Water in Tasmania
A number of bodies aside from NRE Tas have responsibility for the management and regulation of Tasmania's freshwater resources. Areas managed include water pollution, domestic water supply and the public health issues associated with the provision of drinking water.
The material below provides a summary of each agency's responsibilities and provides sources of further information.
Irrigation Schemes and Development
Tasmanian Irrigation is charged with developing and managing new irrigation schemes. Other irrigation schemes are self managed by local water entities.
Household Water Supply and Sewerage Services
TasWater has responsibility for the provision of drinking water and sewerage services. Please contact TasWater for issues with domestic water supply or your household water account.
Wastewater and water reuse
EPA Tasmania regulates Level 2 (>100 kilolitres/day) Sewage Treatment Plants in Tasmania and offers advice and guidance on wastewater issues.
More Information:
Tasmania's Water Catchments
Water management is focused on 48 catchments across Tasmania. These catchments include one or more watercourses and have been defined at a suitable scale for resource management based on a combination of water flow, land tenure and land management.
Defining Catchments
Surface water (topographic) catchments include all the land upstream that drains to that point. Usually catchments are defined from tidal limit. This can result in a very large catchments like the South Esk or very small coastal catchments like the Supply River catchment. Depending on the purpose for defining the catchments, large catchments can be subdivided into smaller ones and small catchments can be amalgamated to make bigger ones.
Water Quality and Water Pollution
EPA Tasmania ensures that water quality measures are consistent with the objectives of the State Policy on Water Quality Management 1997 (SPWQM). The main objective of the Policy is to maintain or enhance water quality.
EPA Tasmania also aims to address the problems associated with water pollution through a process of detection, control and remediation. It is responsible for the environmental assessment of high-risk activities that have significant potential to pollute waterways and may use the enforcement provisions of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 to require the clean-up and remediation of water bodies affected by industrial pollution.
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Drinking Water Quality
The Department of Health (DHS) regulates the quality of drinking water from all public reticulated drinking water supply systems. All water suppliers of public reticulated drinking water supply systems must meet the requirements of the Public Health Act 1997 Drinking Water Quality Guidelines to ensure the water is safe to use, or that consumers are advised if it is not regarded as potable.
The Guidelines require that water authorities develop drinking water quality management plans, to help ensure that each step in the drinking water supply system assists in eliminating, or reducing to an acceptable level, any undesirable contaminants which may be present in the source water.
Drinking water suppliers provide the Department of Health an Annual Report covering a range of matters relevant to public health. The Annual Water Reports detail each drinking water supplier's compliance with the Water Quality Guidelines for the water supply systems under their control and also describe the various systems in place for the protection of public health.
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Water Testing Services
These laboratories - one based in the north and one in the south of the state - can carry out tests on water samples. Please contact them for specifications and the fees that apply.
Streamside Restoration
The Tasmanian Natural Resource Management groups in the North, South and Cradle Coast areas work to prevent waterway decline resulting from poor land and waterway management. Advice and incentives for riparian land management and streamside restoration is available in some areas.
To contact your local NRM group see:
See Useful Links for more information about riparian management.
Hydro-Electricity
Hydro Tasmania has a special licence to take water for generation purposes in line with the Government’s energy policy and strategy.
Hydro Tasmania manages an extensive network of modified lakes, rivers, streams and canals, flowing through a diverse range of landforms and land use zones, each of which have unique aquatic issues. Hydro Tasmania recognises that water is central to its business and that for its business to be sustainable, the aquatic environment must contain healthy ecosystems.
Useful Links
Riparian Management and River Rehabilitation
Water Pollution
Other Resources