St. Lawrence, PA tap water
Supplied mostly by Mt Penn Boro Muni Auth, plus 1 other utility. 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
Ammonia (with conditioner)
Estimate0.19–0.3 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.27 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 Paw Glen Alsace Div 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)
3.5–19 ppm (Low)
Typical 8.6 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
0.6–1.2 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
Area estimate78–709 ppm
Typical 150 ppm
Moderately hard. Great for livebearers, and most community fish adapt.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your county (2000–2023).
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure74–89 ppm
Typical 85 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From the utility that supplies yours: Reading Area Water Authority, which supplies Paw Glen Alsace Div (2012–2019).
pH
Supplier's figure7.4–7.6
Typical 7.5
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: Reading Area Water Authority, which supplies Paw Glen Alsace Div (2012–2019).
Total dissolved solids
Area estimate73–485 ppm
Typical 160 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
Area estimate from nearby wells: USGS well samples in your county (2000–2023).
- Paw Glen Alsace Div adds phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies St. Lawrence, PA
Mt Penn Boro Muni Auth
Serves 94% of residents · Groundwater (wells) · Chlorine
Paw Glen Alsace Div
Serves 8% of residents · Buys water from Mt Penn Boro Muni Auth · 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.