Carefree, AZ tap water
Supplied mostly by Carefree Water Company, plus 2 other utilities. 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
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)
0.9–22 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 15 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From EPA monitoring data; Scottsdale Water's 2024 water quality report (2012–2024).
Copper at home taps (first draw)
0.17 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 your utility: Scottsdale Water's 2024 water quality report.
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0–1.5 ppm
Typical 0.7 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: Scottsdale Water's 2024 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure220–380 ppm
Typical 280 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Scottsdale, which supplies Carefree Water Company; Scottsdale Water's website.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure111–250 ppm
Typical 156 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From the utility that supplies yours: Cave Creek Water and City of Scottsdale, which supplies Carefree Water Company; EPA monitoring data; Scottsdale Water's 2024 water quality report (2014–2024).
pH
Supplier's figure7–8.2
Typical 7.6
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: City of Scottsdale, which supplies Carefree Water Company; Scottsdale Water's 2024 water quality report.
Total dissolved solids
Supplier's figure325–710 ppm
Typical 518 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 Scottsdale, which supplies Carefree Water Company; Scottsdale Water's 2024 water quality report.
- Carefree Water Company and Scottsdale Water soften their water at the plant, so it may be softer than the local groundwater.
Who supplies Carefree, AZ
Carefree Water Company
Serves 69% of residents · Buys water from Cave Creek Water · Chlorine
Cave Creek Water
Serves 23% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
- 2024 water quality report
Scottsdale Water
Serves 8% 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.