PtreeCreekBrew

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Has anyone had a recent Fulton County water report done?

There are a lot of "average" values out there, and BeerSmith even has one...just curious if anyone has anything empirical.

Also, I've heard that ATL alternates between chlorine and chloramine usage. Any validity to this? I typically treat with K-meta but it would be nice to know if I'm adding an unnecessary step.

Thanks!

OldGold

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I am mailing a sample today. I'll post the results. It's downstream of a carbon filter, I'm not sure how different that is from what would come straight out of the tap.

I called the number on the water quality report to see if they had any additional info and talked to a chemist. Unfortunately, they don't test for what I was looking for but he did tell me that leaving the Chattahoochee WTP the hardness was 24.4 mg/L CaCo3, alkalinity was 16.8 and chlorine was 1.29 ppm.

I read the same thing somewhere about chloramines but he said they use strictly sodium hypochlorite and never chloramines for disinfection (that's why I got the carbon filter). I live very close to the Chattahoochee WTP, but Atlanta also has a Hemphill WTP. The water source is the same for both, and I would think they use the same disinfection method, but they may not.

PtreeCreekBrew

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Hadn't heard about hypochlorite use. Those values are (nominally) harder than what I've found other places. I imagine your carbon filter will probably be fairly soft.

I too am very close to Chattahoochee WTP. I'd guess they have a similar treatment SOP...

mabrungard

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Bubbling chlorine gas into water creates hypochlorite. That is the actual molecule that exists in water when we speak of chlorine. There are solids and liquids that are also used in the water industry for disinfection. Sodium hypochlorite is typically a liquid and calcium hypochlorite is typically a solid.

To create chloramines, they may use any of the disinfectants mentioned above. They then add ammonia to the water to convert hypochlorite to a form of chloramine.

Chattahoochee water is fairly pristine and pure, so the water company may not have to worry about using chloramine. But if Lake Lanier gets any dirtier, they might have to. Organic matter in the water is what typically forces a water utility to switch from chlorine to chloramine.

__________________
Martin Brungard, P.E. D.WRE
Carmel, IN
BJCP National
Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI)

Brewing Water Information at:
https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/

OldGold

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This is my report from Ward Lab. It's about what I expected based on other reports I have seen. I'm hoping the carbon filter removes any chlorine and sediment, but I don't think it affects the mineral profile.

pH 7.5
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 91
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.15
Cations / Anions, me/L 1.3 / 1.2

ppm
Sodium, Na 11
Potassium, K 3
Calcium, Ca 10
Magnesium, Mg 2
Total Hardness, CaCO3 33
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.7 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 6
Chloride, Cl 12
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 26
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 22

PtreeCreekBrew

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Awesome, thank you.

That's actually slightly harder than a lot of the numbers I've seen from other places...not really enough to make a difference but good to know.

Again, thanks!