Aylestone Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Severn Trent Water supplies Aylestone, the south Leicester suburb in the City of Leicester — a community along the Grand Union Canal and the River Soar, with a historic park, a Victorian church, and the landmark Aylestone Meadows Local Nature Reserve stretching along the Soar floodplain — from Derwent Valley Reservoirs in the Peak District blended with Triassic Mercia Mudstone (Keuper Marl) groundwater in the south Leicester distribution zone, treated at Loughborough Water Treatment Works. At 245 mg/L (17.2°Clark) and a TDS of 706.4 mg/L, Aylestone's water is hard with a very elevated TDS/hardness ratio (2.88), indicating substantial sulphate from gypsum dissolution within the Triassic Mercia Mudstone sequence of the south Leicester lowland.

Aylestone lies in the south Leicester plain underlain by Triassic Mercia Mudstone (Keuper Marl) — a formation containing abundant nodular gypsum veins that dissolve to release calcium sulphate. Severn Trent blends soft Derwent Valley reservoir supply with a dominant Triassic Mercia Mudstone groundwater component, with gypsum dissolution contributing sulphate to produce 245 mg/L with TDS 706.4 mg/L — hard, sulphate-type water consistent with the south Leicester Triassic supply zone at Belgrave (204 mg/L), Syston (260 mg/L), and Wigston in the same north–south Leicestershire Keuper Marl distribution corridor.

At 245 mg/L, limescale is a persistent household challenge in Aylestone. Kettles should be descaled monthly. The combi-boiler benefits from a fitted scale inhibitor and annual professional servicing. Washing-up liquid requires generous quantities per wash. Taps and shower heads develop visible white limescale deposits within one to two weeks; a fortnightly wipe with white vinegar or a proprietary descaling product keeps fittings clean. Aylestone's hard, gypsum-influenced Triassic supply flows along the same canal corridor that once carried Midland industry; today, as then, the Keuper Marl below leaves its mineral mark on the kettles of this south Leicester community.