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OpenStats picks for Richmond — everyday tap water
Richmond's 98 mg/L supply is relatively soft — filtration is mostly about chlorine taste. A certified pitcher or compact under-sink unit is enough for most homes.
Richmond tap water: Grade B, hardness 98 mg/L
By OpenStats · Built from official Canadian sources
Regional estimateB
Water quality grade
Good
Graded against Health Canada drinking water guidelines
Lead within guidelinepH in range
Hardness vs provincial average98 mg/L · prov. avg 142 mg/L
Lead vs provincial average0.2 μg/L · prov. avg 0.4 μg/L
Hardness
98 mg/L
Lead
0.2 μg/L
≤ 5 μg/L
pH
8.1
6.5–8.5 range
Hardness
98 mg/L
Moderate
Lead
0.2 μg/L
Max: 5 μg/L
pH
8.1
6.5–8.5
Chlorine
0.7 mg/L
Max: 4 mg/L
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OpenStats pick for Richmond’s 98 mg/L supply — taste, not minerals
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Reading this page
Richmond's drinking water earns Grade B (Good). Hardness is 98 mg/L (moderate), and pH is 8.1 against Health Canada's 6.5–8.5 guideline.
Lead at 0.2 μg/L is below the 5 μg/L maximum, and fluoride is 0.6 mg/L against a guideline of ≤ 1.5 mg/L.
How to use this page: read the headline metric and provincial comparison first, then supply and treatment notes, then the source footer for the underlying dataset.
Watershed to tap
Supply and treatment
How Richmond draws, treats, and distributes drinking water, from municipal and utility publications. Chemistry grades above come from separate parameter records; this section does not invent plant lab figures.
Source type
Surface water
Research confidence: high
Source waters
- Capilano Reservoir
- Seymour Reservoir
- Coquitlam Reservoir
Treatment plants
Seymour Capilano Filtration Plant
Primary regional treatment path for Capilano/Seymour water serving Richmond.
Coquitlam Water Treatment Plant
Regional treatment for Coquitlam source water blended into GVWD supply.
Distribution
Metro Vancouver delivers water into Richmond via large transmission mains (including Angus Drive, Lulu Island–Delta, Tilbury, and Annacis connections). Richmond draws at pressure-reducing valve stations into more than 630 km of city distribution mains.
Health parameters meet Health Canada limits; turbidity above the 1 NTU typical target.
Health parameters meet Health Canada limits; turbidity exceeds the typical 1 NTU aesthetic target.
Figure 1 · Supply chain
From watershed to tap
Compared to provincial average
British Columbia · 58 cities in sample
Hardness (city vs British Columbia avg)98 mg/L
pH (city vs British Columbia avg)8.1
Lead (city vs British Columbia avg)0.2 μg/L
Fluoride (city vs British Columbia avg)0.6 mg/L
Provincial average: hardness 142 mg/L · pH 7.6 · lead 0.4 μg/L · fluoride 0.6 mg/L
Full parameters
| Parameter | Reading | Health Canada guideline | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 98 mg/L | No health limit (aesthetic) | Compliant |
| pH | 8.1 | 6.5–8.5 | Compliant |
| Lead | 0.2 μg/L | ≤ 5 μg/L | Compliant |
| Fluoride | 0.6 mg/L | ≤ 1.5 mg/L | Compliant |
| Chlorine (free) | 0.7 mg/L | ≤ 4 mg/L | Compliant |
| Turbidity | 1.9 NTU | ≤ 1 NTU (typical target) | Exceeds guideline |
Alberta water licences
WaterRegister.ca
On a private well or holding an Alberta water allocation licence? Water Register maps EPA licence records, transfer comparables, and watershed context across the province.
Explore WaterRegister.ca →OpenStats pick
OpenStats picks for Richmond — everyday tap water
Richmond's 98 mg/L supply is relatively soft — filtration is mostly about chlorine taste. A certified pitcher or compact under-sink unit is enough for most homes.
As an Amazon Associate, OpenStats earns from qualifying purchases.
· Compare options- Shop on Amazon.caBrita Denali pitcherOpenStats pick for Richmond’s 98 mg/L supply — taste, not minerals
- Shop on Amazon.caWaterdrop 15UA under-sink filterUnder-sink carbon for Richmond
- Shop on Amazon.caVARIFY 17-in-1 test kitBaseline Richmond tap water before RO
Source · ECCC / municipal open data (seed). Last updated 2026-09-01. Refreshed on the site's automated schedule.