When we turn on our taps, we always expect safe, good quality, reliable drinking water. If a drinking water source becomes contaminated, there is an increased risk to the health of those consuming the water. It is often difficult and costly to treat or remove the contaminants; and supplies may need to be shut down during remediation, or the source may need to be abandoned.
This is why the department’s policy on development in public drinking water source areas is a presumption against the intensification of land uses, because more intense land uses and activities increase the risk that the drinking water will become contaminated.
Water quality protection note 25 outlines the most risky land uses and activities that need to be avoided in drinking water sources, those with some risks that need to be managed, and others which are acceptable.
