Mine sites and exploration camps

All mine sites and exploration camps in Western Australia that provide drinking water to employees or contractors on site are obliged to comply with the health-related criteria set out in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (external site).

The January 2022 edition (version 3.7) of these guidelines, known as the “Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011 – Version 3.7 Updated January 2022,” forms the basis for setting policy on the quality and safety of drinking water supplied in WA and the risk management framework that applies thereto, from 1 January 2023.

All drinking water quality monitoring results must be provided to the Department of Health WA – ref: Circular letter by State Mining Engineer (PDF 63KB).

The management, monitoring and reporting requirements are dependent on the water source and system setup. The requirements are detailed in the factsheet and ancillary documents below:

• Minesites and exploration camps drinking water quality compliance requirements (PDF 70KB)
• Quarterly Reporting template (Word 255KB)
• Incident reporting template (Word 153 KB)
• Model Drinking Water Quality Management Plan
• Mine site sampling grid (PDF 24KB)
• Materials, products and substances in contact with drinking water (PDF 930KB)
• Naegleria Response Protocol (PDF 433KB)
• Pesticides monitoring exclusion policy (PDF 529KB)
• Standard drinking water sampling technique - microbiological (PDF 299KB).

More information

Water Unit, Environmental Health Directorate
Department of Health
Telephone: (08) 9222 2000
Email: ehinfo@health.wa.gov.au