Phoenix, AZ tap water
Supplied by City of Phoenix Water Services Department. Here's what its 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)
17–20 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 17 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
0.2–1.9 ppm
Typical 0.8 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 Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
171–302 ppm
Typical 236 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
121–167 ppm
Typical 144 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.
pH
6.6–8.8
Typical 7.7
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.
Total dissolved solids
464–716 ppm
Typical 590 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
Published by your utility: City of Phoenix Water Services Department's 2025 water quality report.
- City of Phoenix Water Services Department adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
- City of Phoenix Water Services Department softens its water at the plant, so it may be softer than the local groundwater.
Who supplies Phoenix, AZ
- 2025 water quality report
City of Phoenix Water Services Department
Serves 94% of residents · Lake or river water · 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.