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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in CH46, WirralSafe to drink.Slightly hard.

Supplied by United Utilities. 1,083 samples, 16 substances, latest on 31 December 2024. Everything is inside the legal limit, and nothing comes close to it.

See the filter we recommendSee everything that was tested

9.2 / 10

The tank is as full as the score. The specks are the minerals that make water hard.

What to do about it

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Households concerned about PFAS and heavy metals

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High-volume under-sink filtration without RO complexity

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Basic chlorine and taste improvement on a budget

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What's in a glass of CH46 water

Every bubble is a substance the lab measured. The higher it floats, the closer it came to its legal limit, the dashed line at the top.

Trihalomethanes came closest to a limit, at 37% of it. 15 of 16 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitCopper: 0.0000908 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Manganese: 0.00037 mg/L, <1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese<1%Chromium: 0.00083 mg/L, 2% of the 0.05 mg/L limitChromium2%Cadmium: 0.00009 mg/L, 2% of the 0.005 mg/L limitCadmium2%Nitrite: 0.0098 mg/L, 2% of the 0.5 mg/L limitNitrite2%Selenium: 0.00085 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Turbidity: 0.1 NTU, 3% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity3%Aluminium: 0.00646 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium3%Iron: 0.007 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron3%Lead: 0.00058 mg/L, 6% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead6%Bromate: 0.00058 mg/L, 6% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate6%Antimony: 0.00043 mg/L, 9% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony9%Ammonia: 0.054 mg/L, 11% of the 0.5 mg/L limitAmmonia11%Nickel: 0.00269 mg/L, 13% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel13%Nitrate: 7.71 mg/L, 15% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate15%Trihalomethanes: 0.037 mg/L, 37% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes37%
  1. Trihalomethanes37%
  2. Nitrate15%
  3. Nickel13%
  4. Ammonia11%
  5. Antimony9%
  6. Lead6%
  7. Bromate6%
  8. Iron3%
  9. Aluminium3%
  10. Turbidity3%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Nitrite2%
  13. Cadmium2%
  14. Chromium2%
  15. Manganese<1%
  16. Copper<1%
All 16 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Antimony0.00043 mg/L0.005 mg/L
9%
Selenium0.00085 mg/L0.04 mg/L
2%
Cadmium0.00009 mg/L0.005 mg/L
2%
Chromium0.00083 mg/L0.05 mg/L
2%
Turbidity0.1 NTU4 NTU
3%
Copper0.0000908 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Nickel0.00269 mg/L0.02 mg/L
13%
Aluminium0.00646 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Lead0.00058 mg/L0.01 mg/L
6%
Iron0.007 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Manganese0.00037 mg/L0.05 mg/L
<1%
Trihalomethanes0.037 mg/L0.1 mg/L
37%
Bromate0.00058 mg/L0.01 mg/L
6%
Nitrate7.71 mg/L50 mg/L
15%
Nitrite0.0098 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
Ammonia0.054 mg/L0.5 mg/L
11%

124mg of limescale minerals in every litre

Middling hardness. Some scale, slowly

Below the point where a softener pays for itself. Descaling the kettle now and then is all most homes need.

Soft400 mg/L
Outside your tap

Your river is the The Birket including Arrowe Brook and Fender, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the The Birket including Arrowe Brook and Fender as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by dissolved oxygen, fish and insects and other small river life. It fails the chemical test, as every river, estuary and stretch of coast in England does, because of long-lasting pollutants such as mercury, PFOS (a forever chemical) and old flame retardants.

None of this is a test of your tap water. Environment Agency record · River health across England

Within 10 km

19

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 4 sites. The highest was 6:2 FTSA at 0.0032 µg/L, at Arrowe Park Hospital Bh. SJ28/28, 3.8 km away, in February 2026. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

Every PFAS sample around Liverpool · Which filters remove PFAS · PFAS explained

CH46 in short

Tap water in CH46 (Wirral) is supplied by United Utilities in the Wirral Central zone and scores 9.2 out of 10, against an England and Wales average of 9.0. None of the 16 tested substances came close to a limit. The latest sample is from 31 December 2024.

  • 12th cleanest of 21 areas tested in WirralSquarely mid-table for Wirral, between CH26 on 9.7 and CH32 on 7.5.
  • PFAS found at 4 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was 6:2 FTSA about 3.8 km away. What was measured
  • Nothing tested came within 40% of its legal limitThe highest was Trihalomethanes at 37% of the 0.1 mg/L maximum. See every reading

Next door

CH289.2 out of 10 · 124 mg/LCH298.9 out of 10 · 124 mg/LCH419.2 out of 10 · 100 mg/LCH429.2 out of 10 · 92 mg/LCH327.5 out of 10 · 100 mg/LCH309.1 out of 10 · 95 mg/LCH319.1 out of 10 · 95 mg/LCH258.7 out of 10 · 100 mg/LCH269.7 out of 10 · 95 mg/LCH279.2 out of 10 · 96 mg/L

Questions about CH46 water

Is CH46 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, CH46 (Wirral) water scores 9.2/10, which is safe. 0 of 16 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by United Utilities.

What contaminants are in CH46 water?

We tested 16 contaminants in CH46 water. None exceeded recommended safe levels. PFAS (forever chemicals) were also measured in rivers and groundwater within 10 km, though not in the tap-water tests themselves.

Who supplies water in CH46?

CH46 (Wirral) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is CH46 water hard or soft?

Water in CH46 (Wirral) has a hardness of 124 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as moderately hard. This is a moderate hardness level.

Should I use a water filter in CH46?

CH46 water scored 9.2/10 with no contaminants above recommended levels. A filter is optional but can improve taste, especially if you notice a chlorine flavour. See our filter recommendations for your area.

Are there PFAS forever chemicals in CH46 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for CH46 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 19 river and groundwater samples from 4 sites within 10 km of CH46, the highest being 6:2 FTSA at 0.0032 µg/L about 3.8 km away. These are environmental samples, not tests of tap water. The UK currently has no legal limit for PFAS in drinking water; the Drinking Water Inspectorate uses a 0.1 µg/L guideline for individual compounds. Reverse osmosis filters can reduce PFAS levels.

How clean is the river near CH46?

The Environment Agency rated the The Birket including Arrowe Brook and Fender as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by dissolved oxygen, fish and insects and other small river life. It fails the chemical test, as every river, estuary and stretch of coast in England does, because of long-lasting pollutants such as mercury, PFOS (a forever chemical) and old flame retardants. This is a rating of the river, not of tap water in CH46, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

PFAS explainedHow to test your waterBest water filtersFilter shower headsWater testing kitsUK water rankingsWater hardness checkerWater hardness map

River and groundwater readings near CH46

Environment Agency samples from rivers, groundwater and reservoirs nearby. Not your tap water. For scale they are shown against drinking water limits; rivers are judged against much stricter environmental standards, and on those every river in England fails for chemicals.

SubstanceReadingDrinking water limit
Ammonia1.5 mg/L0.5 mg/L
pH7.19 pHNone
Temperature16.6 °CNone
Conductivity642 µS/cmNone
Nitrate0.98 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.11 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.53 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen1.81 mg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for CH46.

Source: United Utilities test results, published through the Stream Water Data Portal; rivers and PFAS from the Environment Agency. Page updated . How we score · Where the data comes from