Thursday, 03 September 2026
Need assistance with understanding the Australian drinking water guidelines, what to test for or how to meet the guidelines?
Agrifood Technology can assist you with the testing requirements and the necessary steps to ensure your drinking water is safe.
Examples of drinking water parameters include:
- Microbiological parameters – such as E. coli or total coliforms, which indicate possible faecal contamination.
- Chemical parameters – such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, fluoride and pesticides.
- Physical parameters – such as turbidity, colour, temperature and total dissolved solids.
- Aesthetic parameters – characteristics that affect taste, odour or appearance, such as iron, manganese and hardness.
- Operational parameters – such as pH, chlorine residual and conductivity, which help assess how well the water treatment and distribution system is operating.
NOTE: Reference – This information is based on the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG), published by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Reference table – Australian Drinking water guidelines are outlined below.
| Parameter | Unit | Australian Drinking Water Guideline |
| E. coli | CFU/100 mL | Not detected in 100 mL |
| pH | pH units | 6.5–8.5 |
| Turbidity | NTU | ≤5 NTU aesthetic; preferably <1 NTU for effective disinfection |
| Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) | mg/L | ≤600 mg/L aesthetic |
| Total Hardness as CaCO₃ | mg/L | ≤200 mg/L aesthetic |
| Nitrate as NO₃ | mg/L | ≤50 mg/L |
| Nitrite as NO₂ | mg/L | ≤3 mg/L |
| Fluoride | mg/L | ≤1.5 mg/L |
| Arsenic | mg/L | ≤0.010 mg/L |
| Cadmium | mg/L | ≤0.002 mg/L |
| Lead | mg/L | ≤0.005 mg/L |
| Mercury | mg/L | ≤0.001 mg/L |
| Nickel | mg/L | ≤0.02 mg/L |
| Copper | mg/L | ≤2 mg/L health; ≤1 mg/L aesthetic |
| Manganese | mg/L | ≤0.10 mg/L health; ≤0.05 mg/L aesthetic |
| Iron | mg/L | ≤0.3 mg/L aesthetic |
| Aluminium | mg/L | ≤0.2 mg/L operational/aesthetic |
| Zinc | mg/L | ≤3 mg/L aesthetic |
| Chloride | mg/L | ≤250 mg/L aesthetic |
| सोडियम | mg/L | ≤180 mg/L aesthetic |
| Sulfate | mg/L | ≤250 mg/L aesthetic |
| Ammonia | mg/L | ≤0.5 mg/L aesthetic/operational |
अधिक जानकारी के लिए:
Please contact our us for more information on water testing needs: [email protected] or (08) 9418 5333