Brighton, CO tap water
Supplied by City of Brighton. 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
Nitrate (NO₃)
19–20 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 19 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure55–356 ppm
Typical 168 ppm
Moderately hard. Great for livebearers, and most community fish adapt.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Thornton and Denver Water Board, which supplies City of Brighton (2025).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure41–112 ppm
Typical 76 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Thornton and Denver Water Board, which supplies City of Brighton (2014–2025).
pH
Supplier's figure7.4–9
Typical 8.1
Alkaline. Many utilities raise pH to protect pipes. Stability matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Thornton, which supplies City of Brighton (2025).
Total dissolved solids
Supplier's figure98–679 ppm
Typical 328 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Thornton and Denver Water Board, which supplies City of Brighton (2025).
- City of Brighton adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Brighton, CO
City of Brighton
Serves 95% of residents · Buys water from City of Thornton · 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.