Worried about tap water quality in an old apartment

Hi CK, 

I chanced upon your blog while searching for answer to water quality. I moved into a old apartment recently (Braddell View) and wondering if I need to invest in water filtration system (rather not as I’m renting). 

You mention in your blog that PUB does quality check of residential area. How do I get a report or know if I can drink direct from tap? The source may be ok but not sure about the aged pipes. 

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. 

Regards,

T

Hi T,

PUB does water quality (WQ) testing of residential areas but their data have never been disclosed to the public. At best, you can get an annual WQ report from their website. However, this report does not segregate into different localities or indicate the dates/times of testing.

If you have good reason to suspect that your tap water is unsafe, you can call PUB to perform a WQ test in your residence. However, PUB will typically not reveal the results nor the tests they did except to tell you that your water is EITHER SAFE OR NOT.

The other alternative is to do your own testing but I do not recommend this unless you are pretty savvy in WQ and its testing. Even if you are, you still need the budget for the test kits or to pay a commercial lab to do the testing.

Good luck!

CK