problems such as algal or bio-film growths.

2.4.4 Temperature

Generally impractical to control; rapid changes can bring complaints.

2.4.5 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

600 ppm is regarded as good quality drinking water based on taste.
600 – 900 ppm is fair based on taste.
900 – 1200 poor quality
>1200 Unacceptable

ppm is an abbreviation for “parts per million”. It can also be expressed as mg/L or milligrams per Litre. This measurement is the mass of a chemical or contaminant per unit volume of water.

Source: http://armfielddesign.com/blog/the-inherent-value-of-rainwater-harvesting/

Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) Introduction

You must be logged in to access this course

Module 1 - The Franchise System

Module 2 - Administration and PODAC/ITF

Module 3 - Technical Information and OH&S

1.0 Background of the Water Industry

2.0 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) Introduction

3.0 Common Water Borne Diseases

4.0 Chemicals and Substances found in Water

5.0 Pristine Water Systems Chemicals and Treatments

6.0 Water Testing/Analysis & Results

7.0 Industry Certifications

8.0 Safe Work Australia / Workplace Health & Safety / Occupational Health & Safety

9.0 Filtration & Ultraviolet Products

10.0 Types of Tanks

11.0 Other PWS Products & Equipment

12.0 Glossary of Terms

Module 3 - Appendix

Module 3 Quiz

Module 4 - Operations - Standards

1.0 Introduction

2.0 The PWS Process

3.0 Planning your Work Schedule

4.0 Planning Product Ordering

5.0 Water Testing

6.0 AqueousPro™ 50 Water Sanitiser

7.0 Water Tank Cleaning

8.0 Filtration / Sterilisation Supply (Assembly)

9.0 Ongoing Service and Maintenance

10.0 PWS Standards

11.0 AqueousAir™ Assembly & Installation Instructions

Module 4 - Appendix

Module 4 Quiz

Module 5 - Sales, Marketing, Quoting & Invoicing

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Advertising & Marketing

3.0 Selling PWS / Selling Yourself

4.0 Assessments & Quoting

5.0 Invoicing

Module 5 Appendix

Module 5 Quiz

Module 6 - Equipment Maintenance

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Vehicle Maintenance

3.0 Equipment Maintenance

Module 6 Quiz

In-Field Quick Reference Guide Content