Empire, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by Modesto Irrigation District, 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
Ammonia
0.09 ppm (Low)
Ammonia in the water as delivered. A cycled filter clears it within a day.
From California Water Board lab results (2024–2025).
Nitrite (NO₂)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so any nitrite in your tank comes from the tank itself.
From California Water Board lab results; EPA monitoring data (2012–2025).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 44 ppm (Low)
Typically not detected
Not detected in testing, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From California Water Board lab results; City of Modesto's 2024 water quality report (2023–2025).
Copper at home taps
Up to 0.06 ppm (Low)
Typically not detected
Not detected in testing. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can still pick some up.
From California Water Board lab results; City of Modesto's 2024 water quality report (2023–2025).
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0–1.9 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 Modesto's 2024 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
32–304 ppm
Typical 32 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
From California Water Board lab results; City of Modesto's 2024 water quality report (2023–2025).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
41 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From California Water Board lab results; Modesto Irrigation District, which supplies City of Modesto (2023–2025).
pH
7.2–8
Typical 7.9
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From California Water Board lab results; City of Modesto's 2024 water quality report (2023–2025).
Total dissolved solids
29–1100 ppm
Typical 72 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 California Water Board lab results; City of Modesto's 2024 water quality report (2023–2025).
Who supplies Empire, CA
Modesto Irrigation District
Serves 61% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
- 2024 water quality report
City of Modesto
Serves 61% of residents · Buys water from Modesto Irrigation District · 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.