What the day-to-day numbers mean
Some report pages show hardness, sodium, pH, and similar. Those cards are long-term plant averages — not a one-off test of your kitchen glass.
What these cards are
Where a system took part in a long-term lab program, we show day-to-day notes: hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, fluoride, pH. They answer ordinary questions — is the water hard? is sodium high for a low-salt diet? — not “was my glass safe this morning?”
Status and “closer look” items come from a different public file (testing flags, orders, and related records). Missing day-to-day cards usually mean “no samples in that program,” not a warning.
Quick meanings
Compare lines follow Ontario’s drinking-water standards and provincial objectives (plus a sodium diet notice at 20 mg/L).
- Hardness — minerals that cause scale and soap trouble. Soft under ~60 mg/L, hard about 60–180, very hard above ~180 (as CaCO3). Comfort/appliances, not a safety score. See hard water vs safety.
- pH — how acidic or basic. Ontario operational guidance for treated water is usually about 6.5–8.5. Outside that band is treatment/pipe context, not a panic label.
- Sodium — diet notice above 20 mg/L for low-sodium diets; Ontario aesthetic objective ≤200 mg/L (taste). Not a “poison” line.
- Chloride — minerals or road-salt influence. Ontario aesthetic objective ≤250 mg/L.
- Nitrate (+ nitrite) — Ontario standard 10 mg/L as N (O. Reg. 169/03), mainly to protect infants. Most city plant averages sit far below.
- Fluoride — dental target often about 0.5–0.8 mg/L where communities add it; Ontario standard 1.5 mg/L (O. Reg. 169/03).
How to read the second line
Each card pairs a plain conclusion with a short compare line (for example “In the usual range · usual 6.5–8.5”). Read them together: long-term plant context, not a diagnosis of your kitchen plumbing.