Our tapwater supply is weird. Slowly but surely over the last four years our water is getting softer, yet we live in a very hard water area with chalk soil.
Our water is no longer 'Iron water' as I use to call it but more like Italian steel from the 1970's ...soft and rusting away.
Below is roughly our water from the years, 2018 through to 2022.
pH is normally around 7.8 - 8.2
dGH: 16 - 17
dKH: 12 - 14
Nitrite NO2: 0 - 0.5 ppm
Nitrate NO3: 10 - 25 ppm
Ammonia NH3/4: 0 - 0.5 ppm
Southern water test results for 2022 below;
Click to enlarge
Today, as normal I do my weekly tests, same result last week and from the middle of last year:
pH 7.0
dGH: 12
dKH: 10
Nitrite NO2: 0 ppm
Nitrate NO3: 5 ppm
Ammonia NH3/4: 0 ppm
The results have not changed, even my Plumber was saying he noticed pipes on heating systems don't seem as much Calcium building up as they use too. For a planted aquarium it's a disaster, my fertiliser dose usage is increasing due to the low amounts of NO3 in our tapwater supply now.
...Since the burst water main onto the Island July 2022, repair, new seconded water main installed and subsequent refilling of the main island reservoir:
pH 7.4
dGH: 14
dKH: 12
Nitrite NO2: 0 ppm
Nitrate NO3: 10 ppm
Ammonia NH3/4: 0 ppm
I had thought levels would slowly return to their old values, but no.
...four years ago, on the 6th March 2020 at our old house, which is 0.8 of mile up the road.
pH 8.2
dGH: 18
dKH: 14
Nitrite NO2: 5 ppm
Nitrate NO3: 30 ppm
Ammonia NH3/4: 0.5 ppm
I'm beginning to wonder if they are cleaning and softening our tapwater. Maybe the water company is using some new process, either that or Southern Water are importing it from China.
