Melbourne's water supply is some of the highest-quality in the country, treated and monitored before it ever reaches you. But the journey from the treatment plant to your glass runs through council mains, your street's service pipe, and your home's own plumbing, and a few things can join the water along the way.
Here's a clear look at what can end up in household water, why it matters, and why understanding your own home is worth the effort.
The common contaminants
These are the ones most people have heard of. They're well understood, regulated, and for most homes they sit within expected ranges:
- Chlorine, added to disinfect the supply, which can affect taste and smell
- Hardness, from dissolved calcium and magnesium, which leaves scale on appliances and fixtures
- Lead, which can leach from older pipes and fittings and is undetectable by taste or smell
- Iron, which causes staining and a metallic taste
- Fluoride, added to support dental health and regulated within a target range
These are worth knowing about and usually straightforward to manage. But they're only part of the picture. Some of what affects your water is less obvious, and increasingly it's what households ask us about most.
Sediment
Rust, grit and fine debris can enter your supply through ageing council mains, old pipework in your own home, or nearby roadworks that disturb the network.
You usually notice it through its effects rather than the water itself: weaker pressure at the tap, washers and seals wearing out faster than they should, buildup inside appliances, or a layer of grit in the bottom of the kettle. Left unaddressed, it quietly shortens the life of taps, hot water systems and anything else the water passes through. It's one of the most common things we find in Melbourne homes.
Learn more about sediment and water quality →
PFAS
PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in everyday products like non-stick cookware, waterproof fabrics and firefighting foam. They're often called "forever chemicals" because they don't break down easily, either in the environment or in the body.
PFAS have been identified across some Victorian water catchments and continue to be monitored by authorities and water providers. They're increasingly the contaminant households want to understand and manage, and knowing whether your home is exposed is the first step to doing something about it.
Learn more about PFAS in drinking water →
Pharmaceuticals and pesticides
Trace pharmaceuticals and pesticides can also make their way into water supplies at very low concentrations.
Individually, these traces are very small. The consideration is cumulative: pharmaceuticals are known to be present at low concentrations, but consumed day after day they can build up in the body over time. For households that want the cleanest possible water, it's worth addressing, and the right filtration can.
Learn more about pharmaceuticals in water →
It's not only what's in the water
Here's the part most people never think about. Some of what shapes your water quality isn't a contaminant at all. It's the plumbing itself.
Water pressure, the condition of your pipes, and how water actually moves through your home all affect what comes out of the tap. Two houses on the same street, drawing from the same mains, can have noticeably different water simply because of what's happening inside their walls.
Your water quality is shaped as much by the plumbing that delivers it as by the supply itself.
Understanding your own home
Every home is different. The only way to know what's actually in your water, what's affecting it, and whether anything's worth doing about it is to look at the whole system, not just a sample from the tap.
That's the part we genuinely enjoy. Every water assessment we do is carried out by a licensed plumber who looks at your home's plumbing as a whole, then tells you straight: what's going on, what (if anything) is worth addressing, and what your options are. No pressure, no product pushed at you, just a clear picture of your water and how to get the best from it.