North Fork, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by Md 08 North Fork Water System, plus 2 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
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 20 ppm (Low)
Typically not detected
Not detected in testing, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment (2023–2026).
Copper at home taps
Up to 0.15 ppm (Low)
Typically not detected
Not detected in testing. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can still pick some up.
From California Water Board lab results (2023–2025).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Estimate40–190 ppm
Typical 40 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
Estimated from Md 08 North Fork Water System's calcium and magnesium readings, measured before treatment; California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment (2023).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
76–220 ppm
Typical 76 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment (2023).
pH
6.3–7.9
Typical 6.7
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, measured before treatment (2013–2023).
Total dissolved solids
180–275 ppm
Typical 180 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).
Who supplies North Fork, CA
Md 08 North Fork Water System
Serves 18% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Shady Oaks Mobile Home Park LLC
Serves 7% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Disinfectant not listed
Cascadel Mutual Water System
Serves 6% 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.