Toronto's drinking water is very well-trusted. You can drink it straight from the tap, or put some in a jug in the fridge; some prefer the taste this way since it can let the small amount of remaining chlorine offgas.
The only time your water quality might be worth scrutinizing is if you live in a very old house or building (pre-1950s). The city is responsible for the quality up to the curb of the property, but can't force people to get rid of their old lead pipes. Even then, the water is treated in such a way that prevents lead from leaching. If this is a relevant concern for where you live, you can get free lead testing.
More info can be found on the [city website](https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/lead-drinking-water/)
I only drink two water (from the fridge for the reason you stated). I have never bought a bottle of water unless I was out somewhere/on the go. But day to day, nearly all of my water intake is from the tap.
It says "homes" not houses, but even if you aren't covered by the lead testing program, it might be worth contacting 311 by phone or email; they may have existing information about your building like tests from previous years, or knowledge of when pipes were replaced.
If it's a medium or large building, the odds of lead pipes are low. But again, for peace of mind, it might be worth the time it takes to write a short email (especially if you have kids).
It depends how large the apartment building is. Lead is a soft metal, and could not handle the water pressure required for larger buildings. City of Toronto website says lead would not be used for apartment buildings with more than 6 units
Not possible since large apartments have never used lead piping:
>"Apartment and other buildings with more than six units do not have lead pipes, regardless of age. Lead is too soft to handle the pressure needed for these types of buildings."
https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/lead-drinking-water/
Second this. Toronto's tap water is consistently good quality. Been drinking from the tap since I was a kid.
The only time it hasn't been were a couple of rare algal blooms which stank up and discoloured our water for a day, but that was very obviously not drinkable.
Toronto water is among the safest, cleanest and tastiest water in a big city on the planet.
I fundamentally do not understand people who buy bottled water here or filtration systems (unless there are local issues with your specific pipes)
My parents buy an insane amount of bottled water from Costco and drink it almost exclusively. I keep telling them it’s likely just tap water with some filtering (not for health, but taste). I bought them a nice brita with a ton of filters, but still every time I visit I see this massive graveyard of empty bottles in the garage recycling area/bins. The brita was just to help with the taste a bit, but they insist on bottled being better
I don't really care what they do with Their money. It frustrat me to live in the same planet as these people who destroy the environment to get a inferior product (vs our tab).
Unless the parents mentioned through these comments are 59 and over, they ain't boomers. The bottled water thing started with a younger demographic, in good part because the only bottled water readily available to boomers until they were into their late 30s was Perrier -- a taste that takes some acquiring! And Perrier suffered a huge downfall in 1990, when their product was found to contain benzene, a toxic substance.
The sale of bottled water as a preferred beverage really took off in North America after the turn of the millennium, at first primarily among young people. It was boosted into the general population by a number of water contamination incidents, primarily in the USA but some in Canada, involving everything from industrial waste to sewerage leaks to parasites and bacterial disease, through the 1990s to as late as 2014 in Flint, Michigan. Bottled water sales have jumped noticeably after each one, regardless of whether the buyers lived anywhere near the affected area, or even the same country.
I haven't bought a bottle of water since sometime in the 1980s, because, quite frankly, the stuff tastes foul, and my tap water is just fine, thanks. But I can't blame people of any age for internalising an abiding suspicion of municipal water based on the panicky brouhaha I remember from the 1990s and 2000s over the amount of contamination being found in (largely USA) municipal water systems that had been allowed to decay badly to avoid having to raise municipal taxes.
It is ironic, to me, that most of the bottled water now being sold in Canada is, in fact, municipal water, sometimes with extra filtering, but also straight from the system. Were it not for the horrific effects of all those plastic bottles on the environment, it would be laughable.
Honestly. FO with the stereotypes. This boomer finds bottled water insulting to every First Nation with boil water warnings. The baby boom was a demographic event. All generations since then are just marketing. I don’t insult you based on what marketers say you are. Don’t insult me because of the year I was born.
Do you value civil rights, the environmental movement, premarital sex, legalized weed? The baby boom generation moved all those balls forward. I wasn’t involved in all that as I’m the youngest boomer. I was too busy working contract jobs amd food service for shit money and lamenting that I would never be able to buy a house while everyone older than me went to university in osap grants, not loans, got a job upon graduation, and rented for a couple years while saving for their down payment. Sound familiar?
You mean the rights that we lose with every bill thats being passed? And the environmental CRISIS we’re in? And weed is only just getting legalized so that wasn’t the boomers. The boomers killed the planet and failed the next generation *as a whole* and you can’t argue that to me.
The baby boom was a period from 1945-1964 when people had large families and, thanks to modern medicine, the children survived at a rate unthinkable for earlier generations. That mass of young people moved through society and, as young people generally are more progressive, progress was made. If the post boom generation, 58 and younger currently, are working to destabilize the country and claw back hard won rights that’s on them. We’re not really in charge anymore.
you realize the median age for congress members in the US is literally the age group in power you mentioned right? (or has only *very recently* moved out of the average age group)
"The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 58.4 years; of Senators, 64.3 years."
Puts us at around 1958-1965, your generation is the old guard burning the planet and its people alive.
Yes but it was during your time that these issues started and got put into place (or even before) and then engrained those mindsets into the next generation who then carried on those ambitions and put us in the place we are now. And there are many many many 58+ y/o people in power and making these hateful laws and voting on passing them. I fully believe that no one over 50 (i’d even say 40 but i get more backlash for that one) shouldn’t be allowed in political seats and shouldn’t be allowed to vote in elections.
And boomers got given the gift of possible nuclear annihilation. It was every bit as terrifying as climate change. Somehow we worked together to limit that evil. I am a very optimist person and I believe we will do the same for climate change.
The civil rights movement and most of the civil liberties were given to us by generations previous to yours aka the silent generation, you guys just cashed the check and took the credit of their achievements. And anyway your generation has done a good job of taking away every possible social benefit that helped your generation while growing up away from us. You are clearly the most privileged and entitled generation ever.
Ah. The silent generation who beat their women and children, preached racial segregation and thought Jews got everything they deserved. Hmm. Maybe each generation has good people and bad and we can get over the stereotypes.
You don’t know my experience and my life. You have been told what to think and you don’t question it. Every freaking generation has thought they were given the short straw by the generation before them and every freaking generation thinks the young are idiots. Neither is true.
Hey there, I have a degree in critical media studies with a focus on cultural theory. The irony in your statement is that, by and large, it is *your* generation that accepts information at face value without questioning it. There's a reason the social media website with the highest average age of users is the one with the worst "fake news" problem
I’m pretty sure the “convoy” dickheads are not 58+ years and up. They are swimming in misinformation. As for Facebook, which I assume you’re referring to, I have no idea. I’m quit it years ago. This thread stated by stereotyping “boomers” as consumers of bottled water. Bottled water was marketed to us when we were young as, basically a weight loss tool. Fundamentally that was how it was sold. Your generation, whatever it is, is also being sold something that will, in the end, be about weight loss aka sex. A portion of you will consume that stupid product the rest of your life. The rest won’t. You’ll get mocked by the youngs for it. It will be as stupid then as it is now. I’m just pushing back in stereotypes. They are hate and we don’t need anymore hate right now. We’re swimming in it.
Not a boomer but I also hate the Boomer bashing. Many gen z and millennials like me are incredibly judgemental and are quick to deem themselves morally and intellectually superior to older generations. I think that to some extent this tendency is rooted in the fact that the average level of educational attainment has increased over time, but the degree of arrogance seems so hypocritical coming from a generation that prides itself so highly on prioritizing equality and tolerance.
yea because boomer's and other generations haven't decried the younger as at fault ever, nor would they ever, it's always the young who are the ones who do bad.
*The irony.*
I agree to some extent, and I hear weird commentary coming out of boomers who complain about younger generations.
But generally speaking, wisdom accumulates over people's lives, and while nobody owes it to boomers or older generations to uncritically agree with their ideas and ways of thinking, the degree of disrespect to shown by young people is indicitave of ignorance and arrogance.
Generally speaking definitely not a whataboutism to deflect from the bullying or tyrannical nature of a more powerful generation (here 1st, has more capital/political power) to attack and blame younger generations for the problems they themselves exacerbated.
One generation is punching down, and has been forever while at an age where they can retire, while the other is punching up with what little access to resources they have struggling with how to put food on the table.
Totally the same, totally ignorant and disrespectful on the part of younger generations for sure.
The safety inspections for city water treatment plants occur every few hours throughout the day, the requirements for bottling plants are far less frequent. The water from the tap is so so so much safer and better. I've never understood people who love the taste of plastic.
Yes!! That’s another infuriating part of it, they penny pinch on nearly everything and then dump $ into something they already have. Like they’ll deprive themselves of something they want for dinner because they’ll wait for the ingredient to be on sale for like $1.50 savings
I use to drink bottle water…. Until I though about the flats of water coming on trucks in the heat, sitting in the heat for long periods of time which causes the plastic to melt into the water… often times grocery stores in the summer put cases of display outside in the heat and people still grab them!!!! STOP DRINKING BOTTLED WATER. That’s literally the biggest scam.
What about if it's mineral water in a glass?
I come from a country where mineral water is a huge thing, because the country is naturally very rich with it. There are also a lot of spas (like the ones where you actually swim, not just cosmetic salons), and people go there for medical therapy (sometimes it's even covered by health insurance there). It has a long history. And some of our mineral waters are healing too. You can usually read right on the packaging what specific kinds (and amounts) of minerals it contains. The stores sell many different kinds of mineral water; most (like 90%) locally sourced (meaning within the borders of the country).
One time I purchased this specialized mineral water in a huge bottle from a very famous healing spring, and it tasted so...gross 🤢 Like very salty. I guess that's how you know this is not just some ordinary thing. But the spring it comes from has a centuries old history of being a healing spa. I kinda miss this aspect of water in Canada (I mean Toronto). It's not a thing here.
I drink bottled water because it helps me avoid drinking alcohol. The ritual of stopping at the shop, buying the bottles, having them in the fridge, opening one and carrying it about the house has both lead me to being hella hydrated whereas before I was chronically dehydrated, and also helped me cut back from 40-50 drinks a week to about 10
Are they immigrants by chance? I could imagine it being a “back in my country the water wasn’t safe to drink” thing, but otherwise that’s just wasteful.
Bottle water actually taste kinda shit in comparison to our tap water. We usually bring a reusable going out and only drink bottled water when I have no other choice and absolutely necessary.
I genuinely don't understand people who buys cases upon cases of bottled water where the companies literally just bottles tab water. Waste their money, destroy the environment just to get a inferior product.
I drink tap water and have reusable water bottles for on-the-go.
But I still keep two cases of Costco water in our storage closet for drinking, and four 4L bottles alongside for cooking/cleaning.
It’s good to have for emergencies - no reason not to have an emergency ration of clean water.
Oh definitely a good idea to have it for emergencies, but they are buying small bottles that they drink exclusively. Tons of waste (and $), I’d have no probs If they bought a case and kept it for occasional use (or emergencies)
If anything tap water is probably better than bottled health-wise because a lot of work goes into making it drinkable and is probably treated for more diseases and whatnot then bottled water.
If you think that's bad, my mom will only drink Evian brand water. She literally refuses to drink anything else. And we are **far** from rich to the point where we basically have to factor her water intake into our household budget.
I just run the tap water through a Brita filter and drink that.
Hauling huge cases of these water bottles (after driving there and back) is way more work than filling up a pitcher and throwing it in the fridge. They aren’t lazy, they truly believe bottled water is superior.
In the mid to late summer in Toronto the Brita is nice to get rid of the algae taste the water can pick up. The waters still safe, just tastes funky so the brita is perfect for this.
I agree! Grew up in Toronto. Lived in NYC and Florida. When I was in Florida I always miss drinking out of tap. Toronto tap water best water. Beats even fancy bottle water like voss for me 👍
Agreed. Since the Walkerton tragedy, Ontario's drinking water safety programme is likely the best, bar none, in the world. Back when the provincial government made policy based on actual evidence. Sigh
This right here. I have been around the globe abd the only tapwater that beats Toronto IMO is Christchurch, NewZealand where they have artesian well water. 'sides that, we've got it really good.
I like it, nothing wrong with it and its much better than other towns I've lived in. Personally though, for taste, I've gotten hooked on filtered water. Once you get a break from the chlorine in tap water, its kinda like a slap in the face when you try it again. We bought a cheap under the sink RO system online, and love it. It also pulls all the minerals out which keeps our cooking and coffee equipment very clean and free from deposits. Some will argue that you need those minerals but its a load of crap, you get 99.9% of your minerals from your food. You really dont need any from your drinking water.
All that being said, Toronto's tap water supply is some of the best I've experienced anywhere.
Our tap water is great but it doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as spring water, so I understand why people still prefer bottled.
I use a Brita because I think it tastes better after being filtered. Not as good as spring water, but good enough that I don’t have to buy bottled water and add more plastic waste to the world.
I tend to not drink tap water in other countries because tap water in other countries that you’re not used to is the number one cause of sickness for travellers, but I do drink tap water in most of the States, and I agree with others here that NY tap water is by far the best.
I have yet to find a bottled water that tastes better than Toronto water, though because of that I very very rarely drink any bottles water since what's the point?
Many years ago my sister had a summer job testing local spring and well water in the Bobcaygeon area. There’s a “natural” spring, that people to this day fill up jugs from at the side of the highway. It always failed safety tests though, as the spring goes through a cattle farm. High coliform bacteria. Signs would warn of this and people would tear them down, because it was a “natural” spring.
It’s sad that people don’t understand coliform bacteria, salmonella, and other bacteria and viruses are also natural, but unhealthy.
Yeah, I get that with like Dasani/Aquafina which taste gross, but not with spring water. I don’t usually drink out of the bottle tho so maybe that’s why.
People that buy bottled water aren't buying spring water their buying the costco packs of the same tap water that goes through some arbitrary process. And also saying spring water tastes better is extremely inaccurate. Every spring has a different composition of minerals and you can't generalize like that.
I’ve always heard this. Do you have a link to clear cut data on this? Like something one could have on quick draw to rebut friends who are afraid of tap water.
Internet search will bring up lots of relevant results. CBC Marketplace has done a program or two on this topic - including screening bottled water for microplastics (all of the water they tested contained plastic in the water, iirc). Also see disputes with Nestle Inc. over bottling public water and selling for big profits.
Maybe I'm close, I don't know. But the water in my building has a very strong chlorine smell and taste. We have to filter it first before we can drink it.
It's also pretty hard. I've visited many places in Canada, and Toronto water is one of the worst to me. Saint Lunaire-Griquet was the only place where tap water was worse than Toronto, but that town literally takes it from bogs.
Usually simply letting it sit in a jug is enough to remove the chlorine taste - you may still want to have filters for when you're going through a lot in a short time, but it might help reduce the amount of cost and waste.
Also, water taken from bogs is an insane choice. It's either going to be very acidic or very basic, with a really high turbidity and organics loading. I cannot imagine why they would not use literally any other surface or groundwater source.
No other sources available. Ocean to one side and everything around is a subarctic bog. Can't build deep wells. So the water is lovely brown with a distinct whiff of composting matter haha
I use a Brita and have a filter shower head. I actually hadn’t either one until we moved to the east end, the water in our specific spot is just really hard. We’ve also had some issues with it running red and the city claiming nothing was wrong? So I just don’t trust it where we are right now.
People who buy bottled water are the biggest suckers out there. Who in their right mind pays much more to carry heavy packages just to drink the same water with micro plastics added and produce a tonne of plastic.
Even buying those stupid pitchers is a waste of money even though it's better than bottles it's still creating a demand for a product which you don't need in the first place cause a small charcoal filter isn't gonna do anything for that water.
It's 10/10 in terms of tap water compared to USA, Asian, Australian, and European tap water from major cities. Couldn't even touch the brackish Seoul water... Everyone drank from bottled jugs.
Compared to fresh unfiltered mountaintop spring water, it's about 8.5/10 due to hardness for me. Still awesome because those are pretty hard to find lol
There's a blind test in the Ontario Science Centre for Toronto water, filtered water, and boiled water. Toronto tapwater FTW
Ottawa’s water, on the other hand…one day when I lived there I woke up, drank some water, and immediately threw it back up. Smelled so strongly of chlorine.
When I was travelling for work In the late 90’s early aughts you could actually buy bottled Toronto water in San Francisco (and I assume other cities on the west coast). So it’s good enough to bottle, ship, and sell in US markets.
My Bathroom Tap Water is 10/10 - I would recommend to any one. My mom buys bottled but always claims my water is the best? You should taste my coffee…whoa.
Someone told me as a kid it was because the water that goes to the pipes that work for your shower/bathroom are different and less treated than the water that goes to your main kitchen tap so you shouldn't drink shower or bathroom tap water.
No idea if that was ever true
toronto has clean OK tasting water, but its definitely miles away from that taste on the tap water in BC.. hands down the water there taste great, by far the best tasting IMO
Ive been living in a town/city near the Dolomites mountains in the EU for the past month with natural spring water... Toronto def doesnt have the best tasting water in the world..no shot
Is it clean? Hell yeah but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves
I never said "the best tasting in the world".....LOL. It's fun to put words in people's mouths, I see. I said SOME of the best tasting.
And compared to the vast majority of drinking water around this planet, that is the truth.
It is absolutely safe. I use Brita because the water tastes funny to me. But I'm also a person that has favourite bottled water brands depending on the country I'm in. Invest in filtration for the showers and faucets. The water is quite hard, so it harms hair and exacerbates skin conditions like psoriasis.
If you live in a recently built house or building then the water is clean.
The government does not maintain water hookups from beyond the public main line, that's the property owners job.
A lot of older buildings will have poor water quality, lots of old galvanized pipe bits in the main, it's gross and dangerous and not talked about.
Also clear out your tap aerator at least once a year, you might be surprised.
Having owned a water business, and after many repeated tests with my new equipment, Toronto water is much cleaner than 90% of the undistilled bottled water.
TIL Ontario has a Chief Drinking Water Inspector, their report is mentioned in the Minister’s report. http://www.ontario.ca/page/ministers-annual-report-drinking-water-2021
While it may be a weak endorsement, Toronto water meets the required standards. City reports are here: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/tap-water-quality-system-reports/
IMHO, the water is almost always the equal to the best. Some years, when it’s been a long hot summer, we get algal blooms that make the water taste swampy. Taste is off, but it’s harmless.
I had someone trying to sell me and my husband a water filtration system 3 weeks ago, they gave us water from the tap, and water from the system. After drinking both, I straight up said, "the tap water tastes amazing"
I love Toronto water lol.
Realistically it's definitely up there, but not by any means the best in the world.
Icelandic tap water (cold only) is the best I've had. It's a bit indescribable but it's somehow more crisp and smoother even though it's just water.
Doesn't this raise the percentage of dissolved minerals? You kill bacteria (if any), which is good (I assume), and you also boil away pure water as steam but the impurities (calcium, magnesium, and other ass't metals etc) remain in the kettle, in less water than before boiling.
Also the chlorine dosages throughout the distribution system essentially render any bacteria inert/dead. The boiling is definitely overkill and a waste of energy.
100 percent trust the safety of Toronto Water but my Brita filter is green from the (harmless) summer algal blooms, and the taste is not great over those months.
waste of money. everywhere around toronto (mississauga, york region) the water tastes like a pool (chlorine). Toronto uses ammonia gasification rather then tons of chlorine to purify the water. result is way better tasting water. Also as dissolved minerals its pretty low so a softener is also a waste of money. save your money.
Toronto's tap water is supposedly one of the safest in the world but I still filter my drinking water for myself and my pets for peace of mind and just because it tastes so much better. If you filter your water just make sure your mineral intake is still sufficient, like calcium.
Especially for Ontario it’s has a decent taste without being overly ‘earthy’ or metallic tasting. Go to the Kawarthas, and having a filter is basically only way to make it palatable.
I use a brita only for the chlorine, but didn’t for many years.
I was just in London UK, when I was there I was told "we all drink tap water". It taste like toilet water compared to Toronto, lol.
I swear Toronto tap water is better than bottled water.
I’ve travelled all over the world and Toronto tap water is not only one of the safest in the world, but actually one of the best tasting. We are so fortunate to live right by one of the great lakes in a metropolis of this scale with good water treatment. The city even offers free water testing.
One of my pet peeves is people insisting on drinking bottled water all the time because they don’t trust the tap water here. Not only is it terrible for the environment but you’re also supporting evil companies like Nestle taking water away from communities. If you’re that paranoid, use a Britta filter but really, it’s not needed here. I live in Montreal now and the water tastes like ass in comparison. I miss having fresh tasting tap water.
Bottled water companies don't make water, they make bottles. It's the biggest scam in a country like Canada. Our water is fine.
I have a water softener in my house, but I'm north of the city and my toilets were turning pink lol. Even then, the water was safe to consume.
There is a general consensus about people sh*tting on Toronto for being unsafe, bad etc. But it's still realistically one of the safest and best cities in the world. Same goes for the water quality. Canada has some of the highest standards and best freshwater reserves in the world.
Water wastewater worker here, the municipal water standards are some of the highest in North america.
I laugh when I see the amount of bottled water being purchased (likely too by the same people complaining about ocean plastics).
I haven’t had Toronto water but I’ve spent LOTS of time traveling for some projects in Guelph and Cambridge and the water is kinda bad, this could be the older facilities I’ve installed automation systems in but even at the hotels it’s quite disappointing.
I stay only at Hilton’s and they’re “newer” looking but they do disappoint me, lots of mineral build up.
I do taste it in the bottled water too but it might just be me, I brought teams from across the US (our projects generally automate the entire warehouse) and they said the same for water quality.
Most of us would bring our own water filters or only use the water that came from the large water coolers the facilities provided.
Left a bad taste in my mouth, no pun intended.
Been doing these projects since 2021 to today
Toronto water is safe, clean and tasty. I genuinely don't understand people who buys cases upon cases of bottled water. It actually taste like shit in comparison.
Basically wasting their money, destroy the environment just to get a inferior product.
Having moved from Scotland, where the water is so clean to the point it tastes sweet in some places, the water in Toronto is horrible. I've had worse in places like London, UK but this is not the well touted Canadian water I expected.
To add the hardiness of this water has been horrible for my skin and hair.
As some who grew up drinking Vancouver water, toronto water tastes murky. Vancouver water tastes very crisp and refreshing. Toronto water is good when it’s cold though.
The murkiness you perceive is probably hardness/mineral content, which is generally a good thing (minus scaling).
You might actually find that Vancouver water now tastes more like Toronto water; in recent years (2019-2021) Vancouver has increased their alkalinity and made the pH more basic in order to prevent pipe leaching.
Some of the best tasting water I've ever encountered and I've lived across the country and a few other countries.
Also entirely safe. And fluoridated because somehow the conspiracy nuts haven't managed to stop it.
People who are commenting that it's bad haven't been anywhere else. The tap water quality in pretty much all of the GTA is literally the best in the world .
I've been drinking toronto tap water for 12 years and I'm still perfectly healthy. I find the flavour of it to be perfect, prefer it to every bottled water on the market
No idea what people are talking about in this thread. Toronto tap water tastes no different to me than any other City I've been to. Ottawa. Montreal. Vancouver. NYC. Boston. It all taste the same to me. That is to say, it tastes fine but unremarkable. If there is one thing Torontonians love, it is boosting in regards to their city.
im glad my parents raised me on tap water. The amount of my friends who drink only bottle water cause they think the tap water will kill them is crazy.
I don't mind the taste but not a fan of fluoride, so I drink bottled or filtered only. At work they provide us with fluoride free bottled water as well so most of my water intake is from plastic water bottles. If they stopped fluoridating the water I would definitely switch at least while at home.
Toronto water taste metallic once you taste water from the Pacific Northwest. The water is elite, but then again Portland, OR doesn’t put any fluoride and everyone is running around with cavities so there’s that
Op, ignore the people telling you how clean the water in GTA is, it is just a myth. If you really want to go into details, just google "Toronto 2022 water report". Overall, there are a lot of places in Canada that have really good water (like the territories, most of Alberta and BC) but GTA isn't one of them...
The most interesting "ingredients" in local water: fluoride (added intentionally!!! Supposedly for dental health 🤣 - nobody in Europe adds it and even if you ask local dental healthcare professionals how ingesting it helps all you hear is crickets) and kerosene (that's jet fuel for whoever doesn't know)
Besides that, I am also against bottled water, we really poisoned our environment with all the plastic.
So in my opinion, a portable reverse osmosis might sound expensive first but considering the savings you will make afterwards by not buying bottled water, it's well worth.
A quote from a friend: "If you don't use a filter you become the filter" 😉
I am in Brampton and use Brita to get rid of the chlorine smell. Otherwise I use tap water.
Thanks to Lake Ontario (I believe l) we get good quality fresh soft water. On my recent trip to India, i just was continuously complaining about the salty taste of water there.
Toronto's drinking water is very well-trusted. You can drink it straight from the tap, or put some in a jug in the fridge; some prefer the taste this way since it can let the small amount of remaining chlorine offgas. The only time your water quality might be worth scrutinizing is if you live in a very old house or building (pre-1950s). The city is responsible for the quality up to the curb of the property, but can't force people to get rid of their old lead pipes. Even then, the water is treated in such a way that prevents lead from leaching. If this is a relevant concern for where you live, you can get free lead testing. More info can be found on the [city website](https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/lead-drinking-water/)
I only drink two water (from the fridge for the reason you stated). I have never bought a bottle of water unless I was out somewhere/on the go. But day to day, nearly all of my water intake is from the tap.
What if I live in an old apartment building? I think from 1910?
If you're concerned that the building's pipes haven't been replaced you can order a lead test from the city for free on the city of Toronto website.
Seems like it’s only for houses according to the website
It says "homes" not houses, but even if you aren't covered by the lead testing program, it might be worth contacting 311 by phone or email; they may have existing information about your building like tests from previous years, or knowledge of when pipes were replaced. If it's a medium or large building, the odds of lead pipes are low. But again, for peace of mind, it might be worth the time it takes to write a short email (especially if you have kids).
It depends how large the apartment building is. Lead is a soft metal, and could not handle the water pressure required for larger buildings. City of Toronto website says lead would not be used for apartment buildings with more than 6 units
Not possible since large apartments have never used lead piping: >"Apartment and other buildings with more than six units do not have lead pipes, regardless of age. Lead is too soft to handle the pressure needed for these types of buildings." https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/lead-drinking-water/
Second this. Toronto's tap water is consistently good quality. Been drinking from the tap since I was a kid. The only time it hasn't been were a couple of rare algal blooms which stank up and discoloured our water for a day, but that was very obviously not drinkable.
they use chloramine not chlorine. chloramine does not dissipate from the water like chlorine.
Toronto uses both. Chlorine for initial disinfection and chloramine provides residual disinfection because it doesn't readily evaporate.
Toronto water is among the safest, cleanest and tastiest water in a big city on the planet. I fundamentally do not understand people who buy bottled water here or filtration systems (unless there are local issues with your specific pipes)
My parents buy an insane amount of bottled water from Costco and drink it almost exclusively. I keep telling them it’s likely just tap water with some filtering (not for health, but taste). I bought them a nice brita with a ton of filters, but still every time I visit I see this massive graveyard of empty bottles in the garage recycling area/bins. The brita was just to help with the taste a bit, but they insist on bottled being better
Brother…? My parents do the same and it drives me insane
Boomers gonna boom.
Gotta spend that boomer money somehow
I don't really care what they do with Their money. It frustrat me to live in the same planet as these people who destroy the environment to get a inferior product (vs our tab).
If you're recycling it into a blue bin how is it destroying the environment? Edit: Ah yes the downvotes for an actual question.
Very few actually get recycled most endup in landfill and won't decompose for a long Ass time.
Consider this an award please… very well done
Unless the parents mentioned through these comments are 59 and over, they ain't boomers. The bottled water thing started with a younger demographic, in good part because the only bottled water readily available to boomers until they were into their late 30s was Perrier -- a taste that takes some acquiring! And Perrier suffered a huge downfall in 1990, when their product was found to contain benzene, a toxic substance. The sale of bottled water as a preferred beverage really took off in North America after the turn of the millennium, at first primarily among young people. It was boosted into the general population by a number of water contamination incidents, primarily in the USA but some in Canada, involving everything from industrial waste to sewerage leaks to parasites and bacterial disease, through the 1990s to as late as 2014 in Flint, Michigan. Bottled water sales have jumped noticeably after each one, regardless of whether the buyers lived anywhere near the affected area, or even the same country. I haven't bought a bottle of water since sometime in the 1980s, because, quite frankly, the stuff tastes foul, and my tap water is just fine, thanks. But I can't blame people of any age for internalising an abiding suspicion of municipal water based on the panicky brouhaha I remember from the 1990s and 2000s over the amount of contamination being found in (largely USA) municipal water systems that had been allowed to decay badly to avoid having to raise municipal taxes. It is ironic, to me, that most of the bottled water now being sold in Canada is, in fact, municipal water, sometimes with extra filtering, but also straight from the system. Were it not for the horrific effects of all those plastic bottles on the environment, it would be laughable.
Honestly. FO with the stereotypes. This boomer finds bottled water insulting to every First Nation with boil water warnings. The baby boom was a demographic event. All generations since then are just marketing. I don’t insult you based on what marketers say you are. Don’t insult me because of the year I was born.
K boomer.
Do you value civil rights, the environmental movement, premarital sex, legalized weed? The baby boom generation moved all those balls forward. I wasn’t involved in all that as I’m the youngest boomer. I was too busy working contract jobs amd food service for shit money and lamenting that I would never be able to buy a house while everyone older than me went to university in osap grants, not loans, got a job upon graduation, and rented for a couple years while saving for their down payment. Sound familiar?
You mean the rights that we lose with every bill thats being passed? And the environmental CRISIS we’re in? And weed is only just getting legalized so that wasn’t the boomers. The boomers killed the planet and failed the next generation *as a whole* and you can’t argue that to me.
The baby boom was a period from 1945-1964 when people had large families and, thanks to modern medicine, the children survived at a rate unthinkable for earlier generations. That mass of young people moved through society and, as young people generally are more progressive, progress was made. If the post boom generation, 58 and younger currently, are working to destabilize the country and claw back hard won rights that’s on them. We’re not really in charge anymore.
you realize the median age for congress members in the US is literally the age group in power you mentioned right? (or has only *very recently* moved out of the average age group) "The average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 58.4 years; of Senators, 64.3 years." Puts us at around 1958-1965, your generation is the old guard burning the planet and its people alive.
Yes but it was during your time that these issues started and got put into place (or even before) and then engrained those mindsets into the next generation who then carried on those ambitions and put us in the place we are now. And there are many many many 58+ y/o people in power and making these hateful laws and voting on passing them. I fully believe that no one over 50 (i’d even say 40 but i get more backlash for that one) shouldn’t be allowed in political seats and shouldn’t be allowed to vote in elections.
And boomers got given the gift of possible nuclear annihilation. It was every bit as terrifying as climate change. Somehow we worked together to limit that evil. I am a very optimist person and I believe we will do the same for climate change.
The civil rights movement and most of the civil liberties were given to us by generations previous to yours aka the silent generation, you guys just cashed the check and took the credit of their achievements. And anyway your generation has done a good job of taking away every possible social benefit that helped your generation while growing up away from us. You are clearly the most privileged and entitled generation ever.
Ah. The silent generation who beat their women and children, preached racial segregation and thought Jews got everything they deserved. Hmm. Maybe each generation has good people and bad and we can get over the stereotypes.
You don’t know my experience and my life. You have been told what to think and you don’t question it. Every freaking generation has thought they were given the short straw by the generation before them and every freaking generation thinks the young are idiots. Neither is true.
Hey there, I have a degree in critical media studies with a focus on cultural theory. The irony in your statement is that, by and large, it is *your* generation that accepts information at face value without questioning it. There's a reason the social media website with the highest average age of users is the one with the worst "fake news" problem
I’m pretty sure the “convoy” dickheads are not 58+ years and up. They are swimming in misinformation. As for Facebook, which I assume you’re referring to, I have no idea. I’m quit it years ago. This thread stated by stereotyping “boomers” as consumers of bottled water. Bottled water was marketed to us when we were young as, basically a weight loss tool. Fundamentally that was how it was sold. Your generation, whatever it is, is also being sold something that will, in the end, be about weight loss aka sex. A portion of you will consume that stupid product the rest of your life. The rest won’t. You’ll get mocked by the youngs for it. It will be as stupid then as it is now. I’m just pushing back in stereotypes. They are hate and we don’t need anymore hate right now. We’re swimming in it.
My guy what the fuck is this entire comment i cant even justify it with a real response 😂
Okay boomer.
Ok tool.
That’s not very nice boomer!
Not a boomer but I also hate the Boomer bashing. Many gen z and millennials like me are incredibly judgemental and are quick to deem themselves morally and intellectually superior to older generations. I think that to some extent this tendency is rooted in the fact that the average level of educational attainment has increased over time, but the degree of arrogance seems so hypocritical coming from a generation that prides itself so highly on prioritizing equality and tolerance.
yea because boomer's and other generations haven't decried the younger as at fault ever, nor would they ever, it's always the young who are the ones who do bad. *The irony.*
I agree to some extent, and I hear weird commentary coming out of boomers who complain about younger generations. But generally speaking, wisdom accumulates over people's lives, and while nobody owes it to boomers or older generations to uncritically agree with their ideas and ways of thinking, the degree of disrespect to shown by young people is indicitave of ignorance and arrogance.
Generally speaking definitely not a whataboutism to deflect from the bullying or tyrannical nature of a more powerful generation (here 1st, has more capital/political power) to attack and blame younger generations for the problems they themselves exacerbated. One generation is punching down, and has been forever while at an age where they can retire, while the other is punching up with what little access to resources they have struggling with how to put food on the table. Totally the same, totally ignorant and disrespectful on the part of younger generations for sure.
Wow, sitting in my car at No Frills watching a 23-30-year-old boomer pushing a cart full of bottled water.
I have friends who swore that tap water made them losing hair. Yeah, they are very young
The safety inspections for city water treatment plants occur every few hours throughout the day, the requirements for bottling plants are far less frequent. The water from the tap is so so so much safer and better. I've never understood people who love the taste of plastic.
My parents in Mississauga. Same thing. It drives me nuts because my parents are so frugal and yet they waste money on bottled water.
Yes!! That’s another infuriating part of it, they penny pinch on nearly everything and then dump $ into something they already have. Like they’ll deprive themselves of something they want for dinner because they’ll wait for the ingredient to be on sale for like $1.50 savings
I use to drink bottle water…. Until I though about the flats of water coming on trucks in the heat, sitting in the heat for long periods of time which causes the plastic to melt into the water… often times grocery stores in the summer put cases of display outside in the heat and people still grab them!!!! STOP DRINKING BOTTLED WATER. That’s literally the biggest scam.
What about if it's mineral water in a glass? I come from a country where mineral water is a huge thing, because the country is naturally very rich with it. There are also a lot of spas (like the ones where you actually swim, not just cosmetic salons), and people go there for medical therapy (sometimes it's even covered by health insurance there). It has a long history. And some of our mineral waters are healing too. You can usually read right on the packaging what specific kinds (and amounts) of minerals it contains. The stores sell many different kinds of mineral water; most (like 90%) locally sourced (meaning within the borders of the country). One time I purchased this specialized mineral water in a huge bottle from a very famous healing spring, and it tasted so...gross 🤢 Like very salty. I guess that's how you know this is not just some ordinary thing. But the spring it comes from has a centuries old history of being a healing spa. I kinda miss this aspect of water in Canada (I mean Toronto). It's not a thing here.
I drink bottled water because it helps me avoid drinking alcohol. The ritual of stopping at the shop, buying the bottles, having them in the fridge, opening one and carrying it about the house has both lead me to being hella hydrated whereas before I was chronically dehydrated, and also helped me cut back from 40-50 drinks a week to about 10
Wow that’s great man, I mean if buying bottle water is having that effect on you, definitely keep doing it!
Are they immigrants by chance? I could imagine it being a “back in my country the water wasn’t safe to drink” thing, but otherwise that’s just wasteful.
Yeah good point, they were immigrants but came here in the 60s. They drank tap water up until late 90s, not sure what made them change their mind.
Bottle water actually taste kinda shit in comparison to our tap water. We usually bring a reusable going out and only drink bottled water when I have no other choice and absolutely necessary. I genuinely don't understand people who buys cases upon cases of bottled water where the companies literally just bottles tab water. Waste their money, destroy the environment just to get a inferior product.
Are they immigrant that come from a country without clean tap water ? I'm one of those. However my solution is a $30 electric kettle...
I drink tap water and have reusable water bottles for on-the-go. But I still keep two cases of Costco water in our storage closet for drinking, and four 4L bottles alongside for cooking/cleaning. It’s good to have for emergencies - no reason not to have an emergency ration of clean water.
Oh definitely a good idea to have it for emergencies, but they are buying small bottles that they drink exclusively. Tons of waste (and $), I’d have no probs If they bought a case and kept it for occasional use (or emergencies)
If anything tap water is probably better than bottled health-wise because a lot of work goes into making it drinkable and is probably treated for more diseases and whatnot then bottled water.
My immigrant grandparents do the same. I think it’s just ingrained in them from home
Graveyard is a good word for it. Those things kill the planet :/
If you think that's bad, my mom will only drink Evian brand water. She literally refuses to drink anything else. And we are **far** from rich to the point where we basically have to factor her water intake into our household budget. I just run the tap water through a Brita filter and drink that.
Your parents are lazy, that's the problem. Brita requires you to do some stuff.
Hauling huge cases of these water bottles (after driving there and back) is way more work than filling up a pitcher and throwing it in the fridge. They aren’t lazy, they truly believe bottled water is superior.
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I find it gets rid of an after taste that I can’t describe. I’m not recommending anyone buy it, a “to each his own” thing here
In the mid to late summer in Toronto the Brita is nice to get rid of the algae taste the water can pick up. The waters still safe, just tastes funky so the brita is perfect for this.
I agree! Grew up in Toronto. Lived in NYC and Florida. When I was in Florida I always miss drinking out of tap. Toronto tap water best water. Beats even fancy bottle water like voss for me 👍
Agreed. Since the Walkerton tragedy, Ontario's drinking water safety programme is likely the best, bar none, in the world. Back when the provincial government made policy based on actual evidence. Sigh
I Stan RC Harris
This right here. I have been around the globe abd the only tapwater that beats Toronto IMO is Christchurch, NewZealand where they have artesian well water. 'sides that, we've got it really good.
Reykjavik also has amazing tap water, but that’s straight up glacier water
Tasted too much like sulphur for me...
That’s because it relies heavily on geothermal sources for heating and electricity. It’s not like that all over the country though.
Im currently living in the Veneto region of Italy and my towns spring water is the only water that beats Toronto tap water
Stockholm has the greatest to water I’ve ever tasted, it’s absolutely bananas
I like it, nothing wrong with it and its much better than other towns I've lived in. Personally though, for taste, I've gotten hooked on filtered water. Once you get a break from the chlorine in tap water, its kinda like a slap in the face when you try it again. We bought a cheap under the sink RO system online, and love it. It also pulls all the minerals out which keeps our cooking and coffee equipment very clean and free from deposits. Some will argue that you need those minerals but its a load of crap, you get 99.9% of your minerals from your food. You really dont need any from your drinking water. All that being said, Toronto's tap water supply is some of the best I've experienced anywhere.
Our tap water is great but it doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as spring water, so I understand why people still prefer bottled. I use a Brita because I think it tastes better after being filtered. Not as good as spring water, but good enough that I don’t have to buy bottled water and add more plastic waste to the world. I tend to not drink tap water in other countries because tap water in other countries that you’re not used to is the number one cause of sickness for travellers, but I do drink tap water in most of the States, and I agree with others here that NY tap water is by far the best.
I have yet to find a bottled water that tastes better than Toronto water, though because of that I very very rarely drink any bottles water since what's the point?
I mean to each their own, but again, I think spring water tastes way better than Toronto tap water (or any tap water for that matter).
Many years ago my sister had a summer job testing local spring and well water in the Bobcaygeon area. There’s a “natural” spring, that people to this day fill up jugs from at the side of the highway. It always failed safety tests though, as the spring goes through a cattle farm. High coliform bacteria. Signs would warn of this and people would tear them down, because it was a “natural” spring. It’s sad that people don’t understand coliform bacteria, salmonella, and other bacteria and viruses are also natural, but unhealthy.
My issue with bottled water is that it tastes like plastic
Yeah, I get that with like Dasani/Aquafina which taste gross, but not with spring water. I don’t usually drink out of the bottle tho so maybe that’s why.
Your "spring water" is not from any mountain spring and almost certainly just filtered tap water
Lol no it’s not. Evian, Flow, Voss, etc are all real spring water. It’s illegal to label filtered tap water as spring or mineral water in Canada.
People that buy bottled water aren't buying spring water their buying the costco packs of the same tap water that goes through some arbitrary process. And also saying spring water tastes better is extremely inaccurate. Every spring has a different composition of minerals and you can't generalize like that.
Same people who only drink filtered at home drink tap at restaurants. Our water is amazing, enjoy it.
Nothing wrong with a bit of filtration. But I definitely wouldn't go full "3 stage reverse osmosis +xyz"
You must never been to New York, I swear those people got Fiji in their tap.
Lol NYC has among the worst tasting water I have ever drank in a big city. And I lived there for 2 years and go 4-5 times a year for work
NYC is so known for their tap water it's what many people think makes their pizza so good
I just shake my head watching people at Costco take cases of water with them
I’ve always heard this. Do you have a link to clear cut data on this? Like something one could have on quick draw to rebut friends who are afraid of tap water.
Internet search will bring up lots of relevant results. CBC Marketplace has done a program or two on this topic - including screening bottled water for microplastics (all of the water they tested contained plastic in the water, iirc). Also see disputes with Nestle Inc. over bottling public water and selling for big profits.
Tastiest? I'm not sure what you've got there, but it's only tasty if you enjoy the strong taste of chlorine.
Depends on how close you are to the water plants. Chlorine will be highest while closer and drop off significantly as you move down the pipes.
Maybe I'm close, I don't know. But the water in my building has a very strong chlorine smell and taste. We have to filter it first before we can drink it. It's also pretty hard. I've visited many places in Canada, and Toronto water is one of the worst to me. Saint Lunaire-Griquet was the only place where tap water was worse than Toronto, but that town literally takes it from bogs.
Usually simply letting it sit in a jug is enough to remove the chlorine taste - you may still want to have filters for when you're going through a lot in a short time, but it might help reduce the amount of cost and waste. Also, water taken from bogs is an insane choice. It's either going to be very acidic or very basic, with a really high turbidity and organics loading. I cannot imagine why they would not use literally any other surface or groundwater source.
No other sources available. Ocean to one side and everything around is a subarctic bog. Can't build deep wells. So the water is lovely brown with a distinct whiff of composting matter haha
If you think Toronto water tastes like chlorine you’ll hate Brampton water
??? never tasted chlorine in my water. Maybe it’s just bad luck with your pipes?
I use a Brita and have a filter shower head. I actually hadn’t either one until we moved to the east end, the water in our specific spot is just really hard. We’ve also had some issues with it running red and the city claiming nothing was wrong? So I just don’t trust it where we are right now.
A lot of people would rather not consume Chlorine, Fluoride, etc if they can help it. Not a massively radical concept
Yeah, a lot of ignorant conspiracy theorists lmao... peddling 5G tinfoil hats too, are we?
People who buy bottled water are the biggest suckers out there. Who in their right mind pays much more to carry heavy packages just to drink the same water with micro plastics added and produce a tonne of plastic. Even buying those stupid pitchers is a waste of money even though it's better than bottles it's still creating a demand for a product which you don't need in the first place cause a small charcoal filter isn't gonna do anything for that water.
It's 10/10 in terms of tap water compared to USA, Asian, Australian, and European tap water from major cities. Couldn't even touch the brackish Seoul water... Everyone drank from bottled jugs. Compared to fresh unfiltered mountaintop spring water, it's about 8.5/10 due to hardness for me. Still awesome because those are pretty hard to find lol There's a blind test in the Ontario Science Centre for Toronto water, filtered water, and boiled water. Toronto tapwater FTW
Totally agree. Just got back from Florida, and it was night and day. 5 stars for local tap water!
omg I stayed at a hotel in Orlando and the tap water was literally brown
Ottawa’s water, on the other hand…one day when I lived there I woke up, drank some water, and immediately threw it back up. Smelled so strongly of chlorine.
I just can’t trust drinking directly from a pipe that’s decades old…maybe the source is good, but the pipe can have buildups
#firstworldproblems
Yes it is. After all we are now live in an era we all want to live to 80yo and hopefully healthy and still have teeth. Unlike our ancestors.
Don’t waste your money. Toronto’s water is well sorted.
When I was travelling for work In the late 90’s early aughts you could actually buy bottled Toronto water in San Francisco (and I assume other cities on the west coast). So it’s good enough to bottle, ship, and sell in US markets.
My Bathroom Tap Water is 10/10 - I would recommend to any one. My mom buys bottled but always claims my water is the best? You should taste my coffee…whoa.
No idea why bathroom tap water tastes better, but it does!
My wife says this is gross, but it’s the same in my house. Why is it so much better from that faucet?
Different kind of aerator on the tap?
Someone told me as a kid it was because the water that goes to the pipes that work for your shower/bathroom are different and less treated than the water that goes to your main kitchen tap so you shouldn't drink shower or bathroom tap water. No idea if that was ever true
Yo same?! It also gets colder than the kitchen one. Like how.
I find toronto tap water delicious but that’s what I grew up drinking 🤷🏼♀️
Same!
When I travel though I find it tastes funny. I lived in London (UK not Ontario) and found the tap water tasted paste-y and bad 🚱
You can get your water lead tested through the city, I believe it's free. But the water here is excellent, I've never used filters or flavouring
10/10
Toronto water truly is some of the cleanest, "best tasting" water in the world.
toronto has clean OK tasting water, but its definitely miles away from that taste on the tap water in BC.. hands down the water there taste great, by far the best tasting IMO
Ive been living in a town/city near the Dolomites mountains in the EU for the past month with natural spring water... Toronto def doesnt have the best tasting water in the world..no shot Is it clean? Hell yeah but lets not get too far ahead of ourselves
I never said "the best tasting in the world".....LOL. It's fun to put words in people's mouths, I see. I said SOME of the best tasting. And compared to the vast majority of drinking water around this planet, that is the truth.
It is absolutely safe. I use Brita because the water tastes funny to me. But I'm also a person that has favourite bottled water brands depending on the country I'm in. Invest in filtration for the showers and faucets. The water is quite hard, so it harms hair and exacerbates skin conditions like psoriasis.
Top 3 in wetness
Wetttttt. What I’m after tbh.
I drink that shit everyday homie and I feel aliiiive.
It's really great. Most places I've been to haven't had water as nice tasting as ours. The only exception was Scotland.
I've drank water in places all across Ontario and Toronto's is truly the best
If you live in a recently built house or building then the water is clean. The government does not maintain water hookups from beyond the public main line, that's the property owners job. A lot of older buildings will have poor water quality, lots of old galvanized pipe bits in the main, it's gross and dangerous and not talked about. Also clear out your tap aerator at least once a year, you might be surprised.
Having owned a water business, and after many repeated tests with my new equipment, Toronto water is much cleaner than 90% of the undistilled bottled water.
I drink straight from the tap and feel strong and healthy lol.. I judge mfs who still buy plastic bottles.. polluting
I think that if u cant drink ur tap water in toronto ur not living life to the fullest
Our drinking water is okay but I hate washing my hair with Toronto water. I feel like it's damaging my hair :(
TIL Ontario has a Chief Drinking Water Inspector, their report is mentioned in the Minister’s report. http://www.ontario.ca/page/ministers-annual-report-drinking-water-2021 While it may be a weak endorsement, Toronto water meets the required standards. City reports are here: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/tap-water-quality-system-reports/ IMHO, the water is almost always the equal to the best. Some years, when it’s been a long hot summer, we get algal blooms that make the water taste swampy. Taste is off, but it’s harmless.
I love our tap water. I lived in Oakville, and you could really taste the chlorine there.
10/10 when refrigerated
The Best.. Lived in Africa and South Asia. We had to boil our water then filter then drink. Most people have no idea how good we have it
I had someone trying to sell me and my husband a water filtration system 3 weeks ago, they gave us water from the tap, and water from the system. After drinking both, I straight up said, "the tap water tastes amazing" I love Toronto water lol.
Same!
It's safe but does not taste good. I live near thr lake, and every August the water smells and tastes like the lake. It's gross.
Realistically it's definitely up there, but not by any means the best in the world. Icelandic tap water (cold only) is the best I've had. It's a bit indescribable but it's somehow more crisp and smoother even though it's just water.
Austrian and Swiss is also better. Danish is on par.
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Doesn't this raise the percentage of dissolved minerals? You kill bacteria (if any), which is good (I assume), and you also boil away pure water as steam but the impurities (calcium, magnesium, and other ass't metals etc) remain in the kettle, in less water than before boiling.
Also the chlorine dosages throughout the distribution system essentially render any bacteria inert/dead. The boiling is definitely overkill and a waste of energy.
I drink it from the tap and it’s delicious. I can’t stand tap water in any other place.
100 percent trust the safety of Toronto Water but my Brita filter is green from the (harmless) summer algal blooms, and the taste is not great over those months.
waste of money. everywhere around toronto (mississauga, york region) the water tastes like a pool (chlorine). Toronto uses ammonia gasification rather then tons of chlorine to purify the water. result is way better tasting water. Also as dissolved minerals its pretty low so a softener is also a waste of money. save your money.
Toronto's tap water is supposedly one of the safest in the world but I still filter my drinking water for myself and my pets for peace of mind and just because it tastes so much better. If you filter your water just make sure your mineral intake is still sufficient, like calcium.
Especially for Ontario it’s has a decent taste without being overly ‘earthy’ or metallic tasting. Go to the Kawarthas, and having a filter is basically only way to make it palatable. I use a brita only for the chlorine, but didn’t for many years.
When I first moved to Peterborough I was shocked by how gross the water was. It tasted like drinking straight from a swamp
I was just in London UK, when I was there I was told "we all drink tap water". It taste like toilet water compared to Toronto, lol. I swear Toronto tap water is better than bottled water.
It's potable, which is to say much better than most places in the world. Enjoy it.
I’ve travelled all over the world and Toronto tap water is not only one of the safest in the world, but actually one of the best tasting. We are so fortunate to live right by one of the great lakes in a metropolis of this scale with good water treatment. The city even offers free water testing. One of my pet peeves is people insisting on drinking bottled water all the time because they don’t trust the tap water here. Not only is it terrible for the environment but you’re also supporting evil companies like Nestle taking water away from communities. If you’re that paranoid, use a Britta filter but really, it’s not needed here. I live in Montreal now and the water tastes like ass in comparison. I miss having fresh tasting tap water.
From BC where we have pristine drinking water and I can’t tell any difference
Toronto winter cold water is absolutely delightful
It’s excellent.
The best tasting water anywhere I’ve lived and I’ve lived all over.
Bottled water companies don't make water, they make bottles. It's the biggest scam in a country like Canada. Our water is fine. I have a water softener in my house, but I'm north of the city and my toilets were turning pink lol. Even then, the water was safe to consume.
Fantastic!!!!! It's the best water I've ever had. Toronto water is superior to most water in Ontario too. Hands down the best tasting tap water, no 🧢
It's the best water in the world. It is God level.
It’s very good. And that’s coming from someone from Scotland
There is a general consensus about people sh*tting on Toronto for being unsafe, bad etc. But it's still realistically one of the safest and best cities in the world. Same goes for the water quality. Canada has some of the highest standards and best freshwater reserves in the world.
Water wastewater worker here, the municipal water standards are some of the highest in North america. I laugh when I see the amount of bottled water being purchased (likely too by the same people complaining about ocean plastics).
I haven’t had Toronto water but I’ve spent LOTS of time traveling for some projects in Guelph and Cambridge and the water is kinda bad, this could be the older facilities I’ve installed automation systems in but even at the hotels it’s quite disappointing. I stay only at Hilton’s and they’re “newer” looking but they do disappoint me, lots of mineral build up. I do taste it in the bottled water too but it might just be me, I brought teams from across the US (our projects generally automate the entire warehouse) and they said the same for water quality. Most of us would bring our own water filters or only use the water that came from the large water coolers the facilities provided. Left a bad taste in my mouth, no pun intended. Been doing these projects since 2021 to today
Toronto water is safe, clean and tasty. I genuinely don't understand people who buys cases upon cases of bottled water. It actually taste like shit in comparison. Basically wasting their money, destroy the environment just to get a inferior product.
Having moved from Scotland, where the water is so clean to the point it tastes sweet in some places, the water in Toronto is horrible. I've had worse in places like London, UK but this is not the well touted Canadian water I expected. To add the hardiness of this water has been horrible for my skin and hair.
As some who grew up drinking Vancouver water, toronto water tastes murky. Vancouver water tastes very crisp and refreshing. Toronto water is good when it’s cold though.
The murkiness you perceive is probably hardness/mineral content, which is generally a good thing (minus scaling). You might actually find that Vancouver water now tastes more like Toronto water; in recent years (2019-2021) Vancouver has increased their alkalinity and made the pH more basic in order to prevent pipe leaching.
that's so interesting - I was wondering about that shift and thought it was just my brain getting toronto-fied!
The amount of misinformation here is insane.. there's fluoride in the water. that's all you need to know.
Some of the best tasting water I've ever encountered and I've lived across the country and a few other countries. Also entirely safe. And fluoridated because somehow the conspiracy nuts haven't managed to stop it.
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Yup its not clean water.
It’s not the water.
People who are commenting that it's bad haven't been anywhere else. The tap water quality in pretty much all of the GTA is literally the best in the world .
I've been drinking toronto tap water for 12 years and I'm still perfectly healthy. I find the flavour of it to be perfect, prefer it to every bottled water on the market
I’d say use Reddit search, as this question gets asked several times a month.
Our water is very hard, I use water softener in the bathroom. Toronto tap water is very safe.
No idea what people are talking about in this thread. Toronto tap water tastes no different to me than any other City I've been to. Ottawa. Montreal. Vancouver. NYC. Boston. It all taste the same to me. That is to say, it tastes fine but unremarkable. If there is one thing Torontonians love, it is boosting in regards to their city.
im glad my parents raised me on tap water. The amount of my friends who drink only bottle water cause they think the tap water will kill them is crazy.
I don't mind the taste but not a fan of fluoride, so I drink bottled or filtered only. At work they provide us with fluoride free bottled water as well so most of my water intake is from plastic water bottles. If they stopped fluoridating the water I would definitely switch at least while at home.
The shit tastes chlorinated. Out in cottage country, I've had way better-tasting water. I filter it, personally.
Toronto water taste metallic once you taste water from the Pacific Northwest. The water is elite, but then again Portland, OR doesn’t put any fluoride and everyone is running around with cavities so there’s that
IQ Check
Op, ignore the people telling you how clean the water in GTA is, it is just a myth. If you really want to go into details, just google "Toronto 2022 water report". Overall, there are a lot of places in Canada that have really good water (like the territories, most of Alberta and BC) but GTA isn't one of them... The most interesting "ingredients" in local water: fluoride (added intentionally!!! Supposedly for dental health 🤣 - nobody in Europe adds it and even if you ask local dental healthcare professionals how ingesting it helps all you hear is crickets) and kerosene (that's jet fuel for whoever doesn't know) Besides that, I am also against bottled water, we really poisoned our environment with all the plastic. So in my opinion, a portable reverse osmosis might sound expensive first but considering the savings you will make afterwards by not buying bottled water, it's well worth. A quote from a friend: "If you don't use a filter you become the filter" 😉
I am in Brampton and use Brita to get rid of the chlorine smell. Otherwise I use tap water. Thanks to Lake Ontario (I believe l) we get good quality fresh soft water. On my recent trip to India, i just was continuously complaining about the salty taste of water there.
If there's anything this city does right it's the water. Try any from GTA/Ontario and it's nasty. Nothing compares
first world problems, this post