Morgan Hill, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by City of Morgan Hill, 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; California Water Board lab results (2012–2026).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 25 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 15 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From EPA monitoring data; California Water Board lab results (2012–2026).
Copper at home taps
Up to 0.15 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 0.15 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 (2024–2026).
Water chemistry
General hardness
102–281 ppm
Typical 240 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
68–240 ppm
Typical 143 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
pH
7.4–7.7
Typical 7.7
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From EPA monitoring data; California Water Board lab results (2012–2026).
Total dissolved solids
260–400 ppm
Typical 348 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; California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
- Santa Clara Valley Water District adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Morgan Hill, CA
City of Morgan Hill
Serves 99% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Serves 45% of residents · Lake or river water · 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.