Black Forest, CO tap water
About 21% of Black Forest is inside a utility's service area. Homes outside it likely use private wells, which no utility tests.
Disinfectant
Chlorine
Utility water here is treated with chlorine. It slowly gases off from standing water, and any water conditioner removes it. Private wells aren't treated by a utility, so there's no chlorine or chloramine unless a treatment system adds it.
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 (2012–2019).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 1.8 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.1 ppm
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Copper at home taps (first draw)
Up to 0.28 ppm (Worth knowing)
The 90th percentile of first-draw samples from homes: water that sat in household pipes for at least six hours.
Shrimp and snails are sensitive to copper. Water that sits in household pipes picks up the most; it drops once the tap has run for a minute.
Published by the utility: Colorado Springs Utilities' 2025 water quality report.
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0.6 ppm
At tap levels, chlorine and chloramine are toxic to fish, shrimp and the bacteria in a filter. Water conditioners are made for this range.
From EPA monitoring data (2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Not published yet
We haven't found this number yet. A drop test kit gives you your exact reading.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
15 ppm
Little buffering. pH can drop quickly between water changes, especially with CO₂ or an older tank.
From EPA monitoring data (2017).
pH
Not published yet
We haven't found this number yet. A drop test kit gives you your exact reading.
Who supplies Black Forest, CO
- 2025 water quality report
Colorado Springs Utilities
Serves 7% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
Park Forest
Serves 7% 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.