Testing Guidelines

To view water quality test results please go to our WaterSmart Communities and follow the links.

According to the provincial Drinking Water Protection Act, water supply systems must provide potable water to the users of their water system, and meet any additional requirements established by the regulations or by their operating permit.  In British Columbia, drinking water systems are governed under the provincial Drinking Water Protection Regulation.  The regulation prescribes potable water quality standards, reporting standards, and the frequency of monitoring samples for water supply systems. 

Environmental Health Officers from Island Health work with water system operators, municipal governments, public health engineers and others to inspect and monitor community drinking water on a regular basis.  Water samples from the distribution system (tap water) are collected weekly from the RDN Water Service Areas in Nanoose Bay, Surfside, French Creek, Melrose Terrace, San Pareil, River's Edge, Decourcey, Westurne Heights, and Whiskey Creek. Duplicate sampling occurs at each site. Samples are analyzed separately at laboratories of the Ministry of Health and the Regional District of Nanaimo. To guard against risks to human health, the presence of coliforms and Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) are analyzed in each sample. Other parameters which can affect the safety and/or taste of drinking water are also tested weekly, including: temperature, pH, residual chlorine, total dissolved solids, salinity and conductivity. 

In addition, annual testing is conducted on the raw well water for a much broader range of physical and chemical parameters to ensure the safety of the drinking water supply for continual long-term use.  The RDN compares all water quality test results to the federal Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines.  For the answers to some frequently-asked questions about water quality in the RDN's Water Service Areas, please visit our FAQ's - Water Quality webpage.