Burntwood Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Burntwood, the south Staffordshire town between Lichfield and Cannock Chase, is served by Severn Trent Water. Supply to the south Staffordshire coalfield and Chase fringe combines soft upland water delivered via the Elan Valley Aqueduct from central Wales, treated at Lichfield Water Treatment Works, with local groundwater abstraction from the Triassic Mercia Mudstone and Permo-Triassic sandstone aquifers beneath the south Staffordshire basin. The very high TDS of 656.9 mg/L for a hardness of 225 mg/L — a ratio of nearly 2.9 — indicates a pronounced evaporite-mineral signature in the groundwater component, consistent with the Triassic Keuper Marl and gypsum beds that underlie much of the Staffordshire basin and dissolve sulphate into percolating groundwater.

The Triassic Mercia Mudstone beneath south Staffordshire includes interbedded Keuper gypsum and anhydrite horizons, a characteristic feature of the Midlands Triassic evaporite sequence. As groundwater moves through these beds, it dissolves not only calcium carbonate but also calcium sulphate from gypsum, raising both hardness and TDS substantially above what carbonate chemistry alone would produce. The blend of this hard, sulphate-rich groundwater with the soft Elan Valley surface water produces the characteristic south Staffordshire supply at 225 mg/L hardness and elevated TDS, closely resembling the supply profile of nearby Lichfield and Tamworth.

At 225 mg/L Burntwood's water is hard and limescale management is an ongoing domestic concern. Kettles should be descaled monthly — the white-to-greyish mineral crust that forms reflects the calcium and magnesium sulphate content of the supply as well as carbonate. Shower heads and tap aerators need monthly soaking in white vinegar. Washing-up liquid must be used in generous quantities for satisfactory lather. Combi-boilers benefit from inline scale inhibitors and annual servicing. Properties on the Cannock Chase fringe with newer boilers will notice sustained scale accumulation if descaling routines are neglected; fitting a whole-house water softener is a popular solution in the south Staffordshire area.