Town water across Australia is treated and monitored against national guidelines, but not every glass tastes or behaves the same. Here’s how drinking water is regulated, what people most often notice, and the kind of filter that helps with each.
Who sets the standards
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines are published by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). They set health-based values for contaminants, aesthetic values for things like taste and hardness, and a framework for managing water safely from catchment to tap.
The Guidelines aren’t legally enforceable on their own. Each state and territory decides how to apply them, usually through its health department or drinking water regulator.
Who treats your water
Town water is treated and delivered by water utilities, such as Sydney Water, SA Water and Water Corporation in Western Australia, and in many regional areas by the local council. Utilities test water throughout their networks and publish the results, but their responsibility generally ends at your water meter.
Chlorine and chloramine
Utilities disinfect water so it stays safe in the pipes. Most use chlorine. Some use chloramine, which is chlorine combined with a small amount of ammonia, in parts of their networks because it lasts longer in long pipelines. Parts of South Australia and South East Queensland are examples.
Both are safe at the levels used, but many people notice the taste or smell. Carbon filtration is very effective at reducing chlorine. Chloramine is more stable and needs longer contact time or specialised carbon, so tell us if your area uses it.
What helps: a carbon block stage in a whole house, under sink or benchtop system, and a shower filter for the bathroom.
Fluoride
Most Australians have fluoridated water. NHMRC supports fluoridation at 0.6 to 1.1 mg/L to help reduce tooth decay. Standard sediment and carbon filters don’t meaningfully reduce fluoride.
What helps: reverse osmosis is the practical way to reduce fluoride in drinking water. In our range, that’s the under sink reverse osmosis system.
Hardness and scale
Hardness comes from dissolved calcium and magnesium. The Guidelines treat it as an aesthetic issue rather than a health one, but hard water leaves white scale on kettles, taps and shower screens and builds up in hot water systems and appliances.
It varies around the country. Sydney Water describes its supply as soft, while Adelaide and Perth tend to have harder water, and in Perth it varies from suburb to suburb. Homes on bore water, and towns that rely on groundwater, are more likely to have hard water.
What helps: sediment and carbon filters don’t remove hardness. Reverse osmosis reduces it in drinking water. Dealing with scale throughout the house takes a dedicated softening or conditioning system, so ask us about the options.
Sediment and older pipes
Water can pick up sand, silt and rust from the mains, especially after repairs, and from corroded pipes in older homes. If discolouration keeps happening, contact your utility.
What helps: a whole house system with a sediment stage traps particles before they reach your taps, hot water system and appliances.
Lead from older plumbing
Small amounts of lead can dissolve from some older brass taps and fittings, particularly when water has been sitting in the pipes. Australian health guidance recommends running cold drinking taps for at least 10 seconds first thing in the morning, and for at least 2 minutes after more than 48 hours away. Use cold water for drinking and cooking; the flushed water can go on the garden.
National Construction Code rules are phasing in lead-free brass and bronze plumbing products, but many existing homes still have older fittings.
What helps: an under sink reverse osmosis system, which is designed to reduce heavy metals in drinking water.
PFAS
PFAS are a group of very persistent chemicals found in some areas, most often near sites where firefighting foams were used. NHMRC updated its PFAS guideline values in 2025, and many utilities publish PFAS results. Our guide to PFAS in drinking water explains more.
What helps: our whole house PFAS filter system, with a dedicated PFAS stage, or an under sink reverse osmosis system for drinking water.
Rainwater tanks
Tank water isn’t treated by a utility. Droppings, leaves and dust on the roof can wash into the tank and carry bacteria. Keep gutters clean, screen inlets and overflows, and fit a first-flush diverter so the first, dirtiest rain after a dry spell bypasses the tank.
What helps: sediment and carbon filtration, then UV disinfection to inactivate bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Pre-filtration matters because UV works best on clear water, and our rainwater tank system with UV is designed this way.
Bore water
Bore water varies enormously between properties and can contain iron, manganese, salts, nitrate, hydrogen sulfide or microorganisms. Health authorities recommend having it tested for microbiological and chemical quality at a NATA-accredited laboratory before drinking it.
What helps: treatment depends on your results. Our guide on how to test your water at home explains where to start.