Peekskill Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Peekskill, New York, in Westchester County at the northern gateway of the Hudson River metropolitan region near the Peekskill Bay — a historic industrial and arts community on the Hudson — receives its municipal water from the City of Peekskill Water Division, drawing from local reservoirs in the Hudson Highlands watershed above the city, supplemented by connections to the Westchester County regional water system. Peekskill's reservoirs collect surface water from the forested northern Westchester uplands in the transition zone between the Precambrian Highlands and the Hudson Valley lowland.

The moderately hard 144.5 mg/L hardness and TDS of 338.8 mg/L are somewhat elevated for a Hudson Highlands reservoir supply, reflecting the influence of calcareous geological contacts in the Peekskill watershed. While the core Precambrian gneisses and granites of the Hudson Highlands produce soft water, the Peekskill area sits in a transitional geological zone where the Highlands meet the Taconic Sequence metasedimentary rocks — including Cambrian marble and calcareous schist of the Manhattan Formation and associated metamorphic carbonates exposed in the Hudson Valley fold belt. These calcareous metamorphic contacts contribute modest but consistent calcium and magnesium input to watershed drainage, pushing the supply into moderate hardness territory.

At 144.5 mg/L, Peekskill's water is moderately hard — familiar for a Hudson Valley community with highland reservoir supply. Scale builds gradually in kettles and coffee machines over months, the dishwasher benefits from rinse aid, and faucet aerators need periodic cleaning. Quarterly descaling of heating appliances is the standard maintenance schedule. The PFAS level of 7.0 ppt warrants a certified drinking water filter — Peekskill's industrial heritage and the Hudson Valley's proximity to historic manufacturing sites contribute to the regional PFAS baseline.