Street Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Wessex Water supplies Street, a Somerset town on the northern edge of the Somerset Levels — internationally known as the home of Clarks (C&J Clark), founded in Street in 1825 and the world's most celebrated shoe manufacturer, whose factory and museum remain the town's defining landmark — from Mendip Hills limestone springs and Cheddar Reservoir on the south slopes of the Mendip Hills, treated at Cheddar Water Treatment Works at Cheddar. At 130 mg/L (9.1°Clark), Street's water is slightly hard — pleasantly moderate given Street's position at the Mendip Hills fringe, reflecting a dilution of the harder Mendip limestone spring water by the Cheddar surface reservoir supply.

Street sits at the foot of the Mendip Hills on the Somerset Levels — the flat reclaimed fenland between the Mendip and Quantock hills. Wessex Water draws on the Cheddar Reservoir and Carboniferous Limestone springs from the Mendip caves system, producing a blend of surface and spring water at 130 mg/L with TDS 294.9 mg/L — slightly hard, reflecting the Mendip limestone contribution diluted by the softer surface reservoir component. This is the same limestone spring system beneath the Cheddar Gorge that gives Cheddar cheese its terroir.

At 130 mg/L, limescale is a moderate and manageable domestic concern in Street. Descaling the kettle every six to eight weeks is typically adequate. The combi-boiler benefits from a standard scale inhibitor as a 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 Mendip spring blend supply at Street is, in water quality terms, a modest but genuine reflection of the calcareous limestone hills that have defined Somerset's cheese, caves, and shoemaking heritage for centuries.