By November the drinking water in most cities and towns around the country will be required to be chlorinated, although some councils already say they will apply for an exemption.
It's just one of the changes underway as part of the Government's Three Waters reforms. Another big change is tougher regulation of small water suppliers.
There's three main aspects to the Government reforms, the most well-known is the establishment of regional water entities to take over the management of water assets from councils. The detail of this is still being debated.
But behind the scenes is the creation of a new water regulator Taumata Arowai, which from November started overseeing drinking water rather than health authorities.
The third aspect of the reforms is legislation passed last year, the Water Services Act 2021. The Havelock North gastroenteritis outbreak in 2016 that left thousands ill and four people dead is what sparked the Three Waters reforms.
Taumata Arowai's Ray McMillan says there will be more compliance required, but the agency wants to work closely with providers.
"What we were regulating then is what we knew then, Havelock North has come along way and we're looking at the world very different now".
A big takeaway from the Havelock North inquiry was the need for all reticulated water networks to have some type of residual disinfectant, essentially chlorine.
That's been adopted and will be in place by November, though Taumata Arowai can grant exemptions. No applications for exemptions have been received yet but Christchurch City Council and Waimakariri Council both plan to apply.
"Chlorine is there for a reason. It provides a barrier against recontamination," McMillan says.
Another change is now anyone who provides water to more than just their own home is considered a water supplier.
"There's a whole bunch of people who probably never anticipated the would become water suppliers and they've got to understand what that means," McMillan said.
Around 75,000 water suppliers currently aren't registered, though they will have until 2025 to do so and a further three years to understand how the rules apply to them and become compliant.
Water New Zealand's Gillian Blythe urges them not to wait, saying if a supplier suspects there could be issues with their water safety to get advice quickly.
"As of November last year all suppliers of water have a duty of care. They need to know that the water they are providing you and me is safe".
The Tasman District Council has recently facilitated meetings between local water suppliers and Taumata Arowai.
Tasman Mayor Tim King says not enough people know about the impact of the changes.
"The cost of the physical works could be significant in some cases, but it's also the actual obligations and responsibilities that you would now have.
"I think the Water Services Act is probably one of the most significant bits of legislation and unfortunately it's sort of got lost amongst everything else."
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