Alberta Environment has set a new performance standard for particulate control in drinking water, which sets a new challenge for Edmonton's water treatment plants. Based on using particle-counting technology as a new measurement tool for the drinking water industry, a new perspective for filter media design is required in order to be compatible with the new technology. This paper summarizes the results from a filter media study that included a pilot-scale phase 1 and a full-scale phase 2. This study was conducted from 2001 to 2002 to examine the performance of different filter media designs under a stringent particle count standard. The purpose of this study was to find a filtration system that can keep particle count levels in finished water well below the new standard. The final suggestion of this study is a dual-media filter. This filter consists of a 550 mm depth of sand with an effective size of 0.35 mm and a 200 mm depth of anthracite with an effective size of 0.9 mm on the top of the sand. The E. L. Smith Water Treatment Plant in EPCOR is upgrading its filter media by using this new filter media design to replace the old filter media design in 2003. Includes 2 references, table, figures.