Fort McMurray drinking water path

• Source & supply

  Athabasca River

  Treated water from the Silin Forest Road plant feeds the urban distribution system and regional customers. Man-made holding reservoirs allow the plant to pause river withdrawals for roughly two weeks during high turbidity or post-wildfire sediment events.

  After the 2016 Horse River wildfire, ash and sediment pulses forced higher chemical use and temporary reliance on stored raw water—highlighting how boreal fire risk sits directly above this Athabasca intake.

• Treatment

  Fort McMurray Water Treatment Plant (RMWB Regional Waterworks)

  Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo plant serving the Fort McMurray urban area and nearby communities such as Anzac, Saprae Creek, and Gregoire Lake Estates; intake on the Athabasca River with raw-water holding reservoirs used when river quality is poor.

• At the tap

  Hardness 162 mg/L (Hard)

  Grade A (Excellent)

  pH 7 · lead 0.2 μg/L

  ECCC / municipal open data (seed)