Mountain StationCity of Nelson water is considered to be of excellent quality. The city collects, sanitizes and distributes water to all Nelson neighbourhoods, except for the North Shore. The city reservoir and chlorinator are located in Uphill, above the Burlington Northern Railway line. Nelson is working toward the Interior Health Authority's 4-3-2-1-0 Drinking Water Objective Mandate [PDF - 100 KB], in an effort to comply with provincial regulations on water quality.



Raw Water Analyses 2015 [PDF - 214 KB]




The distribution system is a fan-shaped network of gravity mains, storage reservoirs, pressure reducing stations (10), hydrants (319) and system valves (1,600), serving four pressure zones. There are about 87 kilometres of underground piping throughout the utility ranging in size from 50 to 400 mm.

Nelson does implement water restriction during summer months to ensure adequate supplies during this period.


Nelson uses an average 2,500,000 cubic metres of water a year, with peak usage occurring between June and August. The bar graph below shows monthly water usage in Nelson over the six-year period between 2005 and 2009.

Units in cubic metres

Things You Can Do to Save Water In the Home


  1. Run your automatic dishwasher and washing machine with full loads only.
  3. Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables. Rinse them in a stoppered sink or a pan of clean water.
  4. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator. Running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful.
  5. Check faucets and pipes for leaks. Leaks waste water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can often be repaired with an inexpensive washer.

In the Yard

  1. Sweep your driveway, don't wash it with the hose. Washing driveways is a significant waste of water. Use a spring load nozzle on your hose. A running hose wastes more than 20 litres of water per minute. Wash your vehicle with a bucket and sponge, and only use the hose to wet your vehicle down and to rinse your vehicle off.
  2. Step on your grass to determine if it needs watering. If it springs back, it doesn't need watering.
  3. When the sun rises so does the mercury. After about 10 a.m. heat steals moisture from your lawn. With early morning watering, you can use less water because more is absorbed into your lawn, not evaporated into the air. You will save time when you water at daybreak.

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