Water filtration plants

We collect water samples at the North Richmond plant every 25 days and at the Cascades plant every 90 days.

We publish the North Richmond results monthly and the Cascades results quarterly.


Plant name	EPA licences and limits	EPA yearly summaries	EPA monthly summaries
Cascades	Licence limits	Report 2019-20 Report 2018-19 Report 2017-18 Report 2016-17 Report 2015-16	Report 2020-21 Report 2019-20 Report 2018-19 Report 2017-18 Report 2016-17
North Richmond	Licence limits	Report 2019-20 Report 2018-19 Report 2017-18 Report 2016-17 Report 2015-16	Report 2020-21 Report 2019-20 Report 2018-19 Report 2017-18 Report 2016-17

Sand filters at Cascades Water Filtration Plant

Sand filters are part of the process at Cascade Water Filtration Plant.

See also

Find answers

Why is your water white/milky/cloudy?

Cloudy water is caused by tiny air bubbles. The water is safe to drink.

From time-to-time, the water may appear 'cloudy' when you turn on your tap.

Cloudy water is just tiny air bubbles caused by water of different temperatures entering our system.

This is completely natural, particularly in the warmer months. Your water is safe to drink.

When you fill a glass, the water will clear from the bottom up and should be completely clear in a few seconds. If you're concerned, let the water rest for 30 seconds.

Please contact us if you're still concerned about your water quality.
Why don't you have any water?
There are a few common reasons why you might not have any water.
- Occasionally we turn the meter tap off to repair your private water pipes. A plumber may also turn it off while working on your property. Please check the meter tap is in the 'on' position (turn anti-clockwise like normal household taps).
- If you live in a property that shares a water meter, for example a block of units, someone may have turned off the water supply to the entire block to repair a fault. Contact your body corporate or strata management to investigate.
- We may be fixing a broken or damaged water main and need to turn off the water supply to fix it. Register for water outage alerts if you'd like us to notify you when we need to turn off the water supply to your property.
What can you do if you have no water and your meter tap is turned on?
Please check our water supply & service updates map to see if we're working near your property. A problem in a nearby street may affect your property even though you can't see it.

Check for outages

Call 13 20 90 (24 hours/7 days) to report a fault.

Check your meter tap if you have no water. The meter tap controls the water supply to your property - it's not a standard garden tap.
What does hard and soft water mean?
Water hardness refers to the mineral content (particularly calcium and magnesium carbonates) within the water.

Other things can also influence the effects of hardness. These include the type of minerals present, pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen and temperature. If these other factors combine, water can become corrosive if it's too soft.

If the water is too hard, it can deposit minerals. This can cause scaling or make it hard to create foam or lather from soap.

Although a single scale can't accurately describe the hardness of water, typically, water is considered:
- soft below 60 mg/L
- moderately hard between 60 - 120 mg/L
- hard between 120 - 200 mg/L
- very hard above 200 mg/L.
Sydney's water is 'soft'

On average, our water has a hardness level of about 50 mg/L, so it's considered soft. When water is soft, you don’t need to add as much detergent to get things clean. Also, less soap scum builds up.

Many European brand appliances, such as dishwashers, use a water hardness measurement known as 'millimoles' (shown as mml CaCO₃, or mmol/L).

To translate our measurement of mg/L to mmol/L, divide our level by 100.

For example, our water has a hardness level of about 50 mg/L. To convert this figure into millimoles, simply divide 50 by 100, which equals 0.50 mmol/L
Why is your water an unusual colour?
Changes to the colour of your drinking water can happen from time to time and are normally safe. They can happen because:
- the pipes on your property are old or need to be repaired. Call your local plumber to check the condition of your pipes
- your hot water service needs to be repaired or replaced. Check if the discoloured water only comes from your hot water taps. If it does, call your local plumber
- we're working on the water pipes in your area. Check our Water supply & service updates map to see if we're working near your property.
How can you fix discoloured water?
We recommend running the cold water tap for a few minutes to see if it returns to normal. If it's convenient to collect this water, you can use it on your garden.

If the water colour doesn’t improve after a few minutes, please contact us.

Our water is among the best in the world.

Printed on : 20/01/21 20:37

URL: http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/how-we-manage-sydney-s-water/wastewater-network/epa-reports/water-filtration-plants/index.htm

Water filtration plants

What can you do if you have no water and your meter tap is turned on?

Sydney's water is 'soft'