South Whittier, CA tap water
Supplied mostly by Suburban Water Systems-Whittier, plus 3 other utilities. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chlorine or chloramine
Utilities here use chlorine or chloramine, depending on which one serves your address. Chlorine slowly gases off from standing water; chloramine doesn't.
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 (2015–2018).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 31 ppm (Worth knowing)
Typical 16 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; La Habra Heights CWD, which supplies Orchard Dale Water District, measured before treatment; EPA monitoring data; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. and Suburban Water Systems-Whittier, which supplies Suburban Water Systems-la Mirada (2012–2026).
Copper at home taps
0.08–0.2 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.08 ppm
Low. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can carry more than this.
From California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
Water chemistry
General hardness
82–332 ppm
Typical 253 ppm
Hard. Ideal for livebearers and African cichlids. Soft-water species may struggle to breed.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; La Habra Heights CWD, which supplies Orchard Dale Water District, measured before treatment; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., which supplies Gswc - Norwalk; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. and Suburban Water Systems-Whittier, which supplies Suburban Water Systems-la Mirada (2023–2026).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
68–210 ppm
Typical 178 ppm
Strong buffering. pH stays steady and hard to lower without RO water.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; La Habra Heights CWD, which supplies Orchard Dale Water District, measured before treatment; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., which supplies Gswc - Norwalk; California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
pH
6.8–8.7
Typical 7.7
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From California Water Board lab results, measured before treatment; La Habra Heights CWD, which supplies Orchard Dale Water District, measured before treatment; EPA monitoring data; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. and Suburban Water Systems-Whittier, which supplies Suburban Water Systems-la Mirada (2015–2026).
Total dissolved solids
214–666 ppm
Typical 535 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; La Habra Heights CWD, which supplies Orchard Dale Water District, measured before treatment; Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal., which supplies Gswc - Norwalk; California Water Board lab results (2023–2026).
Who supplies South Whittier, CA
Suburban Water Systems-Whittier
Serves 32% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Orchard Dale Water District
Serves 32% of residents · Buys water from La Habra Heights CWD · Chloramine
Gswc - Norwalk
Serves 25% of residents · Buys water from Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. · Chloramine
Suburban Water Systems-la Mirada
Serves 11% 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.