Leatherhead’s water is rated as hard. This is why.

Like most of Surrey, the water in Leatherhead is renowned for being exceptionally hard. The reason for this is the predominantly chalky soil, which contains minerals like calcium and magnesium, that have the effect of turning rainwater hard – even though it falls as soft water. This is why so many residents in Leatherhead and the surrounding area choose to have a water softener installed in their properties, to combat the effects of hard water in the home – like limescale build-up, the downgrading of appliances and the detrimental effect it can have on your skin, hair and clothing. It’s a devil to keep surfaces clean, too.

The level of water hardness is measured in parts per million (ppm). If your water is above 200ppm, it is considered hard. And the nearer you get to 300ppm, the water starts to become exceptionally hard. In Leatherhead, the reading averages out at somewhere around 280ppm, which is towards the high end of the scale.

Leatherhead – an Overview

Annual rainfall: 28.7 inch or 728mm.

Leatherhead is a popular town situated in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, which started out life back in Anglo Saxon times beside a ford on the River Mole.

Having primarily been an agricultural settlement until Elizabethan era times, things really got going economically with the construction of turnpike roads in the mid-18th century and the arrival of the railways in the second half of the 19th century. Large-scale manufacturing industries arrived after the First World War. In 2002 and 2004, the BBC identified Leatherhead as having one of the worst High Streets in England, although the local press later described the town centre as “bustling”.

Major companies, like Unilever and Halliburton, have a big presence in the town, whilst Lister Cars, makers of Lister Storm, Le Mans racing cars, are based in Leatherhead. It is also the location where ex-Formula One World Champion Damon Hill founded P1 International.

Leatherhead has been mentioned in a number of films and television programmes. The film I Want Candy, released in March 2007, is partly set in the town. Monty Python’s Flying Circus also referred to Leatherhead in one of their sketches.