How to ask for a water report....

I went to our local sanitation district office and got a water analysis for our area, but it contained little of the necessary info pertaining to brewing.

My question is, how do I go about asking for an analysis of the specific compounds needed in brewing? If i understand correctly, I would need to know:

In ppm:
Calcium (Ca)
Magnesium (Ma)
Sodium (Na)
Sulfate (SO4)
Chloride (Cl)
Silica (SiO2)
Iron (Fe)


As well as:
Total Hardness
Total Alkalinity

Im not a chemist, so I want to make sure I'm asking the right questions and furnishing the correct info to get what I need. If anyone can help out, or let me know what else I should ask about my water, any help is appreciated

Thanks!

Just ask them if they have that information. From your list, California doesn't regulate sodium, calcium, magnesium and hardiness, but it appears in our water report anyway. Hardiness is expressed as CaCO3.

I looked up the number for my water treatment lab (actually, I got transferred three times and ended up there, but it had the same result). I think it's called a Water Treatment Analysis? I did a bad job and said something like 'the amount of calcium and magnesium and stuff' and 'all the information you have as long as it wouldn't be too much trouble.' The very nice woman faxed me a sheet with a ton of information on it... it had everything you're looking for except maybe silica on it.

I believe you can ask for the "Organics", is what they are sometimes considered.

Tell them you are a homebrewer and want to know the breakdown of the salts and hardness in your water as they are important for brewing. We get mailed yearly water reports, but they don't include the info. on the salts. It is mostly reports on possible contaminants to the water. I called our local water district and told them I was a brewer and they knew exactly what I wanted. Not the organics, that would be pollutants in the water like industrial solvents and pesticides, good to know for sure, but not what you need for brewing purposes

Ask for a "Water Cemistry Analysis Report".

And be nice about it. It is Public Information but isn't usually published for the public. I get mine in the form of a protected excel file but I do have to request it regularly. I got no-where with the water department customer service people and had to call the lab manager directly.

If you are an ass with them, you will become the lowest priority and you'll get it "when they get around to it". And prolly just get a copy of what they have published, a cleanliness report, which is useless for brewing.

Be sure to ask for an e-mail copy as it is much easier to distribute and takes less effort than a hrd copy. Besides, you could always print it yourself.

Around here the only thing the county office will test for is coliform, and maybe a couple other pathogens. In order to get a complete analysis, you have to go to a private lab. Might be different where you are though.........

cactusgarrett said:

I believe you can ask for the "Organics", is what they are sometimes considered.

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In chemistry "organic" compounds contain at minimum carbon and hydrogen, so that wouldn't get what he's looking for.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Ask for a "Water Chemistry Analysis Report"

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That got me a very short and useless summary that really only told me that the city water supply was chlorinated and otherwise relatively uncontaminated. I had to call back and ask about salts, hardness, and alkalinity to get the correct report.

menschmaschine said:

In chemistry "organic" compounds contain at minimum carbon and hydrogen, so that wouldn't get what he's looking for.

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While that may be true, the holders of a city water report likely don't have chemistry degrees. They may well refer to the types of figures that we're interested in as "organics."

Many municipalities have these reports online. Try the water dept. web site.

Forget about using your municipality to obtain a water report. Although they are required to give you one upon request, their numbers are usually inaccurate and they don't typically contain all of the ion levels that a homebrewer requires.

Contact Ward Labs and spend the $16.50 for the W-6 Household Mineral Test, or the W-5 test for $10 more if you have concerns about iron and fluoride. This will tell you everything that you need to know about what's in your water.

As far as understanding what you are looking at, check out the chapter in "How to Brew" on Understanding Mash pH. This should give you a good foundation of knowledge to build on as you go forward.

menschmaschine said:

In chemistry "organic" compounds contain at minimum carbon and hydrogen, so that wouldn't get what he's looking for.

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Being a chemist, i DO know this, but this is what my water report actually refers to it all as.

cactusgarrett said:

Being a chemist, i DO know this, but this is what my water report actually refers to it all as.

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I didn't mean to come across like a jerk! This is surprising, being that there is so much chemistry involved with water treatment.

I have found a $20 Purex Filter and table spoon of 5squared save me the trouble of worrying about it. (The report here is readily available but useless)