Check your connection

Make sure your drinking water is not connected to your recycled water supply.

When your house was under construction, the plumbing works would have been inspected by the Plumbing Industry Commission to ensure that the drinking water and recycled water supplies are kept separate. If plumbing works have been carried out recently on your property, you may wish to do your own check to ensure that the drinking water is not connected to the recycled water supply.

You can carry out the test as follows:

1. Turn off the tap next to the drinking water meter at the front of the property. This meter should be gold or green in colour.
2. Turn on all the cold taps inside the house (including bath and shower) and any drinking water taps outside. We suggest you collect the water used during this process and reuse it as appropriate.
3. Your water should stop running within minutes, indicating that only drinking water is supplied through these taps.
4. If water keeps flowing from one of these taps, it may be connected to the recycled water supply and a licensed plumber should be called immediately. Make sure that no one in your household drinks this water or uses it for food preparation, dishwashing or bathing.
5. To prevent trapping air in the pipes, turn the tap next to the water meter back on to restore the supply of drinking water before you turn off all the indoor taps.

For more information or if you are unsure how to carry out a check, please contact us on 1300 304 688.

For more information about recycled water plumbing requirements and inspections, please read these frequently asked questions.