Shoal & Stem

Cave Creek, AZ tap water

Supplied mostly by Cave Creek Water, 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

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)

1.2–20 ppm (Low)

Typical 1.2 ppm

Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.

From EPA monitoring data; City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report (2012–2025).

Chlorine or chloramine at the tap

0.2–1.9 ppm

Typical 0.8 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 Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.

Water chemistry

General hardness

171–302 ppm

Typical 236 ppm

Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.

Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.

Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)

121–167 ppm

Typical 131 ppm

Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.

From EPA monitoring data; City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report (2014–2025).

pH

6.6–8.8

Typical 7.7

Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.

Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.

Total dissolved solids

464–716 ppm

Typical 590 ppm

A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.

Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.

  • City of Phoenix Water Services Department adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.

Who supplies Cave Creek, AZ

  • Cave Creek Water

    Serves 81% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine

  • City of Phoenix Water Services Department

    Serves 5% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine

    2025 water quality report

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.

Also supplied by Cave Creek Water

More Arizona cities

Look up another city