Metro Vancouver has released its Quality Control Annual Report for 2012, and the region’s tap water has met all provincial and national quality guidelines.

Vancouver’s waterfront. Photo: Ajith Rajeswari

“The regional district’s watershed management program and the board’s long-standing policy to keep the general public out of the watersheds are the first of multiple barriers which ensure we can deliver mountain fresh, high-quality water to half of British Columbia’s population,” said board chair Greg Moore in a release. “Water treatment and maintenance of water quality in the transmission system provide additional barriers for the assurance of water quality.”

Meeting all standards did not come without challenges. A major rainstorm late last year increased turbidity in lakes in the Seymour Watershed, but the local Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant effectively treated the water and provided clean supplies to area residents. Regional turbidity levels easily met the requirements of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.

In 2013, Metro Vancouver will spend approximately $230 million on water-related costs, with average households in the region paying the city about $148 per year. Residents of municipalities supplied by Metro that fall outside of the regional boundaries tend to pay a little bit more.

“Drinking water and other regional services provided by Metro Vancouver help ensure our families and communities remain healthy,” said Mayor Darrell Mussatto, who chairs Metro Vancouver’s utilities committee. “They also support our growing population and the businesses needed for a robust economy.”

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