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Checking your water quality

Use our handy tool to view up-to-date water quality test results in your area.

Measuring water quality

We have a comprehensive program for managing and monitoring your drinking water to make sure it’s high quality, safe to drink and meets these state and federal regulations and guidelines:

Treatment

Melbourne Water is responsible for treating and disinfecting drinking water, ensuring it is safe to drink before it leaves the reservoirs and reaches your tap. The type of treatment the water undergoes depends on its source. Treatments may include:

  • Water sourced from unprotected catchments is filtered to remove particles and sediment.
  • Chlorine is added as a disinfectant to kill harmful microorganisms, including pathogens and infectious bacteria, and to prevent regrowth in the network. Melbourne Water advises that chlorine levels vary but are typically less than 2 milligrams per litre (0.0002%)—about the equivalent of two grains of sugar in a cup of water.
  • Fluoride is added to help prevent tooth decay.
  • pH levels are adjusted to make the water slightly less acidic, which helps prevent corrosion of household pipes and fittings.

To learn more visit Drinking water treatment | Melbourne Water.

Smell or taste chlorine? Fill a jug with water and place it in the fridge - after a few hours, the chlorine taste and smell will fade.

Sampling, testing and monitoring

We're continuously monitoring the safety and quality of your drinking water, starting from when we first receive it from Melbourne Water.

Over 13,000 samples are collected and analysed each year by an independent laboratory, using over 1,000 dedicated sample taps across our system. 

We test for hundreds of factors that affect water quality, including colour, hardness, turbidity (how clear the water looks) and PFAS levels, as well as for pathogens like E. coli and for minerals and metals such as copper, lead and manganese. 

If we've done maintenance work on our water pipes or there’s a fault, you might notice temporary changes to your water supply. Find out what to do if your water looks, smells or tastes different than usual.   

Our testing units across our supply network monitor 24/7 for a range of water quality parameters and alert us to changes in real time. We also use drones to inspect our tank and storage systems.   

All this means that when you turn on a tap, or turn on your dishwasher, you can be sure that everything’s as it should be. 

You can learn more about how we monitor your drinking water in our Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.  

Advice on lead

The Australian Government’s Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth) issued a guidance statement in 2021 about lead in drinking water from some plumbing products.

It describes how lead can dissolve into drinking water from some brass plumbing fittings, especially when they’ve been in contact with water for a long time.

Although enHealth says there’s no need to have your water tested for lead, here are its tips for reducing potential exposure to lead in drinking water:

  • Only use water from cold water taps for drinking and cooking.

Flush cold water taps used for drinking and cooking: 

  • for about 30 seconds first thing in the morning to draw fresh water through the tap. 
  • for about 2 to 3 minutes if they haven’t been used for a long time, such as when you return from a holiday. (You can use this water for washing up or watering plants). 

When renovating or building, choose plumbing products that are:

  •     certified to WaterMark and AS/NZS 4020:2005
  •     have low-lead content or are lead free. 

Water quality factsheets

Related information

If this isn’t what you were looking for, see the following links for more information: