Shepshed Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Severn Trent Water supplies Shepshed, a market town on the fringe of Charnwood Forest in north-west Leicestershire near Loughborough — an area of ancient Precambrian rocks exposed in the Charnwood upland, one of England's most unusual geological landscapes — from Derwent Valley Reservoirs in the Peak District blended with Triassic Sandstone (Sherwood Sandstone) groundwater in the north Leicestershire supply zone, treated at Nanpantan Water Treatment Works near Loughborough. At 202 mg/L (14.2°Clark), Shepshed's water is hard, reflecting the moderate to substantial Triassic Sandstone groundwater contribution in the north Leicestershire distribution zone.

Shepshed sits at the south-east margin of Charnwood Forest — an island of ancient Precambrian Volcanic and Metamorphic rocks (Bradgate Rhyolites, Swithland Slates) exposed through the Triassic cover — but Severn Trent Water does not draw on local Charnwood groundwater. Instead, the supply blends soft Derwent Valley reservoir water with the regionally important Triassic Sherwood Sandstone aquifer of the east Midlands plain, which contributes calcium and elevated TDS to produce 202 mg/L with TDS 543.8 mg/L — a hard supply with a characteristic Triassic groundwater signature.

At 202 mg/L, limescale is a persistent household challenge in Shepshed. Kettles should be descaled monthly. The combi-boiler benefits from a fitted scale inhibitor and annual professional servicing. Washing-up liquid requires more product 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 and prevents chalk staining from accumulating permanently on surfaces in this hard north Leicestershire Triassic groundwater-blend supply zone on the Charnwood Forest fringe.