Marietta-Alderwood, WA tap water
Supplied mostly by City of Bellingham-Water Division, 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)
1.2–1.3 ppm (Low)
Typical 1.3 ppm
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data; City of Bellingham-Water Division, which supplies Whatcom County Water Dist #2 (2012–2019).
Copper at home taps (first draw)
Up to 0.01 ppm (Low)
The 90th percentile of first-draw samples from homes: water that sat in household pipes for at least six hours.
Not detected in testing. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can still pick some up.
Published by your utility: City of Bellingham-Water Division's 2025 water quality report.
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0–1.1 ppm
Typical 0.5 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 Bellingham-Water Division's 2025 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
22 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
From City of Bellingham-Water Division's 2025 water quality report; City of Bellingham-Water Division, which supplies Whatcom County Water Dist #2.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Not published yet
We haven't found this number yet. A drop test kit gives you your exact reading.
pH
Not published yet
We haven't found this number yet. A drop test kit gives you your exact reading.
Who supplies Marietta-Alderwood, WA
- 2025 water quality report
City of Bellingham-Water Division
Serves 59% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
Whatcom County Water Dist #2
Serves 44% of residents · Buys water from City of Bellingham-Water Division · 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.