Yarra Valley Water

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Water quality testing

We have a comprehensive water quality monitoring program to ensure the water we supply is safe and of the highest quality.

Every year, our independent laboratory collects over 7,000 samples and conducts 22,000 tests. We monitor the water supply at representative customer taps in 34 separate water quality zones.

We are committed to providing you with the highest-quality water, and comply with regulations and law that outline standards for public health outlined below.

 

Update 10 February 2022: Your water is safe to drink. We're aware of false information circulating telling people there is a problem with water quality. This is from a company selling purifying equipment. The company is not associated with Yarra Valley Water.

Regulations and laws

The Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 and Safe Drinking Water Regulations 2015 specify the standards we meet to ensure public health. The Department of Human Services and Health (DHHS) administer the implementation of these standards in Victoria.

In addition, The National Health and Medical Research Council have established Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2011. How often we sample your water is outlined by these regulations and guidelines. They also define the criteria including how and where these samples are collected to make sure they are representative of the water we supply to our customers.

Regular independent audits of our Risk Management Plan are undertaken by the DHHS approved auditors to ensure that we comply with the regulatory requirements.

Parameters

We test for microbiological, physical and chemical parameters as required by regulations and the guidelines. The three parameters in the drinking water standards are:

  1. E.coli - Escherichia coli bacteria - are generally found in the intestines of humans, birds and animals. E.coli is an indicator for potential contamination in the water supply. E.coli is measured as number of organisms in a 100 millilitres of water (orgs/100mL)
  2. Trihalomethanes (THM) – A disinfection by product that forms when natural organic matter in the water reacts with chlorine. THM unit of measurement is milligrams per litre (mg/L)
  3. Turbidity - Turbidity is a measure of water clarity, describes the amount of light scattered or blocked by suspended particles in a water sample. Clear water has low turbidity and cloudy or murky water has a higher turbidity. Turbidity is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). Compliance is calculated using the statistical measure of 95th percentile of the turbidity data for the previous 12-month period abbreviated as 95th%tile

We communicate these results in our Annual Water Quality Report.

View our annual water quality reports

Questions

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the data or results, please contact us on 1300 853 811.

Water quality scam

We're aware that water contamination fliers are being distributed in the Craigieburn area. The notices claim the water is unsafe and recommends customers leave a water sample outside to be collected. The notice advises customers will then receive a free water filtration system. 

The notices do not carry any contact information and link to an American website with no Australian water quality information. Do not respond to the scam request. You can contact us on 1300 117 080 and report the scam to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Find out more on our scam warning for customers page.

View our scam warning page