About Water

When it rains or the snow melts, water soaks into the ground where it travels between sand grains, rocks and gravel. This is groundwater. Groundwater can be found in aquifers - areas underground with useable amounts of water - and accessed by wells.

Region of Waterloo wells supply over 100,000,000 litres of drinking water each day - that's like filling one and a half swimming pools every minute! In some cases groundwater is filtered to remove iron and manganese, minerals found naturally in aquifers. In addition to the supply wells, over 400 observation/monitoring wells are distributed throughout the Region and provide access to groundwater aquifers to collect information on water quality and water levels. 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.

Water from the Grand River goes through a multi-step treatment process.

1. An intake pipe moves water from the Grand River to holding reservoirs which allow larger particles to settle out.
2. The water is then pumped to the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant to begin a multi-step treatment process. The Mannheim Water Treatment Plant can treat 840 Litres per second or 72.6 Million Litres per day. That's enough water to fill over 1,450 backyard swimming pools every day!
3. The water is disinfected using a multi-barrier approach including filtration, ozonation, chlorination and ultraviolet light.
4. The finished water enters a large underground storage reservoir where it is mixed with treated groundwater before entering the distribution system.

To keep treated water safe while travelling through the distribution system to your tap, a minimum level of residual chlorine or chloramine must be maintained.

Waterloo Region's water supply and distribution system uses specialized equipment and pipes to move water from the source, through treatment and to your taps. The water supply distribution system is complex with many supply sources, pressure zones, reservoirs, elevated storage tanks and pumping stations.

The cities and towns of Cambridge, Elmira, Kitchener, St. Jacobs, Lloyd Brown, Waterloo, St Agatha, Baden, New Hamburg, Mannheim and Shingletown comprise one large Integrated Urban System. The Region also has smaller stand alone systems including Ayr, Branchton, Roseville, Linwood, St. Clements, Wellesley Foxboro, New Dundee, Conestogo, Heidelberg, Maryhill and West Montrose.

Water towers have an important role moving clean drinking water to your home. Big and tall by design, water towers:

• ensures water supply during power outages,
• provides extra water supply during unusual events such as fire or high demands, and;
• helps to maintain normal pressures in the distribution system

Fun facts about water towers in Waterloo Region:

• Region of Waterloo operates ten water towers
• Sportsworld Drive in Kitchener water tower is the tallest at 50.77 meters high
• Conservation Drive in Waterloo water tower can hold the most water with a 27,276,540 litres capacity

Industrial monitoring and sewer use bylaw enforcement

The Sewer Use By-law 1-90 regulates and controls the discharge of water and wastewater into the sanitary and/or storm sewer distribution system within Waterloo Region. The By-law protects the wastewater treatment system and the water quality of the Grand River.

Environmental spills response

A spill is the release of a substance that is harmful to the environment, such as oil, fuel, chemicals or pesticides into a sewer or the environment. Quick actions can reduce the cleanup time and protect the local environment. Report a spill immediately if you witness or suspect a spill has occurred or is about to occur.

Laboratory Services, an accredited laboratory for Region of Waterloo, provides biological, inorganic and organic testing. 

• Accreditations include ISO 17025, registered with Canadian Association for Laboratory Association (CALA) since 1996 and licensed by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change in 2003 for drinking water analysis.
• Biological testing includes E.coli, Total Coliforms, HPC, Microcystin, BOD, and CBOD.
• Inorganic testing includes nitrate, nitrite, chloride, fluoride, sulphate, nutrients, and metals.
• Organic testing includes chlorination by-products, pesticides, herbicides, 1-4 Dioxane, industrial contaminates, and gasoline by-products.