Drinking Water Consumer Information
Water Quality Monitoring Information
The Drinking Water Protection Act and its Regulation require water suppliers to monitor water quality for parameters identified in the Regulation or as specified by a Drinking Water Officer. The Act also requires water suppliers to make monitoring information available to the public. This information may be in the annual report for your system or you can contact your water supplier any time for complete and timely water sampling results.
Water standards are set out in Schedule A and Schedule B of the regulation and describe quality parameters and frequency for sampling. Health Protection Services facilitates the sampling, transporting, and laboratory analyzing for small water supply systems. The size of a small water system is generally one that serves less than 500 people per day. Sample results are collected and stored electronically by Interior Health.
Large water supply systems, those that serve more than 500 people per day, are self-monitoring, and keep their own water quality data. Large systems report their sampling results regularly to Interior Health, but only audit sample data taken by Health Protection staff are stored electronically in our database.
Bacteriological and chemical sample results stored in our database are now being posted on this website here . Remember, large water systems store the majority of their sampling results. We recommend contacting your water supplier for current results, interpretation of these results and accuracy of the data.
If you have questions about water quality monitoring data, please contact your water supplier, your local Environmental Health Office or Drinking Water Officer.
For more information, check the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines on the Health Canada website.
Water Quality Notification Remains a Priority in Interior Health
Water suppliers are required by the BC Drinking Water Protection Act to ensure that customers receive safe drinking water. Interior Health is responsible to make sure suppliers fulfill this obligation. We are working hard with water suppliers to make sure supply systems consistently meet water quality expectations. 
Countdown to Safer Drinking Water
What Consumers should do
In areas where drinking water quality does not meet national safety guidelines, consumers are advised by their supplier through Water Quality Advisories or Boil Water Notices. These notices provide residents with instructions on how treat their water or seek alternative sources.
Notification listings and more information is posted on our Public Notifications of Water Quality
Consumers should find out who supplies the water for their home, work and recreational areas, and find out how their supplier posts or notifies the public when there's a problem with their water.
People with severe immunocompromised conditions such as AIDS, or people receiving chemotherapies, should not drink surface water that has not been filtered.
When a water quality advisory is in place, people with weakened immune systems such as the elderly, young children, those with diabetes, kidney problems or other chronic disease should consider boiling their water or using a different source of water.
If a boil water notice is issued for a service area (and until it is lifted), everyone should consider either using a different source of water or boiling their tap water for at least one minute.
The United Nations World Water Day is observed on March 22, and this year's theme is Coping with Water Scarcity.
Although the United Nations reports that Canada has little or no water scarcity, much of the water in the BC Interior comes from surface water. Disease-causing viruses, bacteria and parasites can enter surface water through recreational, industrial, agricultural and natural processes, and when consumed they can cause serious long lasting illness or death.
Interior Health Drinking Water links:
