Water Quality at UBC

Drinking water for UBC’s Point Grey campus comes from the Metro Vancouver’s water system. Five hundred and eighty-five square kilometres of mountainous land is closed to public access to protect the large supply lakes that collect water from snowmelt, creeks and streams that are the water source for the Lower Mainland.

Water quality is regularly tested by Metro Vancouver at the source, at treatment facilities and at various distribution points. At the UBC Point Grey campus, the distribution system drinking water is tested weekly. A minimum of two times per year, water quality is tested at the tap and/or at drinking water fountains in buildings around on the campus. Sampling locations will vary to ensure a cross-section of locations are selected and so that different areas of campus are adequately represented.

Samples collected in each target building are measured for standard parameters contained in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. These measurements include microbiological parameters (total coliforms, e-coli, turbidity), chemicals (lead, copper, arsenic, zinc, iron, vinyl chloride, etc) and physical parameters (pH, odor).

For full information on water quality and water quality testing at UBC, including detailed reports, please visit the Risk Management website.