The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutINS-2026-041 - Summary Water Report - 2025 Infrastructure Services Department www.kitchener.ca REPORT TO: Community and Infrastructure Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: March 9, 2026 SUBMITTED BY: Greg St. Louis, Director, Gas & Water Utilities 519-783-8792 PREPARED BY: Angela Mick, Manager, Quality Management and Water Programs, 519- 783-8778 WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards DATE OF REPORT: February 17, 2026 REPORT NO.: INS-2026-041 SUBJECT: Summary Water Report - 2025 RECOMMENDATION: That the 2025 City of Kitchener Summary Drinking Water Report be received for information as required by O.Reg. 170/03 Schedule 22 of the Safe Drinking water Act; and, further that the City of Kitchener provide a copy of the Summary Drinking Water Report to the Township of Woolwich and the City of Waterloo as required by Schedule 22 of O.Reg. 170/03. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS: The key finding of this report is that the City of Kitchener is in compliance with regulatory water sampling requirements of the reporting period of January 1 to December 31, 2025. There are no financial implications of this report. The report supports the delivery of core services. BACKGROUND: As outlined in Schedule 22 of the Drinking Water Systems Regulation (O.Reg.170/03) of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002, a Summary Report is to be prepared and given to the members of the municipal council. The following information is required to be included in this report: l and any order that the system failed to meet at any time during the period covered by the report and specify the duration of the failures; and (b) for each failure referred to in (a), describe the measures that were taken to correct the failure. The report must also include a summary of the quantities and flow rates of the water supplied during the period covered by the report. *** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. *** Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance. REPORT: The following matters are reported to Council in accordance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2025: The Kitchener Distribution System is part of an Integrated Urban System, meaning the Regional Municipality of Waterloo is responsible for water supply, treatment and the development and operation of a trunk water network to distribute treated water to Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Woolwich, and Wilmot. The Region provides annual summaries for each supply and the information is available on their website with a link from the Kitchener Utilities (KU) website. Reports from the connected systems have been or will be received. A portion of Kitchener (River Ridge area) is supplied by the City of Waterloo. Kitchener supplies water to a small section of Waterloo (Ira Needles area) and water travels er quality report is available on their website. The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) completed an annual inspection from June 5 to June 13, 2025, which covered June 14, 2024 to June 6, 2025. There were no non-compliances found. There were 4,129 chlorine residual samples taken and 2,217 bacteriological samples taken within the distribution system. Of these, there were 20 Adverse Water Quality Table 1) and all resamples were clear. There were three (4) samples with lead exceedances in the plumbing system and none within the distribution system. Plumbing lead exceedances are not reported as AWQIs. Homeowners were provided with test results and information about lead from the Health Unit. The City is not obligated to complete any additional corrective actions other than reporting, unless directed by the Medical Officer of Health for the residential plumbing exceedances. Summary of AWQIs An AWQI does not necessarily mean that the water is a risk to the customer. It means that a potential problem has been identified and corrective actions must be taken to resolve the problem. City staff work with ministry staff and the local public health unit to resolve the issue, which generally includes resampling. Low Chlorine Residual AWQIs Low chlorine AWQIs can occur in areas of new subdivisions with no houses yet built. Along with dead end watermains, KU proactively flushes areas with new watermains until there are homes built and water is being used. There were six (6) low chlorine adverses. Dead end watermain and new development flushing is a proactive approach to increase the levels of chlorine in the distribution system. The water is initially disinfected (primary disinfection) at the treatment plant and sufficient chlorine is added to protect the water from microbiological contamination as it travels through the pipes in the distribution system (secondary disinfection). Low chlorine does not pose a threat to human health; to have an impact to human health, there must be microbiological contamination and no, or extremely low, chlorine. Bacteriological AWQIs The presence of total coliform on a test does not necessarily mean the water is unsafe to drink. Coliform bacteria can be found in many different environments. There are several different strains of coliform bacteria. Most are harmless and do not cause other disease-causing organisms, and their detection would prompt further investigation and/or corrective action. It is different than E.coli, which is a bacteria only associated with human or animal faecal matter. When total coliform is found, a resample is done using a different technique, which provides a number of total coliforms to analyze in consultation with Public Health and the MECP. Based on a risk assessment of a number of factors including the coliform count, chlorine residuals, and upstream/downstream coliform counts, the requirement for a boil water advisory is determined. Of the fourteen (14) total coliform AWQIs thirteen (13) were at temporary sampling locations (Temp) within reconstruction projects. One reconstruction project was responsible for ten (10) AWQIs. Temporary sample port specifications and contractor communications will be revised in 2026 to incorporate improvements. Reconstruction streets have multiple sample ports and sometimes more than one AWQI would occur on the same day. Temporary watermains are particularly sensitive as they are above ground systems influenced by the water heating up in warmer temperatures. This may increase the potential for bacteriological growth. Warmer weather seems to increase the incidences of Total Coliform. The additional challenge with temporary watermains is the sample port is located outside and subject to unsanitary conditions. Many contractors remove the sampling ports when not in use because they are subject to vandalism/theft. These ports need to be maintained in a sanitary condition between uses. The general nature of reconst received are more reflective of what is on the sampling tap, rather than what is in the water. Every positive result is reportable, and resampling must occur in accordance with regulations. When the resamples are clear, it is an indication that the issue was with the sampling port, not in the water. Table 1 Adverse Water Quality Incident Summary January 1 to December 31, 2025 # Adverse Type AWQI Date AWQI # Site Name Site Location Results/Notes (verbal) 1 Low Chlorine May 7 168129 102 Admiral Rd 102 Admiral Rd Free=0.00mg/L (construction) Combined=0.06mg/L 2 Low Chlorine May 29 168401 Hydrant 2094 135 Stoke Dr Free=0.04mg/L Combined=0.01mg/L 3 Total Coliform June 20 168645 721 Frederick St 721 Frederick St Total Coliform=1 Resample clear 4 Total Coliform June 25 168692 Olympic Temp SP1 - 30 Total Coliform Main Olympic Dr Present, Resample clear 5 Total Coliform July 1 168802 Metzloff Temp T1-5 Tota Coliform Main 105 Metzloff Dr Present, Resample clear 6 Total Coliform July 8 168894 Frederick Temp SP1-06 807 Total Coliform=1, Main Frederick Resample Adverse 7 Total Coliform July 9 168912 Wilson Ave Temp SP2 307 Wilson Total Coliform Main Present Resample Clear , 8 Total Coliform July 9 168915 Frederick Temp SP1-06 807 Total Coliform=1, Main Frederick Resample Adverse 9 Total Coliform July 11 168954 Frederick Temp SP1-06 807 Total Coliform =2 Main Frederick Resample Adverse 10 Total Coliform July 13 168972 Frederick Temp SP1-06 807 Total Coliform=3 Main Frederick Resample Adverse 11 Total Coliform July 15 169000 Frederick Temp 96 River Rd E Total Coliform=1 Main Resample Clear 12 Total Coliform July 15 169003 Frederick Temp SP1-06 807 Total Coliform=1 Main Frederick Resample Clear 13 Total Coliform July 18 169055 KID906 38 Parkview Total Coliform 38 Parkview Cres Cres Present Resample Clear 14 Low Chlorine July 22 169116 Dead End Blow 790 Dunbar Rd Free = 0.03 mg/L off Valve# 1019 Combined = 0.18 mg/L 15 Total Coliform July 29 169225 Frederick Temp SP1-05 800 Total Coliform Main Frederick Present Resample Clear 16 Total Coliform August 13 169409 Frederick Temp SP1-03 724 Total Coliform Main Frederick Present Resample Clear 17 Low Chlorine August 19 169482 KID 124 225 Thomas Free=0.04mg/L Slee Dr Combined=0.17 mg/L 18 Low Chlorine August 26 169573 KID 31 221 Wilson Ave Free=0.01 mg/L Combined=0.14 mg/L 19 Low Chlorine Sept 5 169784 44 Crestview Pl 44 Crestview Pl Free=0.00mg/L Combined=0.11mg/L 20 Total Coliform Oct 23 170507 Frederick Temp SP1-02 907 Total Coliform Main Frederick Present Resample Clear A summary of the quantities of the water supplied by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo during the period covered by the report is noted in Table 2. Overall, the 2025 water volumes were slightly above 2024; however there are variations on a monthly basis, largely due to weather. Table 2 - Kitchener Distribution System Volume of Water Conveyed from the Region of Waterloo Supply System 2025 2024 Monthly Average Monthly Variance from 333 Total (m) Day (m) Total (m) Previous Year January 1,980,708 63,894 1,953,983 1% February 1,790,359 63,941 1,794,185 0% March 2,013,811 64,962 1,936,706 4% April 1,931,622 64,387 1,893,612 2% May 2,094,060 67,550 2,072,569 1% June 2,159,030 71,968 2,049,239 5% July 2,264,529 73,049 2,141,165 6% August 2,232,519 72,017 2,131,417 5% September 2,068,584 68,953 2,063,505 0% October 2,000,986 64,548 1,995,254 0% November 1,888,020 62,934 1,896,375 0% December 1,982,042 63,937 1,967,623 1% Purchases from Waterloo 157,526 159,195 -1% Total 24,563,796 24,054,829 2% 2024 flows were adjusted after 2024 reporting STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT: This report supports the delivery of core services. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The recommendation has no impact on the Capital or Operating Budget. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: INFORM e council / committee meeting. Water quality information is posted on the Kitchener Utilities website. PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES: There are no previous reports/authorities related to this matter; however the summary reports are provided on an annual basis with the last report being INS-2025-009. APPROVED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services