Water quality common concerns

We are committed to providing clean and safe drinking water. To find out more about how we monitor water quality, please see Drinking water quality monitoring.

Water hardness

Hardness in drinking water is usually due to the presence of large amounts of two minerals, calcium and magnesium.

Very hard water can cause:

scale to build up in kettles and hot water systems
difficulty in obtaining a lather when washing your hands with soapy water.

Logan’s water supply is in the ‘good quality’ range. We routinely measure the hardness of the water supply throughout the network.

Degrees of hardness

Degrees of hardness are described in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines as:

Amount	Description of hardness
Less than 60 mg/ L CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate)	Soft but possibly corrosive
60-200 mg/L CaCO3	Good quality. Our water quality is good quality
200-500 mg/L CaCO3	Hard, with increasing scaling problems
Greater than 500 mg/L CaCO3	Hard with severe scaling

Water hardness settings for dishwashers

Some types of dishwashers require you to program them with a hardness setting. You should leave your dishwasher on factory settings where possible. If in doubt, please contact the manufacturer for more information.

Aquariums

Water straight from the tap should not be used in aquariums or fish tanks. You should test and treat water before adding to your fish tank. Tap water can kill your fish and the good bacteria that breaks down waste in your fish tank filter.

Please call your local pet store or aquarium for information on how to make water safe for your fish.

E.coli (Escherichia coli)

E. coli is an indicator bacteria. Most varieties are harmless, but it’s presence in drinking water is a warning sign of possible contamination. We conduct weekly tests for E. coli across the network. If we detect E. coli, we will notify the public and take action immediately, working closely with Queensland Health to protect public health.

Fluoride

Fluoride is added to the drinking water by Seqwater - the bulk supply entity who source and treat South-East Queensland’s drinking water. Logan City Council do not add any more fluoride to the water.

Fluoridation in Queensland is regulated by the Water Fluoridation Act 2008 and Water Fluoridation Regulation 2008.

If you have any questions about fluoride, please contact Queensland Health on 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) or visit the Queensland Health website.

For more information about fluoridation recommendations please visit the following resources:

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2017 Public statement, Water fluoridation and human health in Australia
Fluoridation of water supplies fact sheet from Seqwater.

Chlorine / pool water tasting water

We use chloramine or chlorine to disinfect drinking water. These kill harmful micro-organisms and make our water safe to drink. If you find the taste is too strong, place a container of water in the fridge for a few hours, and the chlorine taste will reduce.

Controlled dosing with chlorine or chloramine is a safe and effective method to protect against contamination of the water supply by microbiological organisms.

If the water smells strongly of chlorine, is unpleasant to drink, or if you have concerns, please call us on 07 3412 3412 or download the Disinfection Factsheet(PDF, 142KB).

Petrol / kerosene / pesticide tasting water

Petrol, solvents and pesticides can make their way into domestic (plastic) plumbing pipes. Have any paints, solvents, petrol or kerosene been used on the property lately? Were they disposed of correctly?

Incorrect disposal of these items may contaminate your water and lead to health risks and costly repairs.

Council has regular chemical drop-off days that you can take unwanted chemicals to.

For more information download our Chemical Contamination Factsheet(PDF, 139KB).

Your water should not taste like petrol, kerosene, pesticide or any other petrochemical product.

If your water tastes like this do not drink it. Call us immediately on 07 3412 3412.

Plastic tasting water

Many new plumbing installations use plastic pipes. When first installed, there can be a plastic taste to the water for a few days. You can reduce this taste by running the water for a two to five minutes before drinking.

If you have concerns about the quality of your water supply, please call us on 07 3412 3412.

Metallic tasting water

Corrosion of iron or copper pipes in your household plumbing can lead to a “metallic” taste. This can also cause your water to look orange, rusty, or blue and stain sinks. This can happen if you have not used your taps for a while. If you run your taps for a few minutes the taste should disappear. To treat the staining, you may use a lemon-based cleaning product which contains citric acid.

Your licensed plumber can help you if the problem continues.

Musty or earthy tasting water

The South East Queensland water supply can sometimes have a musty, earthy smell and taste. This is due to an increase in naturally occurring organic compounds in the water supplied to us by Seqwater. These compounds are known as Methylisoborneol (MIB) and Geosmin. They usually exist in the water supply in low numbers. Warm temperatures and rainfall, together with high levels of sunlight and calm waters can cause an increase in these compounds. When this happens the human nose and taste buds are able to detect these compounds, resulting in the earthy smell and taste in the tap water.

Both MIB and Geosmin are safe to drink and are not harmful. Chilling the water may reduce the earthy taste in the tap water, while adding a slice of lemon, other fruit, or cordial etc. will also help.

The water will return to its usual taste and odour once measures put in place by Seqwater take effect or the conditions causing the increase in the compounds are no longer being met.

Logan Water constantly monitors the quality of the water supplied to our residents to ensure it continues to meet the stringent health requirement of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. If you have concerns about the quality of your water supply, please call us on 07 3412 3412.

White or milky looking water

If your water looks white or milky, it could be due to recent maintenance, which can trap air bubbles in pipes.

You can check this by filling a glass with water and leaving it to sit. If the milky colour disappears, it is due to the air bubbles and is safe to drink. If it does not clear within 10 minutes, please call us on 07 3412 3412.

Why does my water look dirty / brown / black?

Unexpected events such as broken water mains or firefighting could result in dirty water. This is due to deposits that build up over time being disturbed by the change in the water flow and direction.

If your water is dirty:

Run the tap closest to the water meter for (for 5 to 10 minutes). Flushing a domestic tap for 5 minutes uses about 75 litres of water which costs approximately 30 cents.
Run the outside tap at the back of your property until the water is clear (for 5 to 10 minutes)
You may want to reuse this water by filling a bucket to use on your plants or garden.

If your water does not turn clear call us on 07 3412 3412.

If you have dirty water, avoid using your dishwasher or washing machine until the issue has been resolved.

The water is safe to drink. If there is ever any health risk in the water supply we will notify the public immediately.

Orange or rusty looking water

Orange or rusty brown water that turns clear after 2 to 5 minutes may indicate there is corrosion in the plumbing of your house.

Water pipes in older homes were made of galvanised iron, which corrodes over time. A licensed plumber can help you locate the problem and replace the old pipes. If you do not replace the pipes, they may start leaking or burst over time.