Charleston, WV tap water
Supplied by West Virginia American Water - Kanawha Valley District. Here's what its 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 (2019).
Nitrate (NO₃)
1.5 ppm (Low)
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0.4–3.5 ppm
Typical 2.7 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: West Virginia American Water - Kanawha Valley District's 2025 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
19–79 ppm
Typical 79 ppm
Moderately soft to medium. Suits most community fish and plants.
Published by your utility: West Virginia American Water - Kanawha Valley District's 2025 water quality report.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
43 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2014).
pH
7–7.5
Typical 7.2
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
Published by your utility: West Virginia American Water - Kanawha Valley District's 2025 water quality report.
- West Virginia American Water - Kanawha Valley District adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Charleston, WV
- 2025 water quality report
West Virginia American Water - Kanawha Valley District
Serves all 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.