Charlotte County Water Quality
Our Services
What The County Actually Reports
The 2024 report covers fluoride, nitrate, barium, sodium and selenium, plus radiological results and the lead and copper tap sampling.
Sodium came in at 48 ppm against an action level of 160. That’s the figure most relevant to anybody considering a salt-based softener, because softening adds more on top.
Everything reported was inside federal and state limits. The county says so on page one and the tables back it up.
What you won’t find anywhere in it is hardness. Or iron. Or a pH figure. Those aren’t federally regulated, so there’s no requirement to report them and the county doesn’t.
02
Source
Peace River, via the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority.
02
What's Reported
Fluoride, nitrate, barium, sodium, selenium, radiologicals, lead and copper.
03
What Isn't
Hardness, iron, pH. Not regulated, so not published.
How It's Treated Before It Reaches You
The regional facility draws from the Peace River and holds it in an off-stream reservoir rather than treating it straight out of the river.
From there it gets powdered carbon for algal taste and odour compounds, then colour removal by coagulation and sedimentation with alum, then disinfection with chlorine and chloramines, then filtration through rapid rate multi-media filters, then pH adjustment with caustic soda.
That’s a lot of treatment, and it’s why Charlotte County water tastes different from well water and from Punta Gorda’s Shell Creek supply.
It’s also why chlorine and chloramine taste is the most common thing we hear about from Charlotte County customers, rather than anything to do with hardness.
- Peace River surface water, not groundwater
- Sodium reported at 48 ppm in 2024
- Hardness is not reported and not regulated
Frequently Asked Questions About Charlotte County
Is Charlotte County water safe to drink?
According to the 2024 report, yes. Everything the county tested came back inside federal and state limits, and they say so on page one. Safe isn't the same as pleasant though, and it isn't the same as easy on your plumbing. Those are different questions and the report doesn't answer them.
What are chloramines?
Chlorine combined with ammonia. It's a disinfectant that holds up better than chlorine on its own over a long distribution run, which is why the regional authority uses it. It's also why the taste lingers more than it does on straight chlorine systems. A carbon filter handles it, though it needs more contact time than plain chlorine does.
Where can I read the report myself?
Charlotte County Utilities publishes it on their site every year, and the one we've quoted is PWS #5084100. Go and check it. Everything we've said about it should hold up against the document, and if it doesn't, tell us.
Get My Free Water Test