By OpenStats · Built from official Canadian sources
Regional estimateWater quality grade
Fair
Graded against Health Canada drinking water guidelines
Saguenay at 194 mg/L is hard enough to scale kettles, but most residents solve taste and lead at the tap first. Carbon filtration + test strips; whole-house softener only if repeat hardness readings justify it.
OpenStats pick for Saguenay’s 194 mg/L hardness — drinking-water carbon first; pitchers do not soften
Higher-flow kitchen carbon for Saguenay without dedicating a softener closet
Saguenay at 194 mg/L — measure before jumping to a whole-house softener
Consider whole-house softening only if strips confirm 194 mg/L+ is wrecking appliances
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Municipal reports cover the plant. A Tap Score kit tests the water at a Saguenay tap for a broader contaminant panel.
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Saguenay's drinking water earns Grade C (Fair). Hardness is 194 mg/L (very hard), and pH is 8.2 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 0.7 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
How Saguenay 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.
Mixed surface and groundwater
Research confidence: medium
Usine de filtration de Chicoutimi
Major plant supplied via Rivière Chicoutimi from Lac Kénogami reservoir system.
Usine de filtration de Jonquière
Rivière aux Sables intake; fully renovated 2016 with membrane filtration.
Usine de filtration d'Arvida
One of four surface/filtration plants cited for the amalgamated city.
Usine / système Saint-Honoré
Serves northern Chicoutimi area from Lac de l'Aqueduc supply.
City operates multiple filtration plants, wells, boosters, and reservoirs across former Chicoutimi, Jonquière, and La Baie networks. Lac Kénogami is the principal raw-water reservoir for ~100,000 residents via the Chicoutimi and aux Sables rivers; La Baie relies mainly on groundwater wells.
Health parameters meet Health Canada limits; turbidity above the 1 NTU typical target and very hard water.
One or more parameters exceed a Health Canada drinking water guideline or turbidity target.
Figure 1 · Supply chain
From watershed to tap
Quebec · 34 cities in sample
Provincial average: hardness 183 mg/L · pH 7.5 · lead 0.3 μg/L · fluoride 0.6 mg/L
| Parameter | Reading | Health Canada guideline | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 194 mg/L | No health limit (aesthetic) | Compliant |
| pH | 8.2 | 6.5–8.5 | Compliant |
| Lead | 0.2 μg/L | ≤ 5 μg/L | Compliant |
| Fluoride | 0.7 mg/L | ≤ 1.5 mg/L | Compliant |
| Chlorine (free) | 0.7 mg/L | ≤ 4 mg/L | Compliant |
| Turbidity | 3.5 NTU | ≤ 1 NTU (typical target) | Exceeds guideline |
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
Saguenay at 194 mg/L is hard enough to scale kettles, but most residents solve taste and lead at the tap first. Carbon filtration + test strips; whole-house softener only if repeat hardness readings justify it.
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