Although I'm not fanatical about water chemistry, I try and do the basics and rely on the Anglian Water figures for my area and also did a Murphy's test as a belt and braces. For my area there was one result which stood out as being rather odd. Sulphate had a minimum figure of 23, an average figure of 89 and a maximum of 173.
I spoke to a very helpful guy at AW who explained that the figure I should be relying on was the minimum one (which also tallied with Murphy's figure of 24) as the maximum figure had to be put in, because very occasionally they might pump water in to our chalky area from the fens, which is what skewed the maximum and average figures. I've used that figure since and been happy with the resulting beers.
I now see that AW are planning a national grid type pipeline which will allow them to transfer water from up near Scunthorpe to Essex via Lincoln, Grantham, Peterborough, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich , Colchester with spurs to Milton Keynes and Norwich.
https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/siteassets/household/about-us/statement-of-community-involvement.pdf
This is good news for those areas in times of drought but a bit of a nightmare for home brewers who rely on a relatively stable source of water. It looks a though we are either going to have to go down the RO route or become proficient at testing our own water for each brew. They are hoping the pipeline will be active from 2026.
I spoke to a very helpful guy at AW who explained that the figure I should be relying on was the minimum one (which also tallied with Murphy's figure of 24) as the maximum figure had to be put in, because very occasionally they might pump water in to our chalky area from the fens, which is what skewed the maximum and average figures. I've used that figure since and been happy with the resulting beers.
I now see that AW are planning a national grid type pipeline which will allow them to transfer water from up near Scunthorpe to Essex via Lincoln, Grantham, Peterborough, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich , Colchester with spurs to Milton Keynes and Norwich.
https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/siteassets/household/about-us/statement-of-community-involvement.pdf
This is good news for those areas in times of drought but a bit of a nightmare for home brewers who rely on a relatively stable source of water. It looks a though we are either going to have to go down the RO route or become proficient at testing our own water for each brew. They are hoping the pipeline will be active from 2026.
