Shoal & Stem

Pleasure Point, CA tap water

Supplied mostly by Santa Cruz Water Department, plus 1 other utility. 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

Ammonia

Not detected (Low)

Not detected in the water as delivered.

From California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).

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; EPA monitoring data (2016–2026).

Nitrate (NO₃)

Up to 8.6 ppm (Low)

Typically not detected

Not detected in testing, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.

From California Water Board lab results; EPA monitoring data (2014–2026).

Copper at home taps

0.11–0.17 ppm (Worth knowing)

Typical 0.11 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 (2024–2025).

Water chemistry

General hardness

160–280 ppm

Typical 260 ppm

Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.

From California Water Board lab results; Santa Cruz Water Department, which supplies Soquel Creek Water District (2023–2025).

Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)

116–190 ppm

Typical 154 ppm

Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.

From California Water Board lab results; Santa Cruz Water Department, which supplies Soquel Creek Water District (2023–2025).

pH

7.3–8.1

Typical 7.3

Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.

From California Water Board lab results; EPA monitoring data (2015–2025).

Total dissolved solids

260–500 ppm

Typical 440 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; Santa Cruz Water Department, which supplies Soquel Creek Water District (2023–2026).

  • Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District add phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.

Who supplies Pleasure Point, CA

  • Santa Cruz Water Department

    Serves 93% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine

  • Soquel Creek Water District

    Serves 13% of residents · Buys water from Santa Cruz Water Department · 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.

Also supplied by Santa Cruz Water Department

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