Northwest Territories
The 30 hardness figures we’ve verified run from 0.7 to 23 grains per gallon, with a median of 5.8; 33% are hard or very hard.
SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hard
Soft to very hard 0.7–23.0 gpg
How the 30 figures spread across the bands
- Soft 1
- Slightly hard 4
- Moderately hard 15
- Hard 6
- Very hard 4
- Hardness
- 5.8 gpg medianAverage 7.2 gpg (123 ppm), from 0.7 to 23. Each published figure counts once in the average, median and spread; a figure published as a range is shown as its range and isn't averaged.
- Coverage
- 31 places36 listings as published, on 3 named water systems or zones
- Disinfectant
- 0 of 30use chloramine; 30 use chlorine
- Fluoride
- 3 of 30add fluoride to their water
Every place we have
Sources are each city’s water quality report or its utility. Gather the listings up by place or by the water system that serves them, or see every listing as published; open a group to see what’s in it.
31 places
| On the scale | Disinfectant | Fluoride | Sources | Ask Aqua | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nahanni Butte |
23 gpg394 ppm, very hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardVery hard 23 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Sachs Harbour |
22 gpg376 ppm, very hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardVery hard 22 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Aklavik |
14 gpg246 ppm, very hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardVery hard 14 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Paulatuk |
14 gpg230 ppm, very hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardVery hard 14 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Behchokǫ̀3 listings: Edzo Water Treatment Plant; Rae Water Treatment Plant |
2.8–10 gpg47–172 ppm, slightly hard to hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hard
Slightly hard to hard 2.8–10.1 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessHardness 2Disinfectant | |
Behchokǫ̀ |
– | Chlorine | – | Disinfectant | ||
Behchokǫ̀ (Edzo Water Treatment Plant) |
10 gpg172 ppm, hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardHard 10 gpg |
– | Not fluoridated | Hardness | |
Behchokǫ̀ (Rae Water Treatment Plant) |
2.8 gpg47 ppm, slightly hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardSlightly hard 2.8 gpg |
– | Not fluoridated | Hardness | |
Gamètì |
9.6 gpg164 ppm, hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardHard 9.6 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort Good Hope |
8.6 gpg147 ppm, hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardHard 8.6 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Norman Wells |
7.8 gpg134 ppm, hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardHard 7.8 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Wrigley |
7.6 gpg130 ppm, hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardHard 7.6 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Ulukhaktok |
7.2 gpg123 ppm, hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardHard 7.2 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessHardness 2Disinfectant | |
Hay River |
6.4 gpg110 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 6.4 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Inuvik |
6.4 gpg110 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 6.4 gpg |
Chlorine | – | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort Resolution |
6.3 gpg108 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 6.3 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort Smith |
6.3 gpg108 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 6.3 gpg |
Chlorine | – | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort Liard |
5.8 gpg99 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 5.8 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort Simpson |
5.8 gpg100 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 5.8 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Whatì |
5.8 gpg100 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 5.8 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort Providence |
5.7 gpg98 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 5.7 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Jean Marie River |
5.5 gpg94 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 5.5 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Colville Lake |
5.3 gpg91 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 5.3 gpg |
– | Not fluoridated | Hardness | |
Sambaa K'e |
4.9 gpg84 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 4.9 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Łutselk'e |
4.6 gpg79 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 4.6 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Tulita |
4.5 gpg77 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 4.5 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Délı̨nę |
4.2 gpg71 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 4.2 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Tuktoyaktuk |
4.0 gpg68 ppm, moderately hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardModerately hard 4.0 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Tsiigehtchic |
2.5 gpg43 ppm, slightly hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardSlightly hard 2.5 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Fort McPherson |
2.3 gpg40 ppm, slightly hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardSlightly hard 2.3 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Yellowknife2 listings: Yellowknife Water Treatment Facility |
1.6 gpg27 ppm, slightly hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardSlightly hard 1.6 gpg |
Chlorine | Added | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Yellowknife |
1.6 gpg27 ppm, slightly hard | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardSlightly hard 1.6 gpg |
Chlorine | – | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Yellowknife (Yellowknife Water Treatment Facility) |
– | – | Added | |||
Wekweètì |
0.7 gpg12 ppm, soft | SoftSlightly hardModerately hardHardVery hardSoft 0.7 gpg |
Chlorine | Not fluoridated | HardnessDisinfectant | |
Dettah2 listings: Yellowknife Water Treatment Facility |
– | Chlorine | Added | Disinfectant | ||
Dettah |
– | Chlorine | – | Disinfectant | ||
Dettah (Yellowknife Water Treatment Facility) |
– | – | Added | |||
Ndilǫ2 listings: Yellowknife Water Treatment Facility |
– | Chlorine | Added | Disinfectant | ||
Ndilǫ |
– | Chlorine | – | Disinfectant | ||
Ndilǫ (Yellowknife Water Treatment Facility) |
– | – | Added |
Missing your city? Aquatell researches cities on request from the utility’s own reports, usually within a week. A note on a figure says what we found when we checked it: units that didn’t agree, another page with a different figure, a range.
What to do about it
Hard water
Above about 3.5 grains per gallon, scale builds in water heaters, fixtures and appliances. A softener sized for your hardness and household removes it for the whole house.
Chlorine or chloramine
Standard carbon removes chlorine’s taste and smell. Chloramine lasts longer in the pipes and needs catalytic carbon to remove it.
Fluoride
Reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap removes most fluoride; carbon filters don’t.
