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Map of Water Treatment Plant

Water Utility

For its supply of safe, good quality water, Fredericton relies on groundwater from a gravel deposit located under its downtown area. The naturally filtered water is removed from this deposit or "aquifer" by 8 large wells, located in the Wilmot Park area. The removed water is naturally recharged by the St. John River and by rainwater.

The water is treated to remove manganese before being distributed to over 98 percent of the City's population. To enhance and protect the quality of the water, the City incorporates breakpoint chlorination; strict operation, maintenance, repair, and construction procedures and controls; a backflow prevention program; plumbing permitting and inspection; customer inquiries investigation; and a thorough quality monitoring program.

• Typical Water Quality Results

Basic data on Fredericton's water system is as follows:

Typical daily demand: 24 ML                     (M=Million, L=Litres)
Treatment Plant Capacity: 50 ML/D
Total reservoir storage: 58 ML
Total length of mains: 240 Km

Wastewater is collected from 98 percent of our citizens as well, and all that is collected is treated to the satisfaction of the provincial regulators at three sites. One site is a mechanical treatment facility, and the other two are aerated lagoons.

Property owners are billed quarterly for the services. Bills presently include quarterly charges of $23 for each service for the infrastructure, and $0.53 per kilolitre for each service, as measured by the water meter. 

Water Metering & Billing

Water meters are placed just inside the wall of all homes in Fredericton. The Utility is investigating various types of remote and automatic reading technology for safe and convenient service. Such technology may be used in relation to your service. Water and wastewater billing is done every 3 months. 

 Water Treatment Plant Historical Highlights

• 1883 - Original construction of building to serve as a pumphouse, using the St. John River as a supply
• 1906 - Expanded the structure, building a filtration plant featuring one of the first applications of rapid sand filtration for surface water treatment 
• 1912 - Chlorination begun, using chlorides of lime (Fredericton was among the first municipalities in North America to chlorinate) 
• 1955-1982 - Building served as pumping station for a well water supply developed in Wilmot Park 
• 1984 - Building was renovated and expanded to house pressure filtration equipment for removal of manganese from the Wilmot Park well water (North America's largest manganese removal plant) 
• 1987 - Began servicing Fredericton's North Side, replacing numerous North Side wells
• 1993 - Plant expanded to house increased filtration equipment