Placentia, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by Golden State Wc - Placentia/Yorba Linda, plus 1 other utility. Here's what the 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 a little ammonia. Some utilities switch to plain chlorine for a few weeks a year.
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 California Water Board lab results (2023–2024).
Nitrate (NO₃)
5.2–7.7 ppm (Low)
Typical 7.7 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
Copper at home taps
0.04–0.16 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.04 ppm
Low. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can carry more than this.
From California Water Board lab results (2024–2025).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure82–291 ppm
Typical 234 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
From the utility that supplies yours: Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., which supplies Golden State Wc - Placentia/Yorba Linda; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., which supplies Yorba Linda Water District (2023–2026).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
145–228 ppm
Typical 145 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
pH
Supplier's figure8.1–8.7
Typical 8.2
Alkaline. Many utilities raise pH to protect pipes. Stability matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., which supplies Golden State Wc - Placentia/Yorba Linda; EPA monitoring data (2014–2026).
Total dissolved solids
466–680 ppm
Typical 466 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 (2023–2026).
Who supplies Placentia, CA
Golden State Wc - Placentia/Yorba Linda
Serves 84% of residents · Buys water from Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. · Chloramine
Yorba Linda Water District
Serves 14% of residents · Buys water from Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. · 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.