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Drinking Water Quality and Supply

Sudbury Drinking Water Quality

By OpenStats · Built from official Canadian sources

Regional estimate
See where Sudbury water comes from
A

Water quality grade

Excellent

Graded against Health Canada drinking water guidelines

Lead within guidelinepH in range
Hardness vs provincial average168 mg/L · prov. avg 182 mg/L
Lead vs provincial average0 μg/L · prov. avg 0.4 μg/L
Hardness
168 mg/L
Lead
0 μg/L
≤ 5 μg/L
pH
7.1
6.5–8.5 range
Hardness
168 mg/L
Hard
Lead
0 μg/L
Max: 5 μg/L
pH
7.1
6.5–8.5
Chlorine
0.5 mg/L
Max: 4 mg/L

From source to sink

Where Sudbury water comes from

Lakes, rivers, wells, and treatment plants behind the kitchen tap, in plain language. Chemistry grades above are a separate lab snapshot; this section is the route the water travels.

Open the full tap story

On the map

Where Sudbury water lives

Source waters and treatment plants pinned from published utility names. Open a pin below for the full OpenStreetMap view.

Map showing drinking-water locations for Sudbury

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins are approximate for orientation, not legal survey points.

Where it starts

Mixed surface and groundwater

Research confidence: high

Named source waters

  • Wanapitei River
  • Ramsey Lake
  • Groundwater well fields (Garson and other community systems)
  • Vermilion River (purchased Vale supply for one distribution area)

Treatment plants

  • Wanapitei Water Treatment Plant

    Conventional surface-water plant between Coniston and Wahnapitae; source Wanapitei River. Rated capacity 54,000 m³/day; supplies roughly 60% of the Sudbury Drinking Water System.

  • David Street Water Treatment Plant

    Ultrafiltration membrane plant drawing Ramsey Lake via an intake about 300 m offshore. Rated capacity 40,000 m³/day; supplies roughly 40% of the Sudbury DWS (south, west, and downtown). Heritage building with modern membrane process.

  • Garson Well Field and other community well systems

    Groundwater systems (Garson, Blezard Valley-Capreol, Falconbridge, Onaping/Levack, Dowling, etc.) serve outlying communities; one distribution area conveys purchased water from Vale’s Vermilion WTP.

How it reaches your street

Sudbury DWS interconnects Wanapitei, David Street, and Garson supplies through a large trunk/distribution network including the Ellis Reservoir. City materials cite roughly 1,800 km of watermains citywide across multiple systems.

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Compare filters · Water test kits · Hardness guide

Reading this page

Sudbury's most recent drinking water sample (2026-07-22) reports hardness of 168 mg/L, classified as hard, and pH 7.1, drawn from a surface water source and treated at Sudbury Water Treatment Plant. Lead measured 0 μg/L and fluoride 0.5 mg/L.

Free chlorine measured 0.5 mg/L in this sample. No E. coli was detected in this sample.

Sudbury's hardness of 168 mg/L is below the Ontario average of 182 mg/L across 51 tracked municipalities, with a provincial average pH of 7.5.

These readings summarize a single compliance snapshot, not a certification of the water reaching your tap. Test your own water periodically, especially on a private well, and consider a softener if hardness is classified hard or very hard.

How to use this page: read the headline metrics first, then where the water comes from (map and tap story), then the parameter table and source footer.

All monitored parameters meet Health Canada guidelines.

All health parameters meet Health Canada guidelines with comfortable pH, hardness, and turbidity.

Figure 1 · From source to sink

How drinking water reaches your tap

Compared to provincial average

Ontario · 51 cities in sample

Hardness (city vs Ontario avg)168 mg/L
pH (city vs Ontario avg)7.1
Lead (city vs Ontario avg)0 μg/L
Fluoride (city vs Ontario avg)0.5 mg/L

Provincial average: hardness 182 mg/L · pH 7.5 · lead 0.4 μg/L · fluoride 0.6 mg/L

Full parameters

ParameterReadingHealth Canada guidelineStatus
Hardness168 mg/LNo health limit (aesthetic)Compliant
pH7.16.5–8.5Compliant
Lead0 μg/L≤ 5 μg/LCompliant
Fluoride0.5 mg/L≤ 1.5 mg/LCompliant
Chlorine (free)0.5 mg/L≤ 4 mg/LCompliant
Turbidity0.9 NTU≤ 1 NTU (typical target)Compliant
Alberta water licences

WaterRegister.ca

On a private well or holding an Alberta water allocation licence? Water Register maps EPA licence records, transfer comparables, and watershed context across the province.

Explore WaterRegister.ca →

Drinking water filters and test kits

Pitcher and under-sink filters, plus hardness strips and TDS meters for tap checks.

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Source · ECCC / municipal open data (seed). Last updated 2026-07-22. Refreshed on the site's automated schedule.