About Water

• journey of water to our taps
• hard water and water softeners
• Quality Management System policy
• Environmental Enforcement and Laboratory Services
• Client Connect website (login required)

We work with the Cities and Townships to deliver clean and safe drinking water to homes and businesses connected to the municipal supply.

Waterloo Region uses a two-tiered system to supply treated water.

• In North Dumfries and Wellesley Townships, the Region of Waterloo supplies treated water and bills properties. Villages that receive their water service directly from the Region of Waterloo include Ayr, Branchton, Heidelberg, Linwood, Lloyd Brown, Roseville, St. Clements, and Wellesley.
• In Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo and the Townships of Wilmot and Woolwich, the Region of Waterloo supplies treated water to the municipalities. The municipalities then supply the water to the homes and businesses. The Cities and Townships operate and maintain the water distribution systems including watermains, valves, service connections, and fire hydrants. They are also responsible for billing properties.
• If you live on a farm or in a rural area, you probably have your own well. Private wells are the responsibility of the well owner.

Journey of water to our taps

• Waterloo Region relies on groundwater for 75 to 80 per cent of our drinking water. The remaining  20 to 25 per cent is water from the Grand River.
• We collect groundwater from aquifers using 100+ municipal wells throughout Waterloo Region
• We treat surface water from the Grand River at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant
• Treated water enters the Integrated Urban System (IUS) consisting of underground pipes, water towers and pressure booster pumps.
• The IUS moves the treated water to our homes and businesses

Hard water and water softeners

Most drinking water in Waterloo Region comes from groundwater wells. Groundwater is considered hard water due to the water picking up minerals as it travels underground. The water is safe to drink. But the minerals contribute to scale buildup in pipes and appliances. Many residences use water softeners to replace the minerals with salt. This results in "softened" water. Learn about water softeners and tips to use less water and salt.

Quality Management System policy

The Quality Management System (QMS) for drinking water systems supports our dedication to providing high quality drinking water. The Operational Plans for the QMS are available upon request.

Our commitment is to:

• Manage potential risks, and provide safe drinking water to consumers
• Manage water operations and maintenance activities to comply with applicable legislation, regulations, guidelines, and standards
• Maintain and continually improve the QMS
• Communicate relevant policies and programs to internal and external stakeholders, as applicable
• Review this policy, at least annually, to ensure it continues to be appropriate for the subject drinking water systems

Environmental Enforcement and Laboratory Services

Environmental Enforcement and Laboratory Services (EELS) responsibilities are environmental protection through monitoring, enforcement and laboratory analysis in support of Regional, Provincial and Federal legislation including:

• Sewer Use By-law
• Environmental Protection Act
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Nutrient Management Act
• Water Resources Act
• Standards Council of Canada
• Canadian Association of Laboratory Accreditation (CALA)
• Clean Water Act, Grand River Source Protection Plan

Client Connect for Laboratory Information Management System

This website is only available to Region of Waterloo Environmental Enforcement and Laboratory Services clients with approved logins. Enter the LIMS Client Connect website to access your data and related documents.

LIMS Client Connect website (login required)

Water testing

Ontario's Safe Drinking Water Act  requires municipalities to test drinking water for numerous parameters on a predetermined schedule. We proactively perform more testing than is required by the legislation, and include additional non-regulated parameters in the drinking water monitoring program. An accredited lab must perform the testing.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks  also requires municipalities to produce annual water quality and summary reports. These reports summarize the results of all required drinking water tests and confirm the drinking water supplied by the Region of Waterloo and area municipalities is safe and meets all health-related Ontario Drinking Water Standards.

Each year we release water quality reports that compare the level of quality for the drinking water in Waterloo Region to the Ontario Drinking Water Standards in the legislation O.Reg.169/03.

Laboratory Services

We are an accredited laboratory for the Region of Waterloo that provides: