Hedon Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Yorkshire Water supplies Hedon, the small historic market town in the East Riding of Yorkshire east of Hull — a former medieval port town that once rivalled Hull as a Humber trading post, with an ancient charter, a grand King of Holderness church, and a peaceful setting in the flat Holderness plain east of the city — from the Yorkshire Wolds Chalk (Cretaceous) aquifer boreholes in the East Riding Humber distribution zone, treated at Springhead Water Treatment Works near Hessle. At 143 mg/L (10.0°Clark), Hedon's water is moderately hard — reflecting calcium from the Cretaceous Chalk of the Yorkshire Wolds aquifer, with a moderate TDS/hardness ratio (2.33) consistent with predominantly carbonate chalk hardness in the East Riding Humber distribution zone.

Hedon lies in the Holderness plain of the East Riding, drawing supply from the Yorkshire Wolds Chalk (Cretaceous Upper Chalk) aquifer via the Yorkshire Water Humber distribution network. The chalk aquifer delivers calcium carbonate groundwater with modest sulphate contribution from the overlying glacial drift and the Triassic Bunter Sandstone fringe in the east Yorkshire supply blend, producing 143 mg/L with TDS 333.2 mg/L — moderately hard water consistent with the East Riding chalk supply zone at Beverley (140 mg/L) and Cottingham in the same Yorkshire Water Humber corridor.

At 143 mg/L, limescale is a moderate household challenge in Hedon. Kettles benefit from descaling every four to six weeks. The combi-boiler should be fitted with a scale inhibitor and serviced annually. Washing-up liquid requires more product per wash than in softer areas. Taps and shower heads develop moderate limescale deposits within two to three weeks; a monthly wipe with white vinegar or a proprietary descaling product keeps fittings in good condition. The moderately hard Wolds chalk supply at Hedon is characteristic of the Holderness plain — the great Yorkshire Wolds chalk that underlies the Humber estuary contributing modest calcium to households in this quiet East Riding market town.