Cochrane’s water undergoes a thorough multistep treatment process to ensure it exceeds provincial safety standards before reaching your home. It’s treated using a combination of clarifying, micro-filtering and multi-barrier disinfection using ultraviolet light and chlorine.
Cochrane’s water treatment plant has undergone two upgrades since opening, increasing its treatment capacity to about 22 million litres per day.
Are lead pipes used in Cochrane’s water system?
No. Cochrane’s municipal water distribution system does not use lead pipes, but that doesn’t mean all homes are free of lead. Here’s what you need to know:
- Copper pipes were the most common material used when the system was built in the 1950s.
- Service connections from the water main to your property line are Town-owned and use compression fittings — no solder joints are used.
- No lead pipes have been found during inspections or replacements.
- Water quality testing confirms that lead levels in our water supply are less than 0.0003 mg/L (as of September 2023). This is well below Health Canada’s maximum acceptable limit of 0.005 mg/L.
- While the Town’s system does not use lead, lead solder may have been used inside your property line and in individual homes. Some faucets manufactured before 2010 may contain lead from the manufacturing process.
If you’re concerned about lead in your home’s water, arrange for sampling and testing by a private accredited licensed laboratory.
For more information, visit:
Water quality analysis reports
Cochrane regularly tests and monitors water quality to ensure safety and compliance with health standards.