Black Mountain, NC tap water
Supplied mostly by Town of Black Mountain, 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)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Copper at home taps (first draw)
0.06–0.36 ppm (Low)
The 90th percentile of first-draw samples from homes: water that sat in household pipes for at least six hours.
Low. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can carry more than this.
Published by your utility: City of Asheville's 2025 water quality report.
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0.3–1.9 ppm
Typical 1.2 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.
Published by your utility: City of Asheville's 2025 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure6 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Asheville, which supplies Town of Black Mountain; City of Asheville's 2025 water quality report.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure24 ppm
Little buffering. pH can drop quickly between water changes, especially with CO₂ or an older tank.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Asheville, which supplies Town of Black Mountain; City of Asheville's 2025 water quality report.
pH
7–7.9
Typical 7.5
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From EPA monitoring data; City of Asheville's 2025 water quality report (2014–2025).
- Town of Black Mountain and City of Asheville add phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Black Mountain, NC
Town of Black Mountain
Serves 71% of residents · Buys water from City of Asheville · Chlorine
- 2025 water quality report
City of Asheville
Serves 26% of residents · Lake or river water · 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.