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Clarification on Water Testing Requirements

Due to the wording of the Water Testing Procedure in the Grower Manual there has been some confusion on the amount of water testing required of growers.  Following is a summary of the key requirements for water management under the GAP programme. The Water Testing Procedure has been updated and is now available on the canopy website so please refer to this for more detail.

• All growers must complete a Water Quality Risk Assessment to assess the risks of their own water supply/ies
  • A risk assessment is completed regardless of what the water is used for or what the source is.
  • If the water source is town supply then the risk assessment will focus on risks that can be introduced once the water reached the orchard e.g. the holding tank, equipment used etc.
• Any water that touches the fruit must have at least one annual water test unless the source is town supply or managed under an irrigation scheme with a documented testing plan
  • This includes water used for irrigation / frost protection / spraying
  • There must be a test for each source used
• If a water source is new (not been used before) or the risk assessment determines it is a high risk source then 3 annual tests must be completed for the first 2 years of testing
• Water must be tested during the growing season (i.e. when there is fruit on the vine)