Lakewood, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by Lakewood - City, Water Dept., plus 1 other utility. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chlorine or chloramine
Utilities here use chlorine or chloramine, depending on which one serves your address. Chlorine slowly gases off from standing water; chloramine doesn't.
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 (2017).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 7.1 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.5 ppm
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; EPA monitoring data (2017–2026).
Copper at home taps
0.1–0.13 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 0.13 ppm
Shrimp and snails are sensitive to copper. Water that sits in household pipes picks up the most; it drops once the tap has run for a minute.
From California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
Water chemistry
General hardness
87–277 ppm
Typical 148 ppm
Moderately hard. Great for livebearers, and most community fish adapt.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment (2023–2026).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
160–220 ppm
Typical 178 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment (2023–2026).
pH
6.3–8.3
Typical 7.9
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; EPA monitoring data (2017–2026).
Total dissolved solids
180–400 ppm
Typical 255 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, measured before treatment (2023–2026).
- Lakewood - City, Water Dept. adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Lakewood, CA
Lakewood - City, Water Dept.
Serves 77% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Gswc - Artesia
Serves 26% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chloramine
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.
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Compiled by Shoal & Stem from public records. Free to cite with a link.