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WATER AND SEWERAGE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2004 (NO 1) (NO 45 OF 2004)
2004
THE
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
WATER
AND SEWERAGE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2004 (No
1)
Subordinate Law
SL2004-45
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Circulated by authority of
Mr Simon Corbell
MLA
Minister for Planning
WATER AND SEWERAGE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2004 (No
1)
These are new regulations under the Water and Sewerage Regulations
2001.
The new regulations are intended to address a failure of the ACT housing
construction market to produce new residential buildings that have built-in
piping for convenient domestic use of rainwater runoff from the premises and for
convenient reuse of grey water produced in the premises.
The Water
and Sewerage Regulations 2001 define the term grey water.
Essentially it is sewage generated by baths, showers, basins, and laundry tubs
and certain floor wastes. It excludes wastes from kitchen sinks because of the
likelihood of such sewage containing grease and food residues which make such
sewerage less desirable for reuse in irrigation. It also excludes waste from
toilets due to the high solids content and highly septic nature of toilet
sewerage.
An intention is to address the above mentioned market failure
by requiring rainwater pipework and grey water pipework to be built into certain
new residential construction. At that stage of construction, the cost of
insulating that additional pipework is either nil or insignificant compare to
the cost of trying to retrospectively install that pipework into the finished
walls and falls of a residence. Certain of the new regulations do not apply
where retrofitting such pipework would be relatively straight forward due to the
accessibility of pipework, (eg: the sanitary drains in the upper floor of a 2
storey residence, as those drains are accessible from the lower
floor).
An intention in addressing the above-mentioned market failure is
to remove or significantly diminish the economic barrier preventing many
householders from making widespread use of rainwater and grey water in place of
water supplied through municipal water networks.
The new regulations
require the installation of an additional washing machine tap point in certain
new residential buildings and extensions to residential buildings, with
associated pipework installed for convenient connection to a rainwater tank. An
intention is that in doing so, householders will be encouraged to later provide
such a tank etc and use rainwater in clothes washing machines as an alternative
to using municipal water. An intended consequence is to conserve municipal
water supplies.
For the same reason the new regulations also require an
additional toilet cistern tap point in certain new residential buildings and
extensions to residential buildings, with associated pipework installed for
convenient connection to a rainwater tank.
A reason for not extending the
requirements for additional rainwater outlets to other domestic applications is
to discourage the use of rainwater as a drinking water supply, due to its
unregulated nature.
The new regulations also require the installation of
additional pipework necessary to keep grey water sperate from other sewage until
it is drained to a point where it can be later drawn of for reuse. The new
regulations do not then prohibit that grey water drainage from being connected
to the sewerage network.
The new regulations also have ancillary
provisions covering the protection of grey water pipework from connection to
other sewerage pipework, and requirements to protect water supply pipework from
potential contamination with sewage from a grey water reuse system.
The
new regulations do not require the provision of a rain water supply, nor the
provision of a grey water reuse system. The new regulations require the
installation of built-in pipework that can be later connected to such tanks and
systems.
Clause 1 provides that the name of the new regulations is Water
and Sewerage Amendment Regulations 2004 (No 1).
Clause 2
prescribes that the new regulations commence on 1 January 2005.
Clause
3 provides that the new regulations amend the Water and Sewerage
Regulations 2001.
Clause 4 inserts new regulation 5A (Offences
against regulations-application of Criminal Code etc), which indicates that
other legislation applies to an offence against the Water and Sewerage
Regulations 2001. Clause 4 also provides notes about how the Criminal Code
applies to certain regulations, and how the Legislation Act, s 133 deals with
the meaning of offence penalties expressed in penalty units.
Clause
5 inserts 4 new regulations, regulation 16A (Building-in separated sanitary
drainage for grey water), regulation 16B (Preservation of separated sanitary
drainage for grey water), regulation 16C (Overflow from grey water disposal
system), and regulation 16D (Retrofitting backflow prevention devices). Each of
those 4 new regulations establish offences in relation to licensees in relation
to installing certain sanitary drainage, sanitary plumbing or water supply
plumbing that does not comply with certain technical requirements set out in the
regulations. The offences are strict liability offences.
An intention
in specifying that the offences are strict liability offences was to endeavour
to encourage the relevant licensees to ensure the relevant work is not done in a
manner that fails to comply with the technical requirements set out in the new
regulations. That is because a fundamental goal of the new regulations is to
ensure pipework is installed in a particular way before building construction
advances to the point that it becomes impractical to gain access to that
pipework. A detrimental ramification of committing either of the offences is
that the non-compliant pipework may be built-into the building structure, such
as a concrete slab floor, making it impractical to bring the work into
compliance afterwards. Rectifying such non-compliant work could entail partial
demolition of the building to gain access to the pipework or to install
replacement complaint pipework. Examples of potential adverse ramifications of
doing water supply plumbing work or sewage disposal work in a manner that fails
to comply with requirements are contamination of municipal water supplies with
septic waste products, or ongoing uncontrolled overflow of untreated sewage into
the environment.
The provisions of new regulation 16A (Building-in
separated sanitary drainage for grey water) are generally intended to apply
where it would be difficult to provide grey water drainage pipework
retrospectively after a building is complete. It sets out details of
circumstances where the provisions apply, and they generally relate to
circumstances where there is no access to pipework from a floor or space below
the pipework. They also only apply to the situations where a new residence is
being constructed or an extension to an existing residence, as set out in the
provision. It is not intended that the provision be retrospectively applied to
pre-existing pipework except where that intention is eluded to in the provisions
in relation to doing new work on older pipework.
The provisions of new
regulation 16B (Preservation of separated sanitary drainage for grey water), are
intended to preserve pre-existing grey water sanitary drains. They have
application to pre-existing pipework as well as new and future pipework. The
intention is to protect grey water pipes from contamination by connection to
sanitary fixtures that can produce non-grey water sewage. The provision also
provides an example of circumstances that establish an offence against
regulation 16B.
The provisions of new regulation 16C (Overflow from grey
water disposal system), are intended to reduce the risk of uncontrolled
discharge of sewerage into the environment arising from overflow, blockage or
malfunction of a grey water disposal system. It is not intended that the
regulation require a parcel of land to be connected to a sewerage network where
no such connection exists, but it does apply where a land parcel does have such
a connection.
The provisions of new regulation 16D (Retrofitting backflow
prevention devices), are intended to require retrofitting of backflow prevention
devices to protect water supply plumbing from sewerage contamination, where
required by other regulations referred to in regulation 16D. Those other
requirements may require a backflow prevention device to be fitted to water
supply plumbing when it is being installed in situations where there is high
risk of the plumbing being contaminated with sewage. Regulation 16D recognises
that providing a grey water disposal system sometime after the construction of a
building may create such a contamination risk for the pre-existing water supply
plumbing. However, as no work is being done to that water supply plumbing as a
consequence of installing a grey water system, without the provisions of
regulation 16D, there would not be a requirement in law to retrofit a backflow
prevention device on the at-risk water supply plumbing. An intent of regulation
16D is to require the licensee responsible for doing sanitary drainage work in
relation to a grey water disposal system, to ensure that relevant water supply
plumbing that may be affected by that work is fitted with a backflow prevention
device if required by the regulation. It is not intended that that licensee
personally do that water supply plumbing work to fit a required backflow
prevention device, but rather, regulation 16D is intended to require that
licensee to either personally do that work or to arrange for another licensee to
do that work, where that work is required by the regulation.
Clause
6 inserts new regulations 24A (Building-in separated rainwater supply
service), and 24B (Installing rainwater supply service).
New regulation
24A (Building-in separated rainwater supply service), essentially requires
additional pipework to be built into certain residential buildings to facilitate
the use of rainwater as an alternative supply of domestic water. It is only
intended to apply where new washing machine taps or a new toilet cistern tap is
being installed, except where the regulation provides that it does not apply.
An objective is to require the room where the washing machine taps are, or will
be, installed, to have a duplicate cold water tap or outlet built-in. One of
the duplicates is for the main cold water supply; the other set is potentially
for rainwater supply. For toilet cisterns, the objective is similar—to
provide duplicate cistern taps or outlets. One for the main water supply and
the other is potentially for rainwater.
An intention is to facilitate
later use of rainwater for domestic use in washing machines and toilet flushing,
thus conserving water from other sources, by requiring the extra pipework to be
installed during installation of the relevant other plumbing work. It is not
intended that the extra pipework be supplied with rainwater at the time of
installation, however, but rather is intended to make it convenient to connect a
future rain water tank to the required pipework, without having to do additional
plumbing work inside the building’s walls or floors.
The reason for
only requiring rain water pipework to be provided for washing machines and
toilet cisterns is that they are taken as being the 2 kinds of water outlets
that are least likely to be also used to supply drinking water. An objective is
to not encourage the use of rainwater for drinking water, due to its unregulated
quality.
New regulation 24A also establishes a strict liability offence
against a licensee that fails to comply with the requirements of the regulation.
The reason for specifying that the offence is one of strict liability is the
same as the relevant reason set out above in relation to the offences in clause
5.
New regulation 24A also provides much technical detail about technical
requirements for the relevant plumbing work, as there is a lack of technical
standards or other document that adequately provides such details for the
relevant circumstances. An intention is to ensure that the additional fittings
such as taps and decorative flanges match as closely as possible those of the
adjacent corresponding main water supply fittings. That is to avoid undue
objection to the additional fittings, on the basis of them not matching other
similar adjacent fittings.
It is not intended that the additional
pipework be terminated inside the building at a tap fitting, but that is
desirable. Alternatively it can be terminated at a pipe cap in accordance with
the relevant requirements prescribed in the regulation.
New regulation
24B (Installing rainwater supply service), essentially prescribes that the
requirements of regulations 18, 19 and 21 apply to doing water supply plumbing
work in relation to providing the required rain water pipework. That is
necessary as there is no requirement to connect the rainwater pipework to a
water supply, as making that connection can be done later and is not mandatory.
Therefore the requirements of regulations 18, 19 and 21 would not otherwise
apply to the rainwater pipework, as those regulations generally apply to
pipework connected to a water supply. It is necessary to apply those
regulations to the rainwater pipework to ensure that they meet relevant
technical requirements ready to receive a water supply connection at any future
time.
Clause 7 omits note 2 of the Dictionary to the Water and
Sewerage Regulations 2001, and prescribes a replacement note 2 and new notes
3 and 4. All 3 of those notes deal with definitions of certain key terms used
in the regulations.
Clause 8 inserts new definitions in to the
Dictionary to the Water and Sewerage Regulations 2001, for the following
key terms used in the new regulations—
Australian Standard
3500;
cistern tap point;
grey water
disposal system;
grey water
point;
rainwater point;
separated grey
water waste fixture; and
washing machine tap
point.
Each of those definitions is specific to the application
of those terms in the regulations, and not necessarily based on other
interpretations of the meaning of those terms.
Nil