Your water starts long before it reaches your tap.
Rainfall, rivers, dams, groundwater, desalination, treatment plants, storage and distribution networks all shape the water supplied to Australian homes. Start with your city to understand the broad journey—then add your property and household goals to decide what comes next.
Choose your city
Use local utility information to understand the broad setting. Then add source, property age, pipework, pressure, household size, installation space and the concern that brought you here.
Sydney
Sydney water is supplied through catchments and dams, with desalination available when required, before treatment and distribution through the network.
Melbourne
Melbourne draws largely from protected catchments, supported by reservoirs and desalination capacity.
Brisbane
Brisbane is part of the South East Queensland water grid, with dams, treatment plants and pipelines including major supply from Mt Crosby.
Perth
Perth uses a diverse mix that can include groundwater, desalinated water, surface storage and groundwater replenishment.
Capital cities are the first layer
Hobart uses multiple sources and treatment systems, so questions about source, treatment, disinfection, taste, property plumbing and household filtration need local context. The capital guides are only a starting point: future coverage can extend to Alice Springs, Katherine, regional and remote Northern Territory communities, Launceston, north-west Tasmania and regional southern Tasmania. Operational source mixes can change, so individual guides should always be checked against current utility information.
Every city guide answers the same core questions
Each guide follows the same six-part structure so you can compare places without confusing city context with a product prescription.
More capital city guides
Continue with Adelaide, Canberra and Darwin. Each summary separates current city-level context from the property-specific details needed before any treatment decision.
Adelaide
Adelaide can draw from reservoirs, the River Murray and desalination, with the contribution of each source changing over time. Explore taste, hardness, scale, disinfection, drinking-water treatment and source variation.
Canberra
Canberra water is supplied from catchments and reservoirs before treatment and distribution. Explore sources, treatment, public monitoring, careful interpretation of PFAS information and when household treatment may add value.
Darwin
Darwin’s supply can include Darwin River Dam and borefield sources, with Manton Dam part of the broader system. Tropical and seasonal conditions make source, minerals, disinfection and sediment useful questions to explore.
Before a city guide becomes a recommendation, add the home.
Bring the postcode, water source if known, property age, pipe material, pressure concerns, household size and the change you actually want. City-level information supplies context; these details reveal whether the next step is education, testing, installation advice or a system conversation.