Guidelines for drinking water quality
Hunter Water supplies high quality drinking water to our customers.
Drinking water should be safe to use and aesthetically pleasing. It should be clear and colourless, with no unpalatable taste or odour, and it should contain no suspended matter, harmful chemical substances, or pathogenic microorganisms.
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines
The drinking water we supply is regularly tested throughout the water supply system, and complies with the National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Did you know?
A report summarising the quality of water supplied to our customers is published monthly on our website. View our monthly reports.
Frequently asked questions
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What impurities may be present in untreated water?
- Clays and silts - ‘cloudy’, unaesthetic water effect and particles can shield microorganisms from disinfection.
- Natural organic matter - may create taste and odour problems.
- Iron - may create taste, odour and aesthetic problems.
- Manganese - may create taste, odour and aesthetic problems.
- High or Low pH - can cause problems with corrosion, taste and odour problems and ineffective disinfection.
- Microorganisms - removal of pathogenic microorganisms is necessary to prevent waterborne illness.
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How is the water quality protected?
Hunter Water provides safe and reliable drinking water to more than half a million customers in the region. Given the importance of maintaining water quality to ensure the public's health, our drinking water is protected using a 'multi-barrier' management approach. This means the water is protected within the catchment, treated to remove impurities and routinely sampled and analysed.
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Why use alum to treat drinking water?
Alum is used at our water treatment plants to remove impurities from drinking water. The use of alum as a coagulant together with filtration is standard practice in conventional treatment processes around the world. The level of aluminium in our drinking water is usually less after treatment than the natural level in the untreated (raw) water.