Media Release

2 June 2006

Ministry of Health To Improve Small Water Supplies over Next Decade with $154 Million

The Government believes community drinking-water supplies should be safe and of good quality no matter where they are.

People living in small communities around the country will soon be able to find out if their community qualifies for government assistance to upgrade their drinking-water supply.

In May 2005, the Government committed $154 million (GST incl) over 10 years to improve small drinking-water supplies. The Drinking-water Assistance Programme has been developed by the Ministry of Health over the last year.

A discussion document Criteria for Capital Assistance for Small Drinking-water Supplies has been released and now Ministry officials are touring the country holding at a series of public meetings to make sure people become familiar with the document, and can have a say on what is contained in it.

The document outlines options for deciding on which communities could receive funding, how much they could receive and what it can be used for. It also outlines what steps are necessary before funding can be provided.

Drinking-water Assistance Programme Leader Jim Graham says, "large towns and cities generally have good safe drinking water. This is not always the case in small towns and communities. We want to enable the small water supplies in rural areas to also have a high standard".

"The Ministry has set up a Technical Assistance Programme which offers advice to small water suppliers on the operation, management and upgrading of their water supplies and will provide assistance to help them write their Public Health Risk Management Plans. If this programme shows that capital development is needed, small water suppliers can then apply for a share of the $150 million available over the next ten years," says Jim Graham.

Small water supplies including those owned by local councils, servicing a population of up to 5,000 are eligible to apply for funding.

Mr Graham says, "safe drinking water has a much wider effect on the community than just for the purposes of drinking, washing and cooking. Making sure every New Zealander has access to safe drinking water also supports other Ministry programmes such as the Healthy Eating Healthy Action programme (HEHA).

"For example, if we want to discourage children from drinking sugar based drinks at school, we must ensure that schools which have their own drinking-water supply have a safe supply"

"The programme also helps to achieve the Ministry's goal of reducing inequalities in health between communities, by ensuring that all communities have access to safe drinking-water", says Jim Graham.

He says "it's important that as many people as possible turn up to the meetings and make submissions on the Discussion Document as it proposes a number of criteria for determining which drinking-water supplies are eligible to receive capital assistance to improve their supply system".

"All submissions we receive will help to finalise the structure of the capital assistance criteria. Our aim is to ensure that we have input from a wide range of the communities, councils and others we seek to assist".

ENDS


Questions and Answers on the Ministry of Health's Drinking Water Assistance Programme

Who is eligible for capital assistance?
The answer to this question will be guided by the responses to the consultation programme on eligibility. The assistance programme is for all community water supplies that have a population of fewer than 5000 people. The supplies must be owned and operated by local residential communities or local or regional councils, excluding city councils.

If I have any queries on the Drinking-water Assistance Programme, who do I speak to ?
For any further information on the Ministry of Health Drinking-Water Assistance Programme, please contact your Public Health Service who will put you in contact with your TAP Facilitator.

How do you apply for capital assistance?
To apply for capital assistance, a water supplier must first participate in the The Technical Assistance Programme. This will assist the water supplier to write a Public Health Risk Management Plan. The water supplier can apply to the Ministry of Health for capital assistance if a need for capital upgrading has been identified by participation in the technical programme.

What do I have to do, to participate in the Technical Assistance Programme (TAP)?
You can apply to join the programme by completing a simple form which is available from the Drinking-Water Assessment Unit, at your local Public Health Service. Speak to the TAP Facilitator who will explain what is involved in the TAP and work closely with you during the programme. These forms will also be available at the public meeting venues.

What is a TAP Facilitator ?
The drinking-water assistance programme will be delivered through the Public Health Services. TAP Facilitators are qualified drinking-water assessors who will provide assistance and guidance for small drinking-water suppliers. There will be approximately 10 TAP Facilitators around the country and they can be contacted via your local public health service.

Why do I need to be in the TAP and not able to just apply for funding from the Ministry?
The programme has been structured in two parts as the Ministry wants to be sure that funds are received by those drinking-water supplies most in need. Participating in the TAP is essential as it is through this process that a drinking-water supplier will receive free advice and assistance to get their supplies operating as best as they can. To be able to do this a supplier will need to complete a Public Health Risk Management Plan. This Plan will help a supplier identify and manage the risks with their supply. It will identify whether capital upgrading of the supply is required to manage/mitigate these risks. The programme is not intended to be complicated or cumbersome, but it does need to be thorough as the Ministry must be sure that the funds are being allocated in the most effective way possible.

Can a community receive assistance to establish a new water supply if one doesn't already exist?
Submissions are sought on this. The discussion paper proposes that a community can apply for funding to establish a new community drinking-water supply where one does not already exist. They would still need to participate in the Technical Assistance Programme and would need to show that there was a health benefit to the community in having a reticulated supply. This will be decided after submissions are considered.

How much funding can I get?
The discussion document sets out two options to work out what proportion of capital costs each supply should be eligible to receive. One uses the New Zealand Deprivation Index and community size to ensure that greater funding is available to communities that are smaller and more disadvantaged. The other option is based on a report commissioned by the Ministry of Health. It works out a ranking score based on public health cost effectiveness, economies of scale. It uses the deprivation index to determine the percentage of funding that the programme will provide.

What is a Collaborative Capacity Building Group (CCBG) ?
The TAP will encourage small drinking-water suppliers to get together in groups to assist each other, share problems and ideas and come up with solutions. The programme aims to help communities develop local skill and knowledge about all aspects of their drinking-water supply. The formal name used for these groups is Collaborative Capacity Building Groups. The TAP Facilitator will facilitate this process.

For further information contact:
Victoria Evans
Media Advisor
04 4962036