Water quality
How the City tests Cranbrook's drinking water, from the reservoirs to your tap.
Public Works utility staff take water samples across the system and send them to an independent lab. Testing follows daily, weekly, monthly and yearly schedules.
| How often | What’s tested |
|---|---|
| Every day | Certified operators check turbidity, pH, temperature, conductivity, fluoride, and free and total chlorine at sites across the system and at the Phillips Reservoir disinfection facility. |
| Every week | Samples go to an independent lab to confirm the water is free of bacteria. |
| Monthly in summer, quarterly in winter | Disinfection by-products (trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids) and organic carbon, sampled near the start, middle and end of the system. |
| Every year | Full chemistry at Gold Creek Reservoir, Phillips Reservoir, the Gold and Joseph Creek diversion, the City’s deep wells and two sites in the system, checked against the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. |
See the results in the water quality reports.
Where our water comes from
Cranbrook’s water comes from two watersheds southeast of the city, Joseph Creek and Gold Creek. Water from both creeks is diverted into Phillips Reservoir, about 4.5 km southeast of the city: the City’s only storage, built in 1974 with an earth-fill dam on Joseph Creek. It holds about 2.3 billion litres, and lets particles settle before the water is treated.
- Joseph Creek licence 198 litres a second
- Gold Creek licence 425 litres a second
- Phillips Reservoir about 2.3 billion litres
How it’s treated
- Settled water from the reservoir is measured and checked for cloudiness (turbidity).
- Fluoride is added.
- Chlorine is added, with about 30 minutes of contact time before the water reaches the first homes.
- The treated water is checked for chlorine, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and temperature before it enters the pipes.
Treatment removes or kills viruses and Giardia, and treated water has no detectable E. coli or coliform bacteria. The system doesn’t yet meet the target for Cryptosporidium or have a second treatment barrier, so Council has approved a new ultraviolet (UV) disinfection facility, now being designed.
Hard water
Cranbrook’s water carries calcium and magnesium from the rock it flows through. Hard water has no known health effects, but it makes soap lather less and leaves scale on taps and in appliances. Using a little more dishwasher or laundry detergent usually helps. If you install a softener, connect it so your drinking water isn’t softened, and note that salt-based softeners add sodium.
Taste, smell and colour
| What you notice | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudy or milky | Tiny air bubbles, mostly in cold weather | Let it stand and the air clears. It’s safe. |
| Yellow or rusty | Sediment stirred up by watermain work or hydrant flushing | Run a cold tap for 10 to 20 minutes and don’t do laundry until it clears. If it doesn’t clear, call 311. |
| Earthy or musty, in the fall | Seasonal “turnover” in the reservoir | Nothing; it’s safe and settles as the season goes on. |
| Musty smell at one tap | The drain, not the water | Clean the drain. |
| Chlorine taste | Disinfection, sometimes increased during spring runoff | Keep a jug of water in the fridge overnight. |
| Stale taste | Water sitting in the pipes | Run the cold tap briefly. |
| Pink ring in sinks or toilets | Common airborne bacteria in damp places, not the water supply | Clean regularly; it isn’t harmful. |
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Based on this page on cranbrook.ca, rewritten in plain language. Fees, dates and rules can change, so confirm with the City before you rely on them.