Tap water is safe to drink

You don’t need to boil it

Tap water in Peel is safe – you don’t need to boil it.

The Ministry of the Environment has established the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards to protect your health. These standards help ensure your water is free from:

• Disease-causing organisms.
• Harmful amounts of toxic chemicals.
• Radioactive materials.

For more information, access Peel’s Water Quality Reports.

Lead

Lead pipes were common in homes built before 1960.

Through our Community Lead Testing Program Peel Region tests drinking water in homes and municipal hydrants twice a year in Bolton, south Caledon, Brampton, and Mississauga.

These test results consistently meet Ontario drinking water quality standards and Health Canada guidelines.

Fluoride

Peel Region adds fluoride to the South Peel drinking water supply.

South Peel includes Brampton, Mississauga, and southern parts of Caledon including Bolton and Mayfield West. The amount of fluoride in drinking water is regulated by the province. It’s maintained at the best level to prevent tooth decay.

We don’t add fluoride to the water in the Inglewood, Palgrave, Caledon East, Caledon Village, Alton, or Cheltenham areas. In these areas, any fluoride found in the water occurs naturally.

Get more details about fluoride in tap water.

Earthy or musty-smelling tap water

Lake Ontario changes during the warmer months. This can cause an earthy or musty smell in your tap water during the summer. It might smell unpleasant, but it isn’t harmful to your health.

Cloudy or milky tap water

Your tap water may sometimes look cloudy or milky.

Tiny bubbles of air in the water cause the cloudiness. Those bubbles may also cause the water to appear white or foamy, like water in a rushing stream or a soda drink. This will clear if you leave the water to stand for a few minutes. It isn’t harmful to your health.

Taste

If you don’t like the taste or smell of Peel’s tap water, these low-cost options might help:

• Keep a jug of water in your fridge: you may find chilled water more enjoyable.
• Add slices of lemon, lime, or orange to enhance the flavour of your water.
• Try a carbon filter pitcher or install a faucet filter. Change filters regularly to avoid bacterial growth.
• Chlorine is necessary for disinfecting drinking water. If you don’t like the taste of chlorine, stir your water quickly. This speeds up the release of chlorine from the water to the air. You can also keep a jug of water in your fridge to give the chlorine time to evaporate.

Asbestos in tap water

Health Canada and the World Health Organization maintain that there’s no convincing evidence in research that asbestos in drinking water poses risk or is harmful to human health.

There is no limit or threshold for asbestos in drinking water in Canada. Exposure risk to airborne asbestos from tap water (where present) is extremely low.

Based on national and international research, Peel is not currently testing drinking water for asbestos.

The conventional water treatment process can effectively remove asbestos fibre from finished (treated) water directed to distribution system and customers.

The use of asbestos-cement (A-C) pipes has been largely discontinued since the 1970’s. Peel is actively replacing the minimal (0.19%) amount of A-C pipe in the overall 4,758 km watermain distribution system.

Contact us

If you have questions or concerns about your tap water, please call Water Quality at 905-791-7800, ext. 4685 or email us.