Chilliwack's Drinking Water

The City of Chilliwack’s drinking water is obtained from the Sardis-Vedder Aquifer and the Marble Hill Aquifer.

The City monitors the quality of the untreated water from these sources through an extensive water sampling and monitoring program. Details and results of the source water monitoring program can be found in the water quality section.

Raw water quality meets the guidelines and is protected by the City’s Groundwater Protection Plan which is enforced through the City’s Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000. Within the Groundwater Protection Area activities which pose a risk of groundwater contamination are restricted and development is required to take specified measures to protect the aquifer.

The source water monitoring results show that the City’s source water does not require treatment to make it safe to drink. Sodium hypochlorite is added to the water at the production well, to protect the drinking water from microbial contamination as it travels through the distribution system. The target level for chlorine residual at the tap is 0.2mg/L , minimum. This is a low residual level which is enough to provide residual protection throughout the water system, yet low enough to keep taste and odour issues to a minimum.

The City of Chilliwack’s water distribution system consists of 10 production wells (8 in the Sardis-Vedder Aquifer and 2 in the Marble Hill Aquifer), 14 booster pump stations, 17 reservoirs, and 482.6 km of water mains.