Water and Effluent
Water and Effluent safety
Water and effluent are significant hazards on farms. On average, five children drown on Australian farms each year. Most are under the age of five and a third are visitors.
Drownings of adults also occur especially when they are working with machinery near dams, ponds and channels or when maintaining infrastructure that is under or above water.
Water use and effluent infrastructure can also present risks other than drowning such as:
– Slips, trips and falls especially in yards and on edges of ponds
and channels
– Entanglement & manual handling injuries associated with pumps
and agitators
– Falls from heights on travelling irrigators
– Physical injury from pressure washers & flexible hydrants when
cleaning
– Water contact with exposed power in the dairy or overhead power
by irrigators
– Contact with harmful gases produced by effluent
As an employer or person conducting a business on the farm, you have a legal responsibility to manage all the risks to health and safety associated with water and effluent.
By law, you are responsible for all the people who come to the farm, including workers, contractors, tenants, visitors and children.
Use the resources below to ensure that you are managing a safe workplace and fulfilling your legal obligations.
A good place to start is Step by step -Setting up water and effluent safety on your farm
| Resources | |
| Farm Safety Manual – Water and Effluent | Word |
| Further information | |
| Child Safe Play Areas (Royal Life Saving Society) | Website |
| Wonder, Swim and Survive program (Royal Life Saving Society) | Website |
| Guide for managing risks from high pressure water jetting (Safe Work Australia) |
Website |
| Establishing and understanding an effluent management plan (Dairy Australia) |
Website |
| Effluent and manure management (Dairy Australia) | Website |
| Making effluent systems safe (Agriculture Victoria) | Website |
| Dairy effluent pond safety (Dairy NZ) | Video |
