Making Sure Our Water Is Safe To Drink

Coffs Harbour Water begins the process of creating the highest quality drinking water for our customers long before the water gets to your house.

Step 1 - Catchment and Raw Water Management

Protecting the quality of the raw water river sources by controlling land use in the areas upstream of the drinking water pump stations and carefully managing the raw water stored in our off stream storage Dams is a vital start to a top quality drinking water supply.

Initial Water Quality Protection

Step 2 - The Water Treatment Plant
The Karangi Water Treatment Plant assists Coffs Harbour Water to minimise any risk of contamination of the local water supply by blue/green algae and pathogen infection, and ensures that Australian Drinking Water Guidelines continue to be met. It also reduces problems created by iron and manganese in the water supply, which has resulted in Council having to carry out an extensive water mains flushing program in the past.

Karangi Water Treatment Plant

Step 3 - Water Mains Flushing and Reservoir Cleaning
Having clean water is important, but just as important is having clean pipes to deliver the clean water through to residents. You wouldn't wear clean socks with dirty shoes, and still expect the socks to be clean! For this reason, Coffs Harbour Water provides a regular water mains flushing program to protect the quality of our drinking water.

Water Mains Flushing

Reservoir Cleaning

Step 4 - Water Quality Testing
Despite managing and treating our water sources and water distribution network so that the Coffs Harbour Water Supply meets health and safety standards, Coffs Harbour Water also regularly tests the quality of our drinking water to ensure these health and standards are being met.

Drinking Water Quality Testing

Step 5 - Community Help to Protect Our Drinking Water
Coffs Harbour Water can only do so much to ensure Coffs Harbour City Council residents have access to top quality drinking water. There are risks to our drinking water quality which are out of our hands and under the control of residents. You play a part in protecting your own water supply.

One of the main risks to our drinking water supply which is controlled by residents is backflow of contaminated water back into the water supply network.

Backflow Protection

Do you have water quality problems?
If you have a dirty water problem check to see whether a regular water flushing program is underway by looking in the paper or listening to the radio.  If there's no program underway, try running a tap near the front of the property (closest to mains) for a couple of minutes to see if it clears. If it doesn't clear, call Coffs Harbour Water's 24-hour service on (02) 6648 4000.

More Information

Common Water Quality Questions