Soft-water copper pinhole leaks
High
Metro Vancouver’s soft, mineral-free water cannot form a protective scale inside copper pipes, so chlorinated water pits the bare copper and creates microscopic pinhole leaks.
Affects any building with bare copper supply lines; risk grows with pipe age (decades).
What it means for you: Silent leaks weep behind drywall causing rot and mould; through concrete slabs a single leak can cascade down multiple floors, causing extensive damage.
Cost signal: Some stratas install chemical-injection systems (e.g. Hytec) to coat pipe interiors as mitigation.
Check: History of pinhole-leak claims, pipe age, and whether an injection/mitigation system is installed.