Is Australian Tap Water Safe to Drink?
Providing drinkable tap water across Australia is an ongoing, ever-changing challenge. Our state water utilities must transport large amounts of treated, uncontaminated water across large distances, often through aging pipes and in high temperatures.
To overcome these challenges, water policies and regulations have been forced to make certain compromises. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) set out the rules and standards for treating and testing water quality across the country, but the acceptable margin for certain chemical concentrations is more generous than standards set by other countries.
Australia’s water treatment process protects us from waterborne pathogens and diseases, but the methods our water utilities use have certain drawbacks. Australian water may not make you sick, but it is important to understand exactly what is coming out of your tap in order to give your family the safest, best quality tap water Australia has to offer.
Is there Chlorine in tap water in Australia?
Chlorine is the most commonly used water treatment chemical in the world. Its combination of effectiveness and affordability make it a popular choice for disinfecting any water source people regularly interact with, from backyard swimming pools to municipal water supplies.
Water utilities across Australia (and several other countries) use chlorine to kill microorganisms and bacteria that cause diseases. The ADWG outlines acceptable concentrations of several chemicals in Australian tap water to ensure they do not reach harmful levels. However, these guidelines are significantly more generous than the standards used in other countries. Chlorine specifically is permitted to be present in higher concentrations than the recommended dosage for disinfecting a backyard pool.
While chlorine will be present in the tap water of most urban homes, regional communities that draw their water from wells, bores, or other environmental sources may have different treatment methods. Chlorine is a simple solution for large-scale supply, but a smaller community may use treatments like ultraviolet disinfection or distillation/boiling to keep their tap water safe.
Chlorine may serve an important purpose in protecting us from waterborne pathogens and diseases, but when it comes to measuring how much chlorine in tap water Australia permits levels that are quite shocking.
What chemicals are in Australian tap water?
Chlorine is just one of the chemicals that can enter your tap water. Broadly speaking, these chemicals can be divided into three categories: treatment chemicals, environmental/incidental chemicals, and disinfection by-products.
Treatment Chemicals
Treatment chemicals are compounds deliberately added to tap water to help provide bacterially safe water to homes across the country. These particles can be disinfectants to kill bacteria, coagulants that make smaller impurities easier to remove, or other substances added in line with government health and water policies.
Common treatment chemicals include:
- Chlorine
- Chlorine dioxide
- Chlorine gas
- Chloramine
- Fluoride
- Aluminium sulfate
Incidental Chemicals
Environmental and incidental chemicals are the particles that are not added to the water deliberately but can be difficult to remove, either because they are unaffected by the treatment process or because they enter the water later in its journey to your home. These impurities can come from the original source of the water, like minerals and metals from groundwater, or from the water pipes themselves.
Environmental chemicals can include:
- Pesticides/insecticides
- Herbicides
- Bromine
- Calcium carbonate
- Rust
- Copper
- Lead
- Silt
- Sediment
Disinfection By-products
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are the most complex of the three categories. While chemicals like chlorine are highly effective for neutralising bacteria, they achieve this through a chemical reaction that often produces by-products.
Because these compounds enter the water after the treatment process is complete, they are typically not filtered out before the water arrives at your home. This can be a concern, as several chlorine DBPs have been linked to serious health issues like liver damage, reproductive problems, and even cancer.
Chlorine and chloramine’s disinfection by-products include:
- Trihalomethanes
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Chloroform
- Bromoform
Each state has its own water treatment practices and draws its water from different sources, so it can be difficult to predict exactly what chemicals are in tap water Australia-wide. A free in-home water consultation is a great way to gain a better understanding of exactly what is in your water – and how you can control what you are putting into your body.
When did fluoride get added to water in Australia?
The process of water fluoridation (adding fluoride to public water supplies) began in America in 1945, with Australia joining several other countries in adopting the practice shortly after. Australian governments rolled out water fluoridation over several decades, beginning in 1953 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania.
Major cities began adding fluoride to tap water in the 1960s and 70s. While the substance does occur naturally and can enter the water supply as an environmental chemical, more than 70% of Australia’s population drinks water that has been artificially fluoridated.
Water fluoridation has been a controversial topic in Australia for more than 50 years. Concerns about its health impacts have led to several studies around the world, with some linking fluoride to neurological, skeletal, and reproductive issues. While the general scientific consensus is that Australia’s fluoridation regulations set a safe limit on fluoride levels, some are still concerned about how much fluoride is in tap water Australia wide and whether safety can be guaranteed when there are so many variables in regard to dosage and conditions.
Is Australian tap water safe to drink compared to other countries?
Australia is one of several countries lucky enough to have drinkable water for the vast majority of its population. State water utilities provide treatments that neutralise waterborne pathogens and bacteria. We may have lower rainfall than many other countries, but our communities supplement their water reservoirs with secondary sources like groundwater bores and desalination plants.
However, while drinking tap water in Australia will not make you sick, we definitely do not have the best water in the world. The ADWG allows significantly higher concentrations of several chemicals known to be carcinogenic to humans, including trihalomethanes and PFOS.
PFAS, PFOS, PFOA, and other compounds classified as “forever chemicals” have been a growing concern around the world over the last few decades. Several countries have updated their health and water guidelines in light of new data suggesting that there is no safe minimum for these compounds, stating that any exposure at all can increase the risk of serious health consequences.
The ADWG’s regulations for forever chemicals have been under fire for allowing concentrations 140 times higher than the recommended maximum in America. Trihalomethanes, another group of compounds that includes known carcinogens and is significantly more common in tap water, are permitted at three times the absolute maximum in other countries.
Australia’s tap water is drinkable and complies with government quality standards, but those standards leave room for improvement.
How to make your Australian tap water as safe as possible
In a time of troubling headlines about PFAS and carcinogens, knowing exactly what is coming out of your tap brings confidence and peace of mind. A high-quality whole home water filtration system from Complete Home Filtration lets you filter out 98.5% of treatment chemicals and DBPs.
Our systems have dedicated sediment, softening, and heavy metal filters to deal with heavy metals and environmental chemicals that enter your water after the treatment process. We also have custom configurations for different treatment chemicals, customising our high-grade carbon cartridges for chlorine and chloramine so that you are protected from the specific DBPs and compounds that are in your tap water.
For the best Australian tap water quality, we also offer under sink reverse osmosis water purifiers. While our whole-home systems provide an excellent level of filtration down to one micron, the RO system goes further and purifies down to 0.0005 microns. This makes it the best option for dealing with dissolved impurities like fluoride, pharmaceuticals, and sodium.
To find out more about our options or book a free in-home consultation to understand your own tap water better, fill out our contact form below or call 1300 693 458.
