Shoal & Stem
Tap water lookup

Federal Way, WA tap water

Supplied mostly by Lakehaven Water and Sewer 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

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)

Up to 44 ppm (Low)

Typical 1.2 ppm

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

Published by your utility: Lakehaven Water and Sewer District's 2025 water quality report; City of Tacoma Water Division's 2025 water quality report.

Chlorine or chloramine at the tap

0.3–1.7 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: Lakehaven Water and Sewer District's 2025 water quality report; City of Tacoma Water Division's 2025 water quality report.

Water chemistry

General hardness

14–146 ppm

Typical 54 ppm

Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.

Published by your utility: Lakehaven Water and Sewer District's 2025 water quality report.

Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)

Supplier's figure

24–28 ppm

Typical 26 ppm

Little buffering. pH can drop quickly between water changes, especially with CO₂ or an older tank.

From the utility that supplies yours: City of Tacoma Water Division, which supplies Lakehaven Water and Sewer District; EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).

pH

Supplier's figure

7.5–8.5

Typical 8.3

Alkaline. Many utilities raise pH to protect pipes. Stability matters more than the exact number.

From the utility that supplies yours: Seattle Public Utilities, which supplies Lakehaven Water and Sewer District.

Total dissolved solids

Supplier's figure

36 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: Seattle Public Utilities, which supplies Lakehaven Water and Sewer District.

Who supplies Federal Way, WA

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.

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