Healthy home · 4 min read · Updated 1 October 2026
What's actually in Melbourne tap water? Chlorine, fluoride and hardness explained
Melbourne's tap water is treated, tested and reported on every year. Here's what the chlorine, fluoride and hardness figures mean, and where to read your own area's results.
Where it comes from
Most of Melbourne's water is collected in closed, forested catchments in the Yarra Ranges, with the desalination plant and other sources topping it up when needed. Melbourne Water treats and supplies it, and your local retailer (Greater Western Water, South East Water or Yarra Valley Water) delivers it to your tap.
Chlorine
- A small amount is added so the water stays clean on its long trip through the pipes.
- Levels are typically well under 1 mg/L at the tap. The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines' limit is 5 mg/L.
- It's what you can sometimes taste or smell. A carbon filter, or a jug left in the fridge, reduces it.
- A few outer areas use chloramine instead, which lasts longer in the pipes.
Fluoride
- Added to Melbourne's water since 1977, as required in Victoria, at around 1 mg/L.
- The guidelines' limit is 1.5 mg/L.
- Most carbon filters don't remove fluoride. Reverse osmosis does.
Hardness
- Hardness is the calcium and magnesium in water, the stuff that leaves white scale in kettles.
- Melbourne's water is among the softest in Australia, typically well under 60 mg/L, the line between soft and hard.
- That's why scale is rarely a problem here, and why most Melbourne homes don't need a water softener.
Check your own area
Water quality is reported by supply zone. Your retailer's annual drinking water quality report lists the results for your area, and Melbourne Water explains how the water is tested along the way.
How Melbourne Water tests your water
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (NHMRC)
Revo's tipWater tastes of chlorine after a holiday? Run the cold tap for a minute first thing. It clears the water that's been sitting in your pipes.