What To Expect From Your

Drinking Water

The sources of drinking water (both tap and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, springs and wells. As water travels over land surfaces or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and in some cases radioactive contaminants and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or human activity.Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

- microbial contaminants such as viruses and bacteria;
- inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals which can be naturally occurring or result from storm water runoff;
- organic chemical contaminants including pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic and volatile organic chemicals which are by-products of industrial processes and can also come from gas stations, storm water runoff and septic systems;
- radioactive contaminants which can be naturally occurring or a result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

To ensure that tap water is safe to drink, Health Canada prescribes guidelines which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by a public utility. In our province, the Nova Scotia Environment and Labour has responsibility for regulating the safety of drinking water and the enforcement of the the Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines (view summary and supporting documents).

Although the bottled water industry is less regulated than municipal drinking water, Canada does have restrictions on labelling bottled water and has minimal quality requirements covered by the Food and Drug Act.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least minor amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants, however, does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno compromised persons should seek advice from their health care providers about drinking water.