Stoke Gifford Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Bristol Water supplies Stoke Gifford, a village in South Gloucestershire near Bristol Parkway station and the Great Stoke housing development — best known as a quiet green suburb at the north Bristol fringe, adjacent to the M4/M32 motorway junction — from the River Severn abstracted at Purton near Sharpness, blended with Cotswold limestone spring supply, treated at Purton Water Treatment Works. At 135 mg/L (9.5°Clark), Stoke Gifford's water is slightly hard, reflecting the moderate calcareous character of the Severn surface water blended with limestone spring contributions from the north Cotswold edge.

Stoke Gifford lies north of Bristol in the South Gloucestershire fringe where the Severn Vale Triassic geology meets the Jurassic Limestone escarpment of the northern Cotswolds. Bristol Water draws on the River Severn as the primary supply source at Purton, supplemented by limestone spring and borehole contributions from the Jurassic Oolite of the Cotswold edge. The Severn at Purton carries moderate calcium loading from its chalk and limestone catchment tributaries, and the limestone spring blend adds additional calcium bicarbonate hardness, producing 135 mg/L with TDS 313.9 mg/L for the north Bristol supply zone.

At 135 mg/L, limescale is a moderate and manageable domestic concern in Stoke Gifford. Descaling the kettle every six to eight weeks is typically adequate. The combi-boiler benefits from a standard scale inhibitor as a sensible precaution. Washing-up liquid lathers adequately at everyday quantities. Taps and shower heads develop light deposits over several weeks; a monthly wipe with white vinegar keeps fixtures in good condition. The slightly hard supply is characteristic of the north Bristol fringe communities where the Severn-Cotswold limestone blend delivers a pleasant moderately mineralised supply to the South Gloucestershire suburbs.