Immingham Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Anglian Water supplies Immingham, the major deep-water port town in North East Lincolnshire on the south Humber estuary — one of the UK's busiest ports by tonnage, handling bulk cargoes of oil, coal, and containers at the Immingham Dock complex, and a community strongly shaped by its petrochemical refinery and industrial heritage at the Humber Estuary industrial zone — from the Lincolnshire Limestone (Jurassic Inferior Oolite) and Chalk (Cretaceous) aquifer system in the North East Lincolnshire distribution zone, treated at Elsham Water Treatment Works near Brigg. At 236.5 mg/L (16.6°Clark) and a TDS of 671.8 mg/L, Immingham's water is hard — reflecting calcium contributions from the Jurassic Oolitic Limestone and Cretaceous Chalk aquifers of the Lincolnshire Wolds, with an elevated TDS/hardness ratio (2.84) indicating sulphate from the Oxford Clay and Jurassic evaporite sequences beneath the Humber plain.

Immingham lies in the North East Lincolnshire lowland where Anglian Water draws from the productive Lincolnshire Limestone (Jurassic) and Chalk (Cretaceous) boreholes of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The Jurassic oolite and chalk deliver calcium carbonate groundwater enriched by sulphate from the overlying Oxford Clay, producing 236.5 mg/L with TDS 671.8 mg/L — hard water consistent with the north Lincolnshire–Humber distribution tier at Barton-upon-Humber (206.5 mg/L) and Grimsby (240 mg/L) in the same Anglian Water Humber corridor supply zone.

At 236.5 mg/L, limescale is a persistent household challenge in Immingham. Kettles should be descaled monthly. The combi-boiler benefits from a fitted scale inhibitor and annual professional servicing. Washing-up liquid requires more product per wash. Taps and shower heads develop visible white limescale deposits within one to two weeks; a fortnightly wipe with white vinegar or a proprietary descaling product keeps fittings clean. The hard Lincolnshire Limestone supply at Immingham is as consistent as the great bulk carriers mooring at the dock — a permanent feature of life in the Humber's principal industrial port.