"Safe" and "what you prefer to drink" aren't always the same thing. Canberra water contains chlorine (not chloramine), fluoride at 0.6–1.1 mg/L, and no detected PFAS. None of these are a health concern at typical levels, but many people filter them out anyway — for taste, personal preference, or health reasons.
Canberra's water supply comes from 4 major dams in the protected ACT catchment — Googong, Cotter, Corin, and Bendora — treated at 2 modern filtration plants before reaching your tap. The water supply is remarkably secure due to the ACT's reserved catchment protection.
Primary catchment sources
Icon Water manages two treatment plants (Mount Stromlo and Googong) serving 163,000+ customers across Canberra. The catchment spans approximately 480 km² of protected ACT reserves, with a broader regional catchment of 4,202 km². Water is distributed through 3,400 km of pipelines and dozens of service reservoirs and pump stations.
Canberra's water journey
From rainfall in ACT reserves to your kitchen tap — here's how Canberra's water is collected, treated, and delivered.
Rain falls across 480 km² of protected ACT catchments in the Cotter River system and Queanbeyan watershed, surrounded by nature reserves and remote bushland.
Water flows through pristine creeks and rivers into 4 interconnected dam reservoirs. Total capacity is 277.8 GL, with Googong alone providing 119.4 GL.
Raw water moves through interconnected channels and transfer infrastructure to 2 water treatment plants: Mount Stromlo and Googong filtration facilities.
Multi-barrier treatment: coagulation, flocculation, filtration, chlorine disinfection, UV treatment, pH correction, and fluoridation. No chloramine — Canberra uses chlorine only.
Treated water flows through 3,400 km of pipes and 50 service reservoirs, maintaining pressure and quality across Canberra and surrounding suburbs.
Clean drinking water arrives at your kitchen tap. For the best taste and to remove residual chlorine, fluoride, and microplastics — add a Tapp filter as the final step.
Here are the main parameters Icon Water monitors and reports annually:
Note on disinfection: Canberra uses chlorine only (not chloramine). This is gentler on the distribution system and causes less residual taste/smell than Sydney's chloramine. If you're sensitive to chlorine, filtering is a simple solution.
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are "forever chemicals" used in non-stick coatings, firefighting foams, and food packaging. They persist in water and bioaccumulate in some supplies.
Why is Canberra different? The pristine, protected ACT catchment — reserved within nature reserves with minimal industrial activity or legacy PFAS sources like airports and military bases — explains the absence of PFAS in Canberra's supply. Other cities have PFAS from industrial discharge and aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) used in firefighting training.
This is one of the cleanest water supplies in Australia.
Canberra has soft water (approximately 43 mg/L hardness). For reference:
- Soft: 0–60 mg/L (Canberra falls here)
- Moderately hard: 60–200 mg/L
- Hard: >200 mg/L (Perth: 200+, Adelaide: 150+)
Soft water is excellent for appliances (less scale buildup), skin, and hair. It also means your water is cleaner in terms of mineral load — hardness just measures dissolved calcium and magnesium.
Canberra's water is exceptionally safe and clean, but you might filter for taste (chlorine preference), fluoride removal, or microplastic reduction. It depends what you want to remove.
EcoPro Compact
5-stage nanofiltration. Removes chlorine, 70% fluoride, and >99% microplastics. Great taste improvement.
EcoPro Chrome SMR™
Same 5-stage filtration plus Swedish Mineral Rock™ — adds calcium, magnesium, and potassium for better taste.
RO Countertop
7-stage reverse osmosis. Removes virtually everything including fluoride, lead, and heavy metals.
If Canberra's water meets the guidelines and is free of PFAS, why filter? Personal preference. Here's how to choose:
| Filter | Chlorine | Fluoride | Microplastics | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EcoPro Compact | >97% | 70% | >99% | $109.99 | Best value |
| EcoPro Chrome SMR™ | >99% | 70% | >99% | $149.99 | Taste + minerals |
| RO Countertop | >99% | >99% | >99% | $799.99 | Maximum protection |
Use this table to compare what each Tappwater filter removes from Canberra's water:
| Contaminant | In Canberra Water | Compact | SMR | RO Countertop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chlorine | 0.2–1.0 mg/L | >97% | >99% | >99% |
| Fluoride | 0.6–1.1 mg/L | 70% | 70% | >99% |
| PFAS | Not detected | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Microplastics | Present | >99% | >99% | >99% |
| Lead | Trace (from pipes) | >95% | >95% | 100% |
| Heavy metals (Hg) | Trace | 95%+ | 95%+ | >99% |
| THMs | Present | >98% | >98% | >99% |
| TDS reduction | ~100 mg/L | — | — | 85% |
| Best for Canberra | — | Best value | Taste + minerals | Maximum protection |
Canberra's water is clean and safe. Filtered, it tastes better.
Whether it's chlorine taste, fluoride preference, or just wanting the best filtered water — find the right filter for your home.
Compare our filters → View lab results →We've tested and reviewed tap water across every Australian state and territory capital. See how your city compares.