Kensington Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Kensington, New York, a neighborhood in the central Brooklyn section of Kings County — a diverse and eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood adjacent to Flatbush and Borough Park, home of the Prospect Park Zoo and the southern tip of Prospect Park, a diverse multi-ethnic community with significant Bangladeshi-American, Chinese-American, Mexican-American, and Pakistani-American populations (Kensington and adjacent Flatbush are among the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in New York City), and a gentrifying central Brooklyn neighborhood — draws its municipal water supply via the NYC DEP. Water hardness in Kensington measures 153 mg/L — classified as hard.

Kensington's moderately hard supply — harder than most NYC neighborhoods — reflects the older Brooklyn distribution infrastructure's mineral accumulation. The NYC DEP Catskill–Delaware source is typically 80–100 mg/L before distribution. The Kensington–Borough Park area of central Brooklyn has older distribution mains (late 19th–early 20th century borough expansion infrastructure) with significant mineral accumulation from the source supply, producing the harder 153 mg/L compared to Manhattan or newer borough areas receiving the same source water.

At 153 mg/L, Kensington residents face moderate-to-hard scale challenges. Monthly cleaning with citric acid solution is recommended. NYC DEP consistently delivers water meeting all New York State DEC and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.