Water Quality and Aquaponics--Vancouver, Canada Edition

Three reservoirs, the Coquitlam, Capilano, and Seymour[i], provide Vancouver with fresh water. But did you know that the water has been treated twice by chlorine[ii]? Here are the key features of Vancouver water:

• soft, very few minerals (e.g. lead <0.5 µg/L ), though soda ash[1], lime[2], and carbon dioxide is added/will be added to control corrosion of city pipes
• neutral (city standard pH 6.5-8.5)
• low turbidity (city standard NTU[3] <1) 
• cool (city standard <15°C)
  free chlorine (city standard >0.2 mg/L)
  low E. coli (0 cfu[4]/100mL) 
• no chloramines, fluorination 

In short, Vancouver is an ideal location for aquaponics due to its excellent water quality. Here are some useful links:

• water quality of your region  
• water treatment process
• 2012 municipal water quality report
• Use 311 for other inquiries 

To learn more about using local water supplies in aquaponics, sign up for our upcoming workshop.

Footnotes:
[1] Another name is sodium carbonate (Na2CO3).
[2] Another name is sodium hydroxide (NaOH).
[3] Nephelometric Turbidity Units as defined by the US EPA. See <http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/vms55.cfm>.
[4] Colony forming units. See <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony-forming_unit>.

Sources:
[i] Metro Vancouver, “Sources & Supply,” Metro Vancouver, 2014, http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/water/source/Pages/default.aspx.
[ii] Ibid., sec. Secondary disinfection.