Lake Barrington, IL tap water
Supplied mostly by Tower Lakes, plus 3 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 (2012–2018).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Area estimate211–704 ppm
Typical 312 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your county (2000–2023).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
350–406 ppm
Typical 380 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From EPA monitoring data (2017–2019).
pH
7.5–7.6
Typical 7.6
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From EPA monitoring data (2019).
Total dissolved solids
Area estimate308–880 ppm
Typical 365 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your county (2000–2023).
- Fox River Grove adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Lake Barrington, IL
Tower Lakes
Serves 33% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Lake Barrington
Serves 16% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Lake Barrington Shores Subdivsion
Serves 10% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Fox River Grove
Serves 7% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · 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.