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City West Water

Water quality

We work hard to provide the best quality water to our customers.

We supply drinking water to customers throughout Melbourne’s CBD and inner and western suburbs. We are subject to strict government regulation and close scrutiny in our management of water quality.

Our water supply comes from three large reservoirs – Silvan, Greenvale and Sugarloaf – that form a part of Melbourne’s overall, well established catchment and reservoir system. The result is a safe, clean and high quality drinking water supply that continues to meet the high standard for which Melbourne has been long renowned.

City West Water technician testing water samples.

Water quality monitoring

In order to verify the high quality of the water supply, we arrange independent, day-to-day water sampling and testing at the supply points to some 460 properties throughout our licence area.

Each year, over 3,000 microbiological and 800 physical/chemical samples are collected and tested on our behalf by an independent, specialised laboratory, accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities.

Reporting

Details of the tests undertaken, together with actual test results, are presented in our Annual Drinking Water Quality Report, which is published in mid-October. Reference to this document shows that the water quality more than meets required standards, as well as health related Australian drinking water quality guidelines.

View our current Water Quality Report for more information, including more details on common water quality concerns.

Water quality FAQs

Occasionally drinking water from the tap will have a chlorine-like or an earthy/musty taste or odour. 

We keep chlorine dosing levels to a minimum to reduce its impact on the water's taste. However, fluctuations in chlorine levels can occur from time to time, largely due to changes in water demands and hence flow rates. 

To reduce the chlorine taste in your drinking water, allow it to stand in an open container for a couple of hours.

Earthy-musty taste/odours can occur in areas where water flows are slower due to reduced consumption.

If you have an earthy/musty taste or odour please contact us by phone on 132 642, to investigate as the supply water main may need to be flushed to remove the taste/odour from the water.

Clothes in the washing machine may be stained by sediments in water mains or rust from older, internal galvanised iron pipes.

Please contact us on 132 642, so we can investigate . We may need to arrange for the local water main to be flushed. 

If the staining is caused by rust from internal pipes, you can manage the problem by  flushing particular internal taps or seek advice from a plumber.  

Fittings such as sinks and shower bases can be stained blue or brown by water. This is generally a reflection of the type of internal plumbing material present (for example, copper pipes or galvanised iron). 

We do not conduct door-to-door selling. From time to time we receive calls from customers concerned about water testing information provided to them by people offering water quality tests and selling water filters. These individuals do not represent or act on behalf of City West Water and we do not endorse these companies or their products.

City West Water representatives wear a uniform and are always able to produce identification. Customers can call City West Water on 132 642 to confirm the identification of our representatives.
 

Some of our customers choose to use water filters. We believe that there is no proven requirement for using domestic water filters in our area, due to the high level of compliance with water quality standards and Australian drinking water quality guidelines.

In many cases, individual filter units have little effect on improving the quality of a household’s water supply. For instance, it may be claimed that filters remove substances that, in fact, are not even present to any significant degree in our water supply.

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