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.

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 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 Department of Health 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 3 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 byproduct 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 percentile.

We communicate these results in our Annual Water Quality Report.

View our annual water quality reports

Monitoring per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Melbourne Water proactively tests for PFAS in our drinking water supply, as our wholesale water supplier. This ensures you receive high quality, safe and secure drinking water throughout our service area. 

Independent laboratory testing ensures water samples meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines standards, and we comply with the Victorian Safe Drinking Water Act 2003. 

We have not detected concentrations of PFAS*, including PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFHxS (Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid), through Melbourne Water’s testing program.

*The laboratory can measure PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS down to 0.002 micrograms per litre.

Current Australian Drinking Water Guidelines health-based guideline values are:

  • Less than 0.56 micrograms per litre for PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
  • Less than 0.07 micrograms per litre for the sum of PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFHxS (Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid) combined. 

You can find out more about PFAS testing and results on Melbourne Water's website. 

What are PFAS?

PFAS are a group of human-made chemical substances that are found in many products widely used in industry and homes. Known as ‘forever chemicals’, they’ve been around since the mid-1900s and are of concern because they can stay in both the environment and humans for a long time. 

PFAS can be found in firefighting foams, pesticides, fertilisers, carpet, paint, make-up, sunscreen, water-resistant clothing, cleaning products and non-stick cookware.

PFAS chemicals are not added to drinking water but are often found in very small amounts in groundwater, surface water and soils worldwide. 

The Federal Government has banned anyone from producing or importing some PFAS substances by July 2025.

Protecting water supplies against PFAS

In Australia, the Australian Government determines the safe amount of PFAS in our water

The government does this through the Independent National Health and Medical Research Council. The Council also manage the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, which we follow.

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines set strict health-based guideline values for numerous potential contaminants, including PFAS. 

The thorough scientific process for setting the guidelines maintains high quality drinking water for all Australians – Australia has some of the highest quality drinking water worldwide.

Drinking water is sourced from a mix of protected and open catchments and goes through multiple barrier treatment processes.

More PFAS information

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