Auburn Water Report from Ward Labs

Ward Laboratories is a favorite among homebrewers for water chemistry analysis. I sent a sample of water from the outside tap at my house (in the general area of Samford and University) to Ward last week and received the following report yesterday.

pH ---> 7.3
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est ---> 94
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm ---> 0.16
Cations / Anions, me/L ---> 1.0 / 1.4
Sodium, Na ---> 3 ppm
Potassium, K ---> 2 ppm
Calcium, Ca ---> 12 ppm
Magnesium, Mg ---> 3 ppm
Total Hardness, CaCO 3 ---> 43 ppm
Nitrate, NO 3-N ---> 0.1 ppm (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO -4S ---> 8 ppm
Chloride, Cl ---> 9 ppm
Carbonate, CO 3 ---> 42 ppm
Total Alkalinity, CaCO 3 ---> 35 ppm
Floride, F ---> 0.06 ppm
Total Iron, Fe ---> 0.01 ppm

The City of Auburn's 2005 Water Quality Report shows the following values for some of the same water elements that Ward Laboratories reported on. It looks like the City of Auburn and Ward values are not too far apart.

Calcium —> 17.8 ppm
Sodium —> 1.65 ppm
Hardness —> 64 ppm (range = 47.7 to 64 ppm)
Magnesium —> 2.73 ppm
Alkalinity —> 21 ppm (range = 24 to 21 ppm)
pH —> 8.01 (range 6 to 8.01)
Total Dissolved Solids —> 111 ppm
Chloride —> 7.5 ppm
Sulfate —> 27.6 ppm (range = 16.89 to 27.6 ppm)
Chlorine --> 2.4 ppm (range = .55 to 2.4 ppm)

What does this mean for Auburn brewers? I'm just learning about water chemistry myself, so I'll leave it to the famous John Palmer to explain the basics.

• What kind of water do I need?
• Reading a Water Report
• Balancing the Malts and Minerals
• Residual Alkalinity and Mash pH
• Using Salts for Brewing Water Adjustment

If you are new to brewing, please don't concern yourself with this unless you're a chemistry geek or wannabe.