Fox Chase Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County — a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood in the Oxford Circle-Fox Chase corridor, the location of the Fox Chase Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer research hospital), a rowhouse and residential neighborhood in the northeast corner of Philadelphia — receives its municipal water from the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), which draws from the Delaware River at the Queen Lane and Baxter water treatment plants serving Northeast Philadelphia.

The moderately hard 183.5 mg/L hardness and elevated TDS of 433.7 mg/L reflect the Delaware River supply at the Philadelphia intake. The Delaware River at Philadelphia drains the Delaware Water Gap (Ordovician-Silurian shale and sandstone), the New Jersey Pinelands (Coastal Plain sand), the Pennsylvania Piedmont (crystalline gneiss and schist), and limited carbonate contributions from the Carbonate Valley (Montgomery and Chester County Ordovician limestone). The combined Delaware River supply (harder than the Schuylkill at this latitude) produces the moderately hard water characteristic of the PWD Northeast Philadelphia distribution zone — slightly softer than the West Philadelphia-Schuylkill zone.

At 183.5 mg/L, Fox Chase's water is moderately hard — scale builds in kettles and appliances over months, dishwashers benefit from rinse aid, and bathroom fixtures develop calcium deposits. Quarterly descaling is appropriate. The PFAS level of 9.4 ppt is very high and warrants a certified reverse osmosis drinking water filter — the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Delaware River AFFF legacy), the Willow Grove NAS, and the densely industrial Northeast Philadelphia-Delaware Valley PFAS complex contribute to Fox Chase's elevated readings.