Barrington, IL tap water
Supplied by Barrington. Here's what its water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chloramine
Your water is treated with chloramine. Unlike chlorine, it doesn't gas off when water sits out, and many pitcher and fridge filters aren't rated to remove it. Conditioners that list chloramine on the label break it apart, which frees a little ammonia. Some utilities switch to plain chlorine for a few weeks a year.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Nitrite (NO₂)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so any nitrite in your tank comes from the tank itself.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2018).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Area estimate157–2862 ppm
Typical 546 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your county (2000–2021).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
360–400 ppm
Typical 380 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From EPA monitoring data (2018).
pH
Area estimate7.3–7.8
Typical 7.5
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your county (2000–2021).
Total dissolved solids
Area estimate295–1881 ppm
Typical 589 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 county (2000–2021).
- Barrington adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Barrington, IL
Barrington
Serves 79% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chloramine
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.