Buckingham Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Anglian Water supplies Buckingham, the ancient county town of Buckinghamshire on the River Great Ouse — one of England's oldest boroughs with a medieval market square, Buckingham University (England's only independent university), and the historic Stowe Landscape Garden estate nearby — from the Buckinghamshire Chalk aquifer and Great Ouse chalk-tributary sources in the north Buckinghamshire supply zone, treated at Grafham Water Treatment Works in Cambridgeshire. At 283 mg/L (19.9°Clark) and a TDS of 840.1 mg/L, Buckingham's water is very hard — consistent with the deeply saturated Cretaceous Chalk and Jurassic Limestone geology of north Buckinghamshire.

Buckingham lies at the northern edge of the Chiltern–Buckinghamshire Chalk belt where the chalk dips northward and is supplemented by Jurassic Limestone contributions in the upper Great Ouse headwaters. Anglian Water draws on chalk aquifer boreholes in this zone and uses the chalk-tributary-derived Grafham Water reservoir in Huntingdonshire to supply north Buckinghamshire, delivering 283 mg/L with TDS 840.1 mg/L — very hard water consistent with the chalk belt communities stretching from Buckingham through Milton Keynes to Northampton.

At 283 mg/L, limescale is a persistent and significant household problem in Buckingham. Kettles should be descaled every two to three weeks. The combi-boiler needs a fitted scale inhibitor and annual professional servicing. Washing-up liquid requires generous quantities for adequate lather. Taps and shower heads develop substantial white chalk deposits within a week to ten days; a fortnightly descaling with white vinegar or a proprietary product keeps fittings in good condition. A whole-house water softener is worth serious consideration for Buckingham households with high water usage or older plumbing infrastructure.