Oxford, PA tap water
Supplied by Oxford Borough. Here's what its water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chloramine
Your water is treated with chloramine. Unlike chlorine, it doesn't gas off when water sits out, and many pitcher and fridge filters aren't rated to remove it. Conditioners that list chloramine on the label break it apart, which frees about 0.18 ppm of ammonia here. Some utilities switch to plain chlorine for a few weeks a year.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Ammonia (with conditioner)
Estimate0.06–0.36 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.18 ppm
This is what a conditioner frees when it breaks the chloramine apart. A cycled filter clears it within a day.
Estimated from the chloramine level Oxford Borough reports (2012–2019).
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)
19–21 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 20 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0.3–1.5 ppm
Typical 0.7 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.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure80–145 ppm
Typical 113 ppm
Moderately soft to medium. Suits most community fish and plants.
From the utility that supplies yours: Chester Water Authority, which supplies Oxford Borough (2024).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure39–77 ppm
Typical 56 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From the utility that supplies yours: Chester Water Authority, which supplies Oxford Borough (2024).
pH
Supplier's figure7.7–8.1
Typical 7.9
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: Chester Water Authority, which supplies Oxford Borough (2024).
Who supplies Oxford, PA
Oxford Borough
Serves 98% of residents · Buys water from Chester Water Authority · 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.
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.