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Drinking Water Quality Guidelines

The following guidelines provided are Canadian, American, and the guidelines set forth by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Click on each underlined contaminant for a brief description and more information. Most information on contaminants has been adapted from the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality Sixth Edition, 1996.

Selection of Maximum Limits Permissible in Drinking Water

 

The following table is a brief selection of some contaminants and physical conditions that may be present in drinking water. A dash (-) indicates that there is no information available regarding possible limits.

Units are in milligrams per liter (mg/L) unless otherwise noted. Milligrams per liter are equivalent to parts per million.

Contaminant
Canadian Limits* (mg/L)
US Limits ** (mg/L)
WHO Limits *** (mg/L)
0.1
0.05 - 0.2
no limit listed
0.006
0.006
0.018
0.010
0.010
0.01
-
7 million fibers per liter
no limit listed
1.00
2
0.7
Beryllium
no limit listed
0.004
no limit listed
5.00
no limit listed
0.5
0.01
0.010
0.010
0.005
0.005
0.003
200
-
-
3.0
-
3
less than 251
-
no limit listed
-
1.0
-
0.050
0.01
0.05
Cobalt
no limit listed
-
-
Total Coliforms (including fecal coliform & E. coli)
-
1.0
1.3
2
no limit listed
0
-
less than 16 TCU^
-
-
0.2
0.2
0.07
0.0015
-
0.001
1.5
4.0
1.5
no limit listed
0
-
Gold
no limit listed
-
-
75 - 150 mg/L
-
no limit listed
Heterotrophic plate count
no limit listed
500 bacterial colonies/ml
-
0.300
0.3
no limit listed
Lanthanum
no limit listed
-
-
0.010
0
0.001
Legionella
no limit listed
0
-
50.0
-
-
0.050
0.03
0.4
0.001
0.002
0.001
0.25
-
0.07
no limit listed
-
0.020
45
10
-
-
1
-
inoffensive
-
-
6.5 - 8.5
6.5 - 8.5
no limit listed
Phosphorus
0.010
-
-
Potassium
no limit listed
-
-
Scandium
no limit listed
-
-
0.01
0.05
0.01
Silicon
no limit listed
-
-
0.050
0.10
no limit listed
200
no limit listed
no limit listed
Strontium
no limit listed
-
-
500
-
500
-
-
-
Thallium
-
0.002
-
Titanium
no limit listed
-
-
less than 500
-
no limit listed
Trichloroethylene (TCE)
0.005
-
-
0.1
0.1
1
Tungsten
no limit listed
-
-
0.3/1.0/0.1 NTU^^^
5 NTU
-
0.02
-
0.009
Vanadium
no limit listed
no limit listed
-
no limit listed
0
-
5.00
5
no limit listed
This table represents only a selection of contaminants that are posted in the guidelines. A full list is available via the websites below.

* As per Canadian or BC Health Act Safe Drinking Water Regulation BC Reg 230/92, & Sch 120, 2001. Task force of the Canadian Council or Resource and Environment Ministers Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, 1996. See their website for more information.
** As per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Standards. See their website for more information.
*** As per the WHO (1998) Guidelines for drinking water quality, 2nd edition. Geneva, World Health Organization. See their website for more information.
^ TCU = true colour unit
^^ Individual limits for some of the individual trihalomethanes & haloacetic acids:

  • Trihalomethanes: bromodichloromethane (zero); bromoform (zero); dibromochloromethane (0.06 mg/L). Chloroform is regulated with this group but has no MCLG.
  • Haloacetic acids: dichloroacetic acid (zero); trichloroacetic acid (0.3 mg/L). Monochloroacetic acid, bromoacetic acid, and dibromoacetic acid are regulated with this group but have no limits.

^^^ NTU = nephelometric turbidity unit. Based on conventional treatment/slow sand or diatomaceous earth filtration/membrane filtration.

Selection of Maximum Limits Permissible in Drinking Water of Pesticides

 

The following table is a brief selection of some pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides that may be present in drinking water. A dash (-) indicates that there is no information available regarding possible limits.

Units are in milligrams per liter (mg/L) unless otherwise noted. Milligrams per liter are equivalent to parts per million.

Contaminant
Canadian Limits* (mg/L)
US Limits ** (mg/L)
WHO Limits *** (mg/L)
aldicarb + metabolites
0.009
-
-
aldrin + dieldrin
0.0007
-
0.0003
atrazine + metabolites
0.005
0.005
-
azinphos-methyl
0.02
-
-
bendiocarb
0.04
-
-
bromixynil
0.005
-
-
carbaryl
0.09
-
-
carbofuran
0.09
0.04
0.007
chlorpyrifos
0.09
-
0.030
cyanazine
0.01
-
-
diazinon
0.02
-
-
dicamba
0.12
-
-
diclofop-methyl
0.009
-
-
dimethoate
0.02
-
0.006
dinoseb
0.01
0.007
-
diquat
0.07
0.02
0.006
diuron
0.15
-
-
glyphosate
0.28
0.7
0.005
malathion
0.19
-
0.0009
methoxychlor
0.9
0.4
0.020
metolachlor
0.05
-
-
metribuzin
0.08
-
-
paraquat (as dichloride)
0.01
-
-
parathion
0.05
-
0.010
phorate
0.002
-
-
picloram
0.19
0.5
-
simazine
0.01
0.004
-
terbufos
0.001
-
-
trifluralin
0.045
-
-

This table represents only a selection of contaminants that are posted in the guidelines. A full list is available via the websites below.

* As per Canadian or BC Health Act Safe Drinking Water Regulation BC Reg 230/92, & Sch 120, 2001. Task force of the Canadian Council or Resource and Environment Ministers Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, 1996. See their website for more information.

** As per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Standards. See their website for more information.

*** As per the WHO (1998) Guidelines for drinking water quality, 2nd edition. Geneva, World Health Organization. See their website for more information.

 

Water Testing & Sampling

(from the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, Sixth Edition)

The frequency of sampling water depends on the quality of the source water, the number of water sources, the past frequency of unsatisfactory samples, the adequacy of treatment and the capacity of the treatment plant, the size and complexity of the distribution system, the practice of disinfection and the size of the population serviced. The following is offered as a guide:

Population Served
Number of Samples per Month
up to 5000
4
5000 to 90000
1 per 1000 population
more than 90000
90 + (1 per 10000 population)
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