Highland Creek Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)
Water Hardness
Source
lake
pH Level
8.3
neutral = 7.0
Lead
0.005 mg/L
✓ Below action level
TDS
690.1 mg/L
Est. Daily Cost
$0.69
energy & soap waste
Source: Health Canada Water Quality · Updated 2026
0–60
mg/L
Soft
61–120
mg/L
Moderately Hard
121–180
mg/L
Hard
180+
mg/L
Very Hard
Appliance Damage Report
In Highland Creek, your appliances are currently losing 34% efficiency due to mineral buildup.
| Appliance | In Highland Creek | Soft Water City | Efficiency Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kettle | 1.5 yrs | 8.5 yrs | -82% |
| Washing Machine | 4.1 yrs | 12 yrs | -66% |
| Water Heater | 5.3 yrs | 15 yrs | -65% |
Regional Water Comparison
How Highland Creek compares to its nearest neighbours
| City | Hardness | Mineralization | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ Highland Creek, Ontario | 258 mg/L | Very High | 🔴 Very Hard |
| Rouge, Ontario | 172 mg/L | High | 🟠 Hard |
| West Hill, Ontario | 269.5 mg/L | Very High | 🔴 Very Hard |
| Centennial Scarborough, Ontario | 232.5 mg/L | Very High | 🔴 Very Hard |
| Morningside, Ontario | 250 mg/L | Very High | 🔴 Very Hard |
National Benchmark
How Highland Creek compares to the Canada average
| Benchmark | Hardness | Appliance Risk |
|---|---|---|
| ▶ Highland Creek | 258 mg/L | 🔴 High |
| Canada National Avg | 141 mg/L | 🟠 Moderate |
| Vancouver Top Rated | 3 mg/L | 🟢 None |
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What Makes Highland Creek's Water Unique?
Local geology and source profile
Highland Creek (a Scarborough neighbourhood in the extreme east end of Toronto, at the mouth of the Highland Creek valley near the Rouge National Urban Park — east of Centennial College Morningside Campus, north of Port Union Village, a residential community of post-war and 1960s–1970s bungalows and split-levels on the Scarborough plateau above the Highland Creek ravine, one of the most environmentally significant creek corridors in Toronto with the Highland Creek Trail connecting to the Rouge River and the Lake Ontario waterfront, a neighbourhood of established families and strong East Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil community presence in the Morningside-Highland Creek corridor) receives its drinking water from the City of Toronto, drawing from Lake Ontario via the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. Water is treated using ozonation, biofiltration, UV disinfection, and chloramination, meeting all Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (GCDWQ) standards. Hardness is 258 mg/L (15.1 gpg) — classified as very hard by Health Canada, in the anomalously harder far-east Scarborough distribution sub-zone.
Highland Creek's 258 mg/L joins the cluster of anomalously harder east Toronto distribution sub-zones, alongside Flemingdon Park (274.5 mg/L), Hillcrest Village (269.5 mg/L), West Hill (269.5 mg/L), Beaches (265.5 mg/L), Woodbine Corridor and Greenwood-Coxwell (both 254.5 mg/L). This far-east Scarborough distribution sub-zone at the Morningside-Highland Creek corridor appears to receive supply through the R.C. Harris east distribution with elevated hardness accumulation consistent with the broader east Toronto anomalous harder sub-zone pattern.
At 258 mg/L, Highland Creek residents face persistent scale challenges — weekly to biweekly kettle and showerhead descaling is typical. The City of Toronto provides multilingual water quality information at toronto.ca/water. Health Canada lead service line precautionary guidance applies to the neighbourhood's post-war bungalow housing stock for pre-1955 properties in the established Scarborough residential streets.
Geology & Source: Supplied by City of Toronto from Lake Ontario via the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant — the Highland Creek far-east Scarborough distribution sub-zone carries anomalously hard water at 258 mg/L (15.1 gpg), at the upper end of the east Scarborough anomalous harder sub-zone cluster.