Has anyone had their Chicago/Lake Michigan water analyzed recently?

[kenlenard]

I'm in Chicago's NW burbs and have Lake Michigan water that I have been using for brewing for about 16 years. I had Ward Labs test it in 2006 and again in 2009 and the numbers were almost identical. I've also had some other local brewers compare numbers and it always seems to be very close... within a couple of ticks. But I'm suspicious of some changes lately (especially when it comes to pH) so I'm checking to see if anyone with my water has had a Wards analysis done lately. If not, I will probably submit a sample. Thanks gang.

 

[zwiller]

Hopefully someone chimes in but if not consider calling a reputable tropical fish store. These guys test daily... I posed a similar a similar question to my municipal contact and he said there is slight seasonal change but not much change long term (Lake Erie). I am using data older than yours...

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I would be very interested in hearing about this.

 

[kenlenard]

My old sheets from Ward show a pH of 6.6. I also know 2 commercial brewers in my area who use Lake Michigan water and they have both told me that the water's pH was 6.6. But that was years ago. I have a new (really nice & reliable) Omega pH meter now that shows that my water's pH is more like 7.5. As I search the Google Machine, I see that many brewers, gardeners and fish-types have reported (recently) that the water was in the mid 7s so that is one definite change. I would be curious about calcium, chloride, sulfate and bicarb levels FOR SURE. I would hate to think I'm adjusting based on bad data. Cheers.

 

[Titleist3]

I use these reports from the city of Chicago water department. You need to figure out what plant and distribution channel you are on, but most seem to be similar. I've been using the Jardine plant and the central distribution (column labeled 6 in the actual reports). I don't have a PH meter yet, so I can't confirm that the PH of my water as it comes out of my faucet matches what the Chicago water department reports.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/e...ndreports/comprehensive_chemicalanalysis.html

You might want to compare your Wards data to the Chicago data.

 

[kenlenard]

Hmm, surprise. Chicago published this stuff for 2015 (quarters 1, 2 and 3). My old numbers were Ca 34, Mg 12, Na 12, Cl 21, SO4: 27 with a bicarb number of 138ppm and a pH of 6.6. The site published new data which shows Ca 34, Mg 12, Na 8, Cl 14 and SO4 of 26, Bicarb is not on the report but the pH is now 7.8. So the numbers are pretty close. The fact that the chloride went down a little may explain why some of my softer beers have been a little crisper lately. The higher pH also explains why I'm using more lactic acid to lower my mash, sparge and/or kettle pH. I just called over to the water quality contact and left a message asking about the bicarb number. I wouldn't be surprised to hear it was a little higher as well. Ah, water.

 

[kenlenard]

Titleist... I found those pages just before you posted them! Thanks for the links. See above for what I found and what is missing. Thanks again... are you LM water in NVille?

 

[Titleist3]

Yeah, Naperville and east are mostly all Lake Michigan water. There's some unincorporated areas that are on well water. IIRC. I'm not sure about west of Naperville, though. There's the DuPage County Water Commission that deals with LM water, so it might be that most of DuPage county is on LM water.

 

[kenlenard]

I'm in Buffalo Grove so I may be on the Jardin North distribution but not sure. I guess it's good to see that most of the numbers stay pretty close but over a full point in pH (from 6.6 to 7.8) is pretty significant. I would like to see the bicarb number which is really the only number that us homebrewers can really complain about in our water. If it wasn't for that, our water would be considered quite nice. Cheers.

 

[mabrungard]

Ken, are you sure the City hasn't switched your district to another water source? I'm sure you know that with the signing of the Great Lakes Compact, they can't deliver water from the lake to areas draining west. That might be a cause of your variation. Those districts have to rely on groundwater in many cases.

However, another cause might be due to the Flint issue. Maybe the water company wants to make sure that the tap water isn't corrosive and they are bumping up the alkalinity of the tap water (aka: Langelier Saturation Index) to avoid leaching lead from the old pipes. Many water companies add lime (Ca(OH)2) or lye (NaOH) to their water supplies when they have low alkalinity for exactly this purpose.

 

[kenlenard]

Martin: I know nothing of the Great Lakes Compact so maybe you're correct. It sounds like the best way to make sure is to just send a sample to Ward Labs. That way I don't have to guess which distribution plant I receive water from, etc. Nothing is TERRIBLY wrong but I feel like my source water has gone through some changes over the past year or so. Cheers & thanks for the advice... as always.

 

[Titleist3]

There are grandfather clauses in that agreement and most of the Chicago suburbs fall under a grandfather clause. I think if you've been getting water from Chicago in the past, you'll continue to get it in the future. IIRC, part of that grandfather clause has something to do with the processed waste water being sent back into the LM watershed.

The Flint MI connection is certainly interesting.

 

[pharmarchist00]

Any chance you had sent a sample to Ward Labs since your last post? If you have, I would really appreciate taking a look at the results.

 

[kenlenard]

I didn't send a new sample to Ward since this thread started. I did compare with a few other local brewers who have more recent water numbers and everything but the pH appears to be within a couple of ticks. This new meter is working very nicely and the pH of about 7.5 is what I consider my water to be for the last couple of years or so.