Banner Elk, NC tap water
Supplied mostly by Town of Banner Elk, plus 1 other utility. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chlorine
Your water is treated with chlorine. It slowly gases off from standing water, and any water conditioner removes it.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Nitrate (NO₃)
6.2–8.5 ppm (Low)
Typical 6.8 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Area estimate15–302 ppm
Typical 93 ppm
Moderately soft to medium. Suits most community fish and plants.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your state (2000–2022).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Area estimate8–268 ppm
Typical 110 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your state (2000–2023).
pH
6.5–7.4
Typical 7.3
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2018).
Total dissolved solids
Area estimate44–404 ppm
Typical 140 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your state (2000–2022).
- Town of Banner Elk adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Banner Elk, NC
Town of Banner Elk
Serves 79% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Lees-Mcrae -South Campus
Serves 24% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Our data comes from public records and is still incomplete. Many utilities don't publish every number, so we're adding more all the time. Your city's range is a starting point: testing your own tap is the only way to know exactly what's in it.
Tap water lookup covers US cities only for now. Want to know why it matters? Read our story on tap water.
Compiled by Shoal & Stem from public records. Free to cite with a link.