Hartranft Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Hartranft, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County — a North Philadelphia neighborhood adjacent to Kensington and Hunting Park, one of Philadelphia's historically working-class North Philadelphia rowhouse neighborhoods in the inner-city North Philly corridor — receives its municipal water from the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), which draws from the Schuylkill River at the Belmont intake and the Delaware River at the Baxter and Queen Lane intakes, serving all of Philadelphia.

The hard 207.5 mg/L hardness and elevated TDS of 535.2 mg/L are consistent with the Philadelphia Water Department supply throughout the city — similar to Haddington's 204 mg/L reading but slightly harder, possibly reflecting corrosion control chemistry additions at a different distribution zone pressure boundary. Philadelphia PWD's moderately hard Schuylkill-Delaware supply is treated with lime and sodium hydroxide corrosion control throughout the North Philadelphia aging infrastructure.

At 207.5 mg/L, Hartranft's water is hard — scale builds rapidly in kettles and appliances, dishwashers require rinse aid, and bathroom fixtures develop calcium deposits. Monthly descaling is practical. A water softener is recommended. The PFAS level of 10.7 ppt is very high and warrants a certified reverse osmosis drinking water filter — the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (Delaware River AFFF legacy), Willow Grove NAS (Montgomery County AFFF user), and the densely industrial North Philadelphia-Delaware Valley PFAS complex contribute to Hartranft's extreme reading.