French Quarter and the Marigny water, explained

New Orleans, Orleans Parish · PWS ID LA1071009

The short answer

Water in French Quarter and the Marigny is hard, about 5.9 grains per gallon, chloramine-disinfected Mississippi River water. The recommendation for this water: a dedicated water softener and a separate whole-home catalytic carbon filter plus optional reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink.

The scale on faucets, shower glass, and inside water heaters starts with the hardness in this water. Water in French Quarter and the Marigny is treated Mississippi River water. It tests hard at 100.7 milligrams per liter, about 5.9 grains per gallon, and carries chloramine at 3.3 parts per million. At typical household use, that moves roughly 92 pounds of hardness minerals through the house each year. Those minerals react with soap and collect as scale anywhere water is heated or allowed to dry. For perspective, chloramine in drinking water typically runs from 0.5 to 2 parts per million. This reported level is above that range and equals about 83% of the federal maximum. Unless a pitcher or refrigerator filter specifically lists chloramine reduction, do not assume it removes it. A softener handles the hardness. It does not remove chloramine. That requires a separate catalytic-carbon tank.

The scale on faucets, shower glass, and inside water heaters starts with the hardness in this water. Water in French Quarter and the Marigny is treated Mississippi River water.

Why this is the recommendation

What you may notice in your waterBeneath the surfaceWhat gets your attention?

What hard water changes

Scale, spots, and soap residue

Hardness minerals react with soap and collect anywhere water is heated or allowed to dry.

Soap that lathers poorly and leaves residue on skin and hair
White deposits on faucets and shower glass
Scale inside water heaters and appliances
Spots on fixtures, dishes, and glass

What French Quarter reports

More than one number matters

chloramine at 3.3 ppm, above the typical 0.5 to 2 ppm range
hardness at 5.9 grains per gallon

Source: Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans · 2025 water quality report · PWS ID LA1071009

What this report does not rule out

PFAS cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted

This report does not include a usable PFAS result. No result is not the same as no PFAS. Certified kitchen reverse osmosis reduces PFOA and PFOS in the water used for drinking and cooking.

Your water report

Your water reportFrench Quarter

Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans · PWS ID LA1071009 · 2025 water quality report

chloramine at 3.3 ppm, above the typical 0.5 to 2 ppm range · Made to last longer and often less noticeable than chlorineCatalytic carbon removes it throughout the house

hardness at 5.9 grains per gallon · Scale inside water heaters and appliances, spots on fixtures, and soap residue on skin and hairA dedicated water softener handles it

Chloramine is made by combining chlorine with ammonia. It lasts longer than chlorine and can be much less obvious at the tap. These numbers come straight from your water utility's published report.

What we'd install

Based on the report, a dedicated water softener for the hardness and a separate whole-home catalytic-carbon tank for the disinfectant. Add reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink if better drinking water is part of why you're calling. If it isn't, the softener and catalytic-carbon system remains the whole-house recommendation, and RO stays off the quote.

**Dual-tank softener + catalytic carbon**One coordinated whole-house system for hardness and the disinfectant

**Reverse osmosis**Drinking water at the kitchen sink

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What this does for your home

Stops hardness scale from continuing to collect inside water heaters and appliances
Soap lathers more easily without forming hardness residue on skin, hair, and shower surfaces
Fewer mineral deposits on faucets, fixtures, dishes, and glass
Reduces chloramine throughout the house, including showers and the water used for coffee, tea, and cooking
Filtered drinking water from its own kitchen faucet

Source: Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans annual water quality report. PWS ID LA1071009, verifiable in the EPA Safe Drinking Water database →Figures are as published by the system; see the original report for sampling methods and ranges.The published report reviewed for this page does not include a usable PFAS result, so this page does not claim that PFAS are present at this address.Get my written plan and price →

Hard water leaves its record inside the equipment you depend on.

At 5.9 grains per gallon, hardness minerals can collect as scale on heating surfaces, inside fixtures, and throughout water-using appliances. That buildup makes water heaters work harder and can shorten equipment life.

Corroded supply line removed from the founder's Covington home — A corroded supply line removed from Shawn's own Covington home.

Illustration of rust and mineral accumulation inside an aging municipal water main — What decades of rust and mineral accumulation can look like inside an aging main. Photorealistic illustration.

Cut-open residential water heater filled with heavy mineral and sediment buildup — A cut-open residential water heater showing heavy mineral and sediment buildup inside.

A dedicated softener removes the hardness minerals before they can keep accumulating inside the house. Catalytic carbon handles the chloramine separately.

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The public recordResolved, with enforcement orders on file

EPA shows the New Orleans Carrollton plant cleared a surface-water treatment violation in early 2025, and lists two formal state compliance orders, from 2023 and 2024. The city also issued a boil-water advisory across the east bank in August 2024 after a pressure loss at the plant. The violation is resolved; the orders and advisory are part of the record.

EPA ECHO. Public records, current as of August 2026. They update quarterly. Operators: contact us to correct an error.

What this means at your house

Your water arrives with chloramine in it, at 3.3 parts per million. Utilities make chloramine by combining chlorine with ammonia so it remains effective farther through the distribution system. It can be less obvious than chlorine: some people notice a faint chemical taste or odor, while others notice nothing at all. Ordinary pitcher and refrigerator filters should not be assumed to reduce it unless chloramine is specifically listed. Catalytic carbon reduces it before the water reaches the house.

This is hard water. Hardness tests at 100.7 milligrams per liter, about 5.9 grains, and for a family using around 300 gallons a day that puts roughly 92 pounds of dissolved rock through the house in a year. That is why a softener goes in the package for this neighborhood.

The water here starts in the Mississippi River and is treated at the Carrollton plant before the trip across town to your tap. Chlorine also leaves traces behind as it works, called disinfection byproducts. This system's published reading is 28 parts per billion, and the carbon filter reduces those too.

How the report becomes the recommendation

Each finding decides a piece of the package, including the pieces we leave out.

The report shows	At your house	The answer	Why that one
Chloramine at 3.3 ppm	The taste and smell in coffee, tea, and the first glass of the day	Whole-home catalytic carbon	Chloramine holds together inside plain carbon. Catalytic carbon is processed to break it apart.
Hardness at 5.9 grains per gallon, hard enough to form scale	Scale inside water heaters, dishwashers, fixtures, and small appliance parts	Water softener	A softener stops hardness minerals from building up on heating surfaces and inside equipment.

What this area covers

The system that serves French Quarter also serves these streets and subdivisions, as named in the published record:

Bywater
St. Roch
CBD

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Tell us your address and we will pull the report for the water system that serves it. You get our recommendation and the price in writing before any work starts, and a licensed plumber handles the install.

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Nearby in New Orleans

← All neighborhood water reports

It cannot say what is causing dry skin at your house. Hot water, soap, weather, and the disinfectant can all contribute, and the report only establishes that the disinfectant is present.

It cannot speak for the pipes inside your own walls. Lead sampling covers a handful of homes across the whole system, and your service line, solder, and fixtures are yours alone.

It says nothing about sediment at your particular faucet; annual reports do not measure what collects in one house.

Before anything goes on a quote, we ask what you are actually noticing and test whatever the published data cannot answer.