Water Quality

Drinking Water Source

Your drinking water is obtained from the Sardis-Vedder Aquifer, a natural underground water reservoir. Although the Sardis-Vedder Aquifer currently yields water of excellent quality, it is a highly sensitive source and vulnerable to contamination.

If an aquifer becomes polluted, it is difficult, sometimes even impossible, to restore water quality back to its original level. That's why groundwater protection measures are so important.

In 1997 the City took an important step and implemented the Groundwater Protection Plan. Part of this plan includes maintaining an extensive water sampling and monitoring program to ensure that Chilliwack’s drinking water remains a safe and healthy resource. 

Information regarding how you can help protect our aquifer can be found at http://www.chilliwack.com/groundwaterprotection

Water Quality Testing

The Drinking Water Protection Regulation (DWPR) prescribes regulations that limit the levels of certain contaminants in the water provided by public water systems. The contaminants that may commonly be present in drinking water sources include:

• Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from wildlife, agricultural livestock or septic systems.
• Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can occur naturally, or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, mining or farming.
• Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from farming, urban stormwater runoff, and home or business use.
• Organic contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are the by-products of industrial processes and the water disinfection process, and may also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
• Radioactive contaminants, which may come from natural or man-made deposits.

Drinking water quality is determined through microbiological and chemical testing for these contaminants. The DWPR establishes testing methods and monitoring requirements that water purveyors must follow. The City’s water quality sampling and testing program goes far beyond what the DWPR requires as a minimum.