Tap water with low pH

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ReverendJ

ReverendJ

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Hi All,
Just did a very compressive water test on my home tap (well water) and while it didn't find anything nasty (lead, arsenic, etc.) it did show that that pH was 5.4 which is fairly acidic (similar to that of sparkling water) The question is: Is that a good thing or bad thing for my beer? I've been doing all-grain the past few months and they always turn out fantastic. But should I look into remediating the acidity or just leave it be? Also, I'll note I've been drinking this water for decades and never have had any ill effects.
 
It's not necessarily a bad thing, but low pH does indicate the likelihood that the water is corrosive. That is a problem for your pipes and fixtures in your water system. It also makes it more likely that your water supply could naturally have dissolved metals such as iron and manganese in it. A common solution is to include a calcite contact chamber to dissolve a protective dose of calcium and bicarbonate into the water to protect your pipes and fixtures.
 
ReverendJ said:
Hi All,
Just did a very compressive water test on my home tap (well water) and while it didn't find anything nasty (lead, arsenic, etc.) it did show that that pH was 5.4 which is fairly acidic (similar to that of sparkling water) The question is: Is that a good thing or bad thing for my beer?
Click to expand...

That low pH just tells us that you get your water from a well (which you do) in a mesic region (which NH is). It is caused by dissolved CO2 derived from the respirations of soil bacteria. It is nothing to worry about as the CO2 will leave the water as soon as it leaves the well and especially when it is heated. As is the case with any other water what is important is the alkalinity, not the pH.

As for your plumbing: whether it corrodes or not depends not only on the water pH but on its saturation pH which in turn depends on the hardness, the alkalinity and the ionic strength. It is interesting that in the US the typical water treatment supplier will sell the homeowner with low pH water a neutralizer (a bed of regular and/or dolomitic limestone) which raises the pH some followed by a softener which zooms the saturation pH so that the treated water is more corrosive than the original!
 
ajdelange said:
That low pH just tells us that you get your water from a well (which you do) in a mesic region (which NH is). It is caused by dissolved CO2 derived from the respirations of soil bacteria. It is nothing to worry about as the CO2 will leave the water as soon as it leaves the well and especially when it is heated. As is the case with any other water what is important is the alkalinity, not the pH.

As for your plumbing: whether it corrodes or not depends not only on the water pH but on its saturation pH which in turn depends on the hardness, the alkalinity and the ionic strength. It is interesting that in the US the typical water treatment supplier will sell the homeowner with low pH water a neutralizer (a bed of regular and/or dolomitic limestone) which raises the pH some followed by a softener which zooms the saturation pH so that the treated water is more corrosive than the original!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight, I was trying to figure out why the pH was low but everything else was normal. Never knew about the bacteria in the soil, but it makes sense.
 

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