Help me interpret my water quality report

[Rich_S]

Here's what I have from my water company:

pH 7.9 – 8.1
Total Hardness (as CaCO3) 280 - 310 mg/L
Fluoride ND mg/L
Sodium 43 mg/L
Iron ND mg/L
Manganese ND mg/L
Lead 6 ug/L
Copper 0.18 mg/L
Nitrate 1.96 – 3.58 mg/L
Arsenic ND ug/L

I gather I have really hard water and it appears quite alkaline as well from the ph, though they don't list the temporary/permanent alkalinity parameters.

 

[BigEd]

That is a water quality report intended to tell consumers the water is safe to drink and meets government health requirements. It is inadequate for brewing purposes. Your water supplier's website or office may have a more detailed report listing all of the ion concentrations in the water which is really what you need for beer brewing. You should read the sticky posts in the Science/Brewing Water Section here for lots more details and suggestions.

Iron and manganese are not present, that's good. Alkalinity is fairly high so in general, without modification, it's water better suited for dark beers. However, knowing calcium, magnesium, sulphate and chloride content is critical to intelligently treat your water for all grain brewing.

 

[Rich_S]

That is a water quality report intended to tell consumers the water is safe to drink and meets government health requirements. It is inadequate for brewing purposes. Your water supplier's website or office may have a more detailed report listing all of the ion concentrations in the water which is really what you need for beer brewing. You should read the sticky posts in the Science/Brewing Water Section here for lots more details and suggestions.

Iron and manganese are not present, that's good. Alkalinity is fairly high so in general, without modification, it's water better suited for dark beers. However, knowing calcium, magnesium, sulphate and chloride content is critical to intelligently treat your water for all grain brewing.

This came from their website (American Water). Can I just email them asking for the missing parameters?

Also, given the alkalinity and hardness, would adding gypsum make sense?

 

[BigEd]

This came from their website (American Water). Can I just email them asking for the missing parameters?

That's a good idea. You could also poke around their website if they have one.

Also, given the alkalinity and hardness, would adding gypsum make sense?

You need to know those other ion contents before making that decision.

 

[mabrungard]

There is no information on alkalinity given in that report and it is not possible to deduce it from the information given. There are too many parameters missing. You need to contact the water company.

 

[CPADRE]

I was able to find mine through my state's Drinking Water Watch profile. I don't know what NJ agency regulates water quality but their site should have a similar searchable database.

 

[Rich_S]

I was able to find mine through my state's Drinking Water Watch profile. I don't know what NJ agency regulates water quality but their site should have a similar searchable database.

Whoa, you are THE MAN.

I Googled "NJ Drinking Water Watch profile" and found the site. Searched for my town, and now I have more data than I know what to do with, and it looks like they retest every few months and it varies a good amount.

Here's the latest year's data:

PH: 8.0-8.1
Hardness: 284-312 mg/L
Total Alkalinity: 198-222 mg/L
Calcium: 62-81 mg/L
Sodium: 72.2-96.9 mg/L
Chloride: 100-102 mg/L
Sulfate: 17.7-20.2 mg/L
Iron: <0.06 mg/L
Manganese: <0.01 mg/L

Now can someone help me out here?

 

[Rich_S]

Hang on, I'm looking at the wrong town name (same name different county).

 

[Rich_S]

Here's the correct info:

PH: 7.3-7.7
Hardness: 55-86 mg/L
Carbonate Alkalinity: 75-76 mg/L
Total Alkalinity: 75-81 mg/L
Calcium: 60-72 mg/L
Sodium: 6-14 mg/L
Chloride: 4-5 mg/L
Sulfate: 12.7-20.8 mg/L
Iron: <0.1 mg/L
Manganese: <0.01 mg/L

Holy night and day difference.

 

[mabrungard]

Tough report to interpret. The calcium is actually reported (as CaCO3) since inputting 60 ppm calcium is a lot more than 55 ppm hardness. Converting from (as CaCO3), the calcium is more like 24 ppm. The alkalinity indicates about 91 ppm HCO3. To balance the resulting profile, the magnesium would be about 5 ppm. Overall, not a bad water if its the truth.

By the way, this was all figured out using Bru'n Water.