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Maintaining high water quality

Across our region, we’re committed to maintaining high quality water. We follow strict guidelines to manage our water supply and catchments. We regularly test and monitor our water.

The majority of water we supply is drinking water. It meets the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2003. This means that water from your taps is safe to drink and use.

Regulated water areas

We also supply regulated water to some areas. Regulated water is water that’s been legally declared non-drinkable. It’s not safe for humans to drink or otherwise consume, but it can be used for animal stock and irrigation.

Areas we supply regulated water to are:

  • Bostocks Creek
  • Bungador
  • Carlisle River
  • Carpendeit
  • Cobrico
  • Darlington
  • Elingamite
  • Garvoc
  • Purrumbete
  • South Cudgee

To learn about non-drinking water, its uses and who can access it, see non-drinking water

For more about our commitment to water quality, see our Zero Harm Policy

Water treatment, testing and quality

Water treatment

We treat water in various ways. The treatment method depends on where the water has come from – we refer to this as the ‘system of supply’. 

We use 10 different treatment processes depending on what’s required. For more detail on these processes and to understand what’s used at your local water treatment plant, see Water treatment processes.

After treatment, all water is reticulated through storage tanks and pipes before it’s delivered to our customers.

Fluoride in the local water

We add fluoride to our drinking water to prevent dental decay. This is directed by the Victorian Government and endorsed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

The addition of fluoride to our drinking water is carefully controlled and monitored. It doesn’t change its taste, smell or colour.

Fluoride is added to an optimum dosage of one part per million (1 milligram per litre), as required by the NHMRC.

  • Water supplies in Warrnambool, Allansford, Koroit, Hamilton, Dunkeld, Tarrington, Camperdown, Lismore, Derrinallum and along the Camperdown rural pipeline all have fluoride added.
  • The Victorian Department of Health has directed us to fluoridate the water at the Terang Water Treatment Plant (WTP). This means Terang WTP customers (Terang, Noorat, Glenormiston and Mortlake) can expect to receive fluoridated water in 2024.
  • The bore water in Portland and Port Fairy contains naturally occurring fluoride.
  • Other supply areas are not currently connected to a fluoridated supply.

More information about water fluoridation is available from the Victorian Department of Health .

Operational monitoring

After treatment, we test our water again to make sure treatment has been effective.

We monitor disinfection by-products and quality properties (refer to these above). This tells us how effective our treatments are and whether we need to fix any operational issues.

We make sure our treated water meets the health standards in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 201

Water testing

As required by the Department of Health, we regularly test all the water in our region – from source water and treatment plants to your tap water.

Keen to know where the water in your taps comes from? See Where your water comes from

To understand how water is treated at your local water treatment plant, see Water treatment processes.

Risk-to-health testing

We treat, test and monitor your water to make sure it’s safe to drink and use.

Microbial tests

We do microbial tests to detect water contaminated by human or animal excrement. This is the most common health risk for drinking water.

The disease-causing (pathogenic) microorganisms we’re concerned about include bacteria, viruses and protozoa. We test for:

  • Escherichia coli (E. coli) – this is a coliform that specifically indicates human or animal wastewater contamination
  • Other coliforms – that detect other disease-causing bacteria.

Organic and inorganic chemical monitoring

We monitor water for metals, radionuclides, hydrocarbons, herbicides, pesticides and a range of disinfection by-products from water treatment. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011 specify the limits for human health.

Testing taste, odour and appearance

We monitor water for taste, colour and appearance. We measure for quality properties such as:

  • pH – how acidic or alkaline it is
  • Turbidity – whether there are particles that cause cloudiness
  • Hardness – water with a high mineral content
  • Colour – water affected by particles.

We also monitor chemicals in source water, which can affect what the water looks like. We also monitor for algae, which can affect taste and odour.

Is there something unexpected in your water? For some common concerns and what you can do about them, look at the Unusual taste, odour or appearance tab above.

Contamination barriers

To make sure drinking water is safe and looks and tastes good, we need to reduce the likelihood of contaminants in the system.

We use barriers to help prevent contaminants getting in. Then we treat the water to remove any contaminants that do get in.

A multi-barrier approach

We use multiple barriers so that if one barrier fails, it can be compensated by the others.

Our barriers include:

  • Managing catchments and protecting source water
  • Detaining water in protected reservoirs and storages
  • Managing our extraction processes – the ways we get water from catchments and water sources
  • Disinfecting water
  • Maintaining the distribution system.

Unusual taste, odour or appearance

Noticed something strange in your water? Occasionally, you may come across water that doesn’t look, smell or taste like you expect.

To know it’s safe, check the list below to discover causes and effects, and find out if there’s anything you can do about it.

PFAS-related chemicals and your drinking water

PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a group of manufactured chemicals that have been widely used in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s.

PFAS are emerging contaminants that can persist for a long time in humans and in the environment. They are commonly found in and around populated areas throughout Australia and internationally.

To ensure the safety of drinking water and provide a basis for determining its quality across Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has developed the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG). Water utilities routinely conduct a range of tests to ensure drinking water quality complies with these guidelines.

The ADWG for PFAS are currently being independently reviewed. The review will include recent guidance from international and national agencies and determine whether they are suitable for Australia.

We regularly sample and test the quality of our water to ensure that it complies with the ADWG and take a risk-based approach to test for the presence of PFAS-related chemicals.

We regularly sample and test the quality of our water to ensure that it complies with the ADWG and take a risk-based approach to test for the presence of PFAS-related chemicals.

Following concerns with PFAS contamination of groundwater at the CFA training centre at Penshurst in 2015, we now test our drinking water supplies for PFAS-related chemicals at both Penshurst and Caramut every three months.

All results available to date show the drinking water supplied by us in both towns is safe to drink.

While the risk profile for our other drinking water supplies across the region is extremely low, we are being proactive and have started testing all our supplies for PFAS-related chemicals on an annual basis. We’re confident that our supplies are safe but we want to provide that reassurance to our customers as well. Results from our first round of testing, completed in July 2024, show all our drinking water supplies are safe.

People interested in learning more about our water quality and testing program can read our Annual Water Quality Report below.

Water Quality Report • PDF • 2.20 MB