North West England
United Utilities: water quality and hardness
United Utilities operates drinking-water and wastewater services in North West England. Its official supply tools help distinguish a local supply area from the wider company region.
An independent WaterGrade guide. Local readings vary by source area and date.
Find the water serving your home
This checks the supplying area; it does not assume this company serves every postcode you enter.
How United Utilities reports on your water
The supplier’s water-supply page combines a postcode quality search with links to local network updates and reservoir information. A water-quality report and a current interruption notice answer different questions.
Our selected reports use a rolling reporting window. Compare the stated dates and update labels; overlapping rolling reports are not independent annual trend points.
Company information and source context ↗What WaterGrade currently holds
- Named areas with records
- 57
- Areas with measured hardness
- 56
- Areas with other quality data
- 57
- Areas with annual hardness history
- 0
These count our verified records, including historical areas. They are not the company’s current total zones, population coverage or a quality score.
WaterGrade holds selected official postcode reports. The supplier’s raw sample datasets use statistical geographies and are not presented as invented postcode averages.
Is the water hard or soft?
Check the figure for your supply zone. A company can deliver water from different sources, so a single average can give the wrong appliance setting for your home. Hardness describes dissolved minerals; it is not a safety rating.
Our local cards use mg/l as calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). Keep the original unit and reporting period when comparing results. Supplier labels can use different hardness bands.
What do the quality results tell you?
Read each parameter with its units, sample count, range and reporting period. A mean below a reference limit does not establish that every sample complied. A “less than” result is not an exact concentration.
Company-wide performance, local zone results and water at an individual tap are different levels of information. Historical exceedances need the supplier’s investigation context; they are not automatically a current incident.
Understand the measurements in a water reportOne named-area example · not a company average
Inside the Lancaster / Galgate report
48 mg/l as CaCO₃ · hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-10-02
Quality reporting period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-10-02. 56 parameters in this publication. Hardness may come from a separate source and period.
| Parameter | Published mean | Samples |
|---|---|---|
| Residual chlorine - Free | 0.63 mg/l | 148 |
| Fluoride | <0.270 mg F/l | 34 |
| Iron | <10.6 µg Fe/l | 47 |
| Lead | <0.583 µg Pb/l | 9 |
| Nitrate | <2.35 mg NO3/l | 12 |
| Hydrogen ion (pH) | 7.47 pH value | 100 |
This selected example may not serve your postcode. Open the full report for ranges, source notes, any reported contraventions and the original document.
Read the full Lancaster / Galgate report →Find your local source-area report
Use the exact area name from the supplier’s checker. Older areas can have been renamed or replaced. Each card keeps the hardness period separate from other quality data.
57 areas match · showing 24.
Alsager
100 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 70 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Appleton
121 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Slightly hard
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 49 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Ashton
62 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 69 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Atherton / Tyldesley
21 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Bamford East
28 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Bamford West
30 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Barnacre
144 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Slightly hard
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 58 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Blackpool South
No approved measured hardness held for this area.
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 58 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Bolton Centre
21 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Bowdon
84 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Bridge End
8 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Broughton
28 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-10-02
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-10-02 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Burnley Mixed
23 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Burnley Road
23 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Cheadle Hulme
47 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Chorley
111 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Slightly hard
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 58 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Clarkes Hill
31 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Congleton Cloud
76 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 64 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Crosby
90 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 69 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Crosshill 25 And 28 Inch
100 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-10-02
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-10-02 · 65 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Crosshill 2b
123 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Slightly hard
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 65 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Errwood Road
27 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Soft
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 45 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Fleetwood
129 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Slightly hard
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 58 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
Formby
253 mg/l as CaCO₃ · Hard
Hardness period: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04
Quality report: Rolling 12 months; updated 2026-09-04 · 65 other parameters
Named-area data; confirm your postcode before using it.
United Utilities town pages
62 town pages use an approved United Utilities report for the supply area associated with each town. A town can span several supply areas, so check your full postcode before relying on a result.
A 4
B 7
C 5
D 1
E 1
F 3
G 4
H 3
K 4
L 6
M 3
O 1
P 3
Q 1
R 2
S 5
W 9
Has the water changed over time?
Compare the same named area, metric, units and kind of reporting period. A new download date is not a new sample. Renamed zones or overlapping rolling windows need extra care before drawing a trend.
We do not yet hold a comparable annual hardness series for this supplier. We do not draw a trend from a single edition or overlapping rolling reports.
Open a local report and choose “Save on this browser” to return later. Saved reports can be checked for revised published details; this is not an emergency-alert service.
Official help and sources
For a new change in water appearance, taste, smell or supply, check the supplier’s current guidance and contact it directly. This page summarises published information and does not monitor live incidents.
Company guide and official routes reviewed 6 September 2026. Measurements refresh from approved reports and retain their own dates. Read our source methodology.
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