Hard and Soft Water Characteristics

See also page 5.

Hardness in water occurs when calcium or magnesium salts are

present. This is most common where water extraction is from
boreholes into chalky strata or chalky aquifers.

Measurement
. Parts per million (ppm), i.e. milligrams per litre (mg/l) e.g.
Location Typical ppm

Bristol 300

Cardiff 100

Hartlepool 460

London 285

Manchester <60

Newcastle 160

Scotland <50

For a general guide to England and Wales, see map on next page.
. Clarke's scale † a numerical classification, sometimes referred to as
degrees Clarke.

Classification

Type of water Clarkes Approx. ppm

Soft <3.5 <50

Moderately soft 3.5†7.0 50†100

Slightly hard 7.0†10.5 100†150

Moderately hard 10.5†14.0 150†200

Hard 14.0†21.0 200†300

Very hard >21.0 >300

1 degree Clarke is about 1 part per 70 000.

When hard water is heated, the dissolved salts change to solids and
deposit on the linings of pipework, boilers and other ancillaries.
Kettle scale is an obvious example, but far more significant is its
efficiency reduction of hot water and central heating plant. If enough
scale is deposited, pipework systems can become completely blocked
or `furred up'. This can have explosive consequences, as safety
valves will also be affected. Chalk build up normally takes years, but
in very hard water areas, it may be just a few months depending on
the frequency of plant use. Hence the limitations of direct hot water
systems (see page 37) where fresh water is continually introduced.
Direct systems are only applicable where water hardness is less than
150 ppm and water temperatures do not exceed 65ƒC. The water
temperature in modern hot water and heating systems exceeds 80ƒC,
therefore direct systems are effectively obsolete in favour of indirect
installations, (see page 38). Indirect systems have the same water
circulating throughout the primary and heating pipework and it is
only drained off during maintenance and repair.

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