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Document ID ca-gcdwqgtd-2014-02-05-9 Title Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: Guideline Technical Document – Turbidity URL https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-turbidity/page-10-guidelines-canadian-drinking-water-quality-turbidity.html Jurisdiction /ca Subdomain(s) Drinking water, Water distribution Language en Status completed Analyzed at 2026-03-17 14:53:59.406822+00:00 Relevance Authoritative technical guidance on turbidity in distribution systems.

3 Qualitative 7 Quantitative 0 Definitions

Q Qualitative Requirements (3)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#Q001	monitoring	operational	recommended	Routine Distribution System Turbidity Monitoring	drinking water	Consequently, turbidity should be included in routine monitoring of the distribution system so that deviations from normal conditions can be detected.	Routine monitoring of the distribution system	high
#Q002	monitoring	operational	guidance	Conjunctive Monitoring of Turbidity and Other Parameters	drinking water	Turbidity within the distribution system can be monitored in conjunction with other parameters, such as pH, disinfectant residual, E. coli , HPC, total coliforms and pressure to obtain a better understanding of the source of turbidity and thus, the appropriate corrective actions to take when turbidity increases are observed.		high
#Q003	operational	operational	recommended	Minimization of Turbidity in Distribution System	drinking water	Every effort should be made to keep the turbidity as low as reasonably achievable in the distribution system by minimizing turbidity entering the distribution system and conducting routine maintenance activities such as flushing and cleaning the pipelines.	Within the distribution system	high

P Quantitative Requirements (7)

Req ID	Category	Intent	Legal Status	Name	Subdomain(s)	Limit Type	Limit Value	Context	Conditions	Confidence
#P001	physical	operational	guidance	Turbidity	drinking water	treatment_goal	< 1.0 NTU	Identified as a potential goal for utilities to use for routine monitoring and operations, release to service of water mains, maintenance of water quality at dead-ends, and consumer acceptance.	Within the distribution system	medium
#P002	physical	aesthetic	guidance	Turbidity	drinking water	AO	> 5 NTU	Levels in excess of this value become visually apparent and may cause consumers to object to the water.	Within the distribution system	medium
#P003	physical	operational	guidance	Turbidity	drinking water	treatment_goal	< 1.0 NTU	Identified as a potential goal for utilities to use for routine monitoring and operations, release to service of water mains, maintenance of water quality at dead-ends, and consumer acceptance.	Within the distribution system	high
#P004	physical	aesthetic	guidance	Turbidity	drinking water	AO	> 5 NTU	Levels in excess of this value become visually apparent and may cause consumers to object to the water.	Within the distribution system	high
#P005	physical	operational	guidance	Influent Turbidity (Unfiltered Sources)	drinking water	requirement	> 1.0 NTU	Groundwater and other unfiltered source waters where the influent turbidity was greater than 1.0 NTU have been identified as systems where significant levels of sediments may be introduced to the distribution system.	Unfiltered source waters	high
#P006	chemical	aesthetic	guidance	Iron	drinking water	AO	> 0.3 mg/L	Associated with distribution system samples with turbidity greater than 2 NTU; discoloured water is often attributed to colloidal and particulate iron.	Within the distribution system	high
#P007	physical	operational	guidance	Turbidity	drinking water	unknown	> 2 NTU	Statistical correlation found between distribution system samples with turbidity greater than 2 NTU and iron concentrations greater than 0.3 mg/L.	Within the distribution system	high

D Definitions (0)

No definitions.