Australian Drinking Water Guidelines – Public consultation on draft guidance for lead replacements in plumbing products, lead and manganese

Overview

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) opened public consultation (26 July 2024 - 6 September 2024) on guidance material developed for the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (the Guidelines) on lead replacements in plumbing products, lead and manganese.

NHMRC sought feedback relating to the following guidance material:

• Chemicals leaching from plumbing products - draft information sheet

• Bismuth – draft chemical fact sheet

• Silicon – draft chemical fact sheet

• Selenium – draft chemical fact sheet (update)

• Lead – draft chemical fact sheet (update) 

• Manganese – draft chemical fact sheet (update)

• Proposed consequential edits to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 

The draft guidance material included new guidance on chemicals leaching from plumbing products, new health-based guideline values for bismuth and silicon in drinking water, and updates to the chemical fact sheets for selenium, lead and manganese, including updated guideline values. There were also minor edits across the Guidelines to provide alignment and consistency between sections.

What happens next

The information provided during this consultation will help us strengthen the management framework for drinking water quality across Australia. Feedback received will assist us in making this guidance as user friendly and relevant as possible.

Currently, all submissions are being considered by the Water Quality Advisory Committee in consultation with the NHMRC.

It is expected that the guidance material will be published as part of the Guidelines in 2025.