Ward Labs Water Report for NYC

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by minderbender, May 7, 2019.

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  1. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    I was curious about my tap water and so I ordered a test from Ward Labs. For the benefit of anyone else brewing in New York City, here were my results (I took my sample on April 20, 2019):

    pH: 7.0
    Total Dissolved solids Est: 54 ppm
    Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm: 0.09
    Cations / Anions, me/L: 0.8/0.7

    Sodium: 10 ppm
    Potassium: <1 ppm
    Calcium: 6 ppm
    Magnesium: 1 ppm
    Total Hardness, CaCO3: 19 ppm
    Nitrate: 0.1 ppm (SAFE)
    Sulfate: 1 ppm
    Chloride: 10 ppm
    Carbonate, CO3: < 1.0 ppm
    Bicarbonate, HCO3: 18 ppm
    Total Alkalinity, CACO3: 15 ppm
    Total Phosphorus: 0.75 ppm
    Total Iron: < 0.01 ppm

    [me again] This seems like pretty good water! Not much in it, easy to adjust. None of this is news, since the numbers are very similar to the ones from the annual water report for the city, but I thought I would check.

    The part of New York City I live in appears to be served by City Tunnel No. 2 and is in the "Catskill/Delaware water service area." Your water might be a bit different if you live in the "Croton and Catskill/Delaware blended water service area." Croton water is considerably harder than Catskill/Delaware water, but on the other hand the Croton Water Filtration Plant is not operated year-round and only serves part of the city. Here is a map to help you figure out if you ever get Croton water. (You should check back in a few years, I don't know how this might change in the future, particularly as City Tunnel No. 3 comes online.)

    By the way, Ward Labs sent me my results very promptly, I just didn't bother to post them until now.
     
    #1 minderbender, May 7, 2019
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  2. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I had an environmental science professor a couple decades back who always referred to the NYC/Catskills water as the "Champagne of waters." Glad to see that 20 years later, it hasn't turned into Flint, MI water.

    Also glad to see the good words about Ward Labs. I used them about 5 years ago when I first started using well water, and I have to say that it was super-easy. Pay on line, you receive bottles and prepaid shipping materials, send the water and very promptly, you get your numbers. I want to get my well checked again and expect I will send some samples to them.
     
    #2 pweis909, May 7, 2019
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  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    That's some pretty great, blank slate water. If mine looked like that, I wouldn't be building from distilled.
     
    #3 VikeMan, May 7, 2019
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  4. Brewday

    Brewday Zealot (721) Dec 25, 2015 New York

    #4 Brewday, May 7, 2019
    Last edited: May 7, 2019
    minderbender likes this.
  5. frozyn

    frozyn Maven (1,435) May 16, 2015 New York
    Trader

    Glad to see another NYC-er got similar results to me. Being here with such easy, consistent water has been a blessing in learning to brew.
     
    #5 frozyn, May 7, 2019
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