Boughton Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Severn Trent Water supplies Boughton, the north Nottinghamshire village near Ollerton and Newark-on-Trent — a former colliery community between the Sherwood Forest landscape and the Trent valley, with the former Boughton Pumping Station and the north Nottinghamshire coalfield heritage framing a community now primarily residential on the edge of the Sherwood Forest regeneration area — from Derwent Valley Reservoirs in the Peak District blended with Permo-Triassic Sherwood Sandstone (Bunter Sandstone) groundwater in the north Nottinghamshire Ollerton distribution zone, treated at Ambergate Water Treatment Works near Belper. At 144.5 mg/L (10.1°Clark), Boughton's water is moderately hard — reflecting a proportion of Triassic Sherwood Sandstone groundwater blended with the soft Derwent Valley supply in the north Nottinghamshire distribution network.

Boughton lies on the north Nottinghamshire Permo-Triassic Sherwood Sandstone plain between the coalfield and the Trent valley. Severn Trent supplies from Derwent Valley reservoirs (soft) blended with a proportion of Sherwood Sandstone (Bunter Sandstone) groundwater, producing 144.5 mg/L with TDS 345 mg/L — moderately hard water with a moderate TDS/hardness ratio (2.39) confirming mostly carbonate hardness from the sandstone groundwater, consistent with the north Nottinghamshire Ollerton–Newark distribution zone.

At 144.5 mg/L, limescale is a moderate household challenge in Boughton. Kettles benefit from descaling every four to six weeks. The combi-boiler should be fitted with a scale inhibitor and serviced annually. Washing-up liquid requires more product per wash. Taps and shower heads develop moderate limescale deposits within two to three weeks; a monthly wipe with white vinegar or a proprietary descaling product keeps fittings in good condition. The moderately hard Sherwood Sandstone blend supply at Boughton is characteristic of the north Nottinghamshire plain — the great Bunter Pebble Bed Sandstone of Sherwood Forest contributing moderate calcium to the tap water of communities in this ancient royal hunting forest.