Risk management plans for drinking water providers
Risk management plans (RMPs) are an essential feature for assuring drinking water quality.
All new providers must have a RMP in place prior to commencing supply.
Standard RMPs have been prepared by SA Health which can be adopted for use by various small drinking water providers. Larger, more complex drinking water providers will need to develop their own Custom RMP.
Standard RMPs
Guidance manuals have been prepared for each of the Standard RMP templates. These Guidance manuals contains all relevant information and step-by-step instructions to assist drinking water providers to prepare a RMP using the Standard template. Use the relevant Guidance Manual in conjunction with the Template document. These documents are available for use by small water supplies in the following settings:
Small rainwater supplies
- Guidance Manual – Standard RMP for small rainwater supplies (PDF 548KB)
- Template – Standard RMP for small rainwater supplies (DOCX 355KB)
Rainwater supplies in regulated premises
- Guidance Manual – Standard RMP for rainwater supplies in regulated premises (PDF 553KB)
- Template – Standard RMP for rainwater supplies in regulated premises (DOCX 355KB)
Small bore-water supplies
- Guidance Manual – Standard RMP for small bore water supplies (PDF 594KB)
- Template – Standard RMP for small bore water supplies (DOCX 357KB)
Dual source water supplies – rainwater and bore water
- Guidance Manual – Standard RMP for rainwater and bore water supplies (PDF 632KB)
- Template – Standard RMP for rainwater and bore water supplies (DOCX 357KB)
Water Carting (mains water)
- Guidance Manual – Standard RMP for water carting (mains water) (PDF 438KB)
- Template – Standard RMP for water carting (mains water) (DOCX 354KB)
Custom RMPs
More complex water supplies including the following will need to develop a custom RMP:
- medium drinking water providers - greater than 2,000 population
- large drinking water providers - greater than 50,000 population
- surface water suppliers
Preparing a Custom RMP
Section 13 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2011 lists what is required to be included in your RMP. Ensure your RMP:
- contains a detailed description of the drinking water supply
- identifies the risks to the quality of the water, assesses risks and sets out steps to manage the risks
- includes a monitoring program covering both operational monitoring and water quality monitoring
- includes an Incident Identification and Notification protocol
Assistance and guidance when creating a custom RMP
If you are preparing a Custom RMP there a number of resources available to assist you to ensure that you meet the requirements under the Act. These include:
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines provides a framework for management of drinking water quality, provides a reference for what defines safe, good quality water, how it can be achieved and how it can be assured.
SA Health documentation
The Guidance manuals for Standard RMPs (above) developed by SA Health provide the type of information to be included in your custom RMP. Additional information is also available in Submitting Monitoring Plans and Incident Notification Protocols for approval (PDF 356KB).
Submission of a RMP to SA Health for approval
Submit your RMP for review and approval to SA Health’s Water Quality Unit via e-mail to waterquality@sa.gov.au. Once your RMP is approved you will be sent a registration form to complete your application.
Further information
For further information relating to risk management plans, contact SA Health's Water Quality Unit on:
- phone: (08) 8226 7100
- email: waterquality@sa.gov.au