Sometimes PH matters

[Srt8madness]

I thought lead pipes went out with the Romans but find it wasn't banned until the 1930s
I don't think there's significant lead pipes anywhere in Australia but reticulated water is still treated to raise pH above 6.5 in all water supply systems.
Lead is a part of solder which was used to join copper pipes but was banned here in 1989. One source says there's enough lead from soldered joints to bring water above safe limits.
I also found that brass which is commonly used for tapware and joiners can have up to 3% lead and there's now a 3 year phase out of any lead in plumbing fittings, starting in 2023.

Acid water can also damage distribution and consumer pipes.
Acidic water can slowly corrode copper and therefore damage residential pipework. We experienced this first hand at my previous property where we used well water which turned out to be acidic. The water dissolved the hot water tank and a brass pipe through the wall before I realised what was happening. Fortunately no lasting health issues but my teenage daughter complained about her blonde hair turning green. Copper poisoning has also been noted in some areas due to acidic water in copper water heaters.
Acidic water can also slowly corrode cement based pipes. I'd say there would be far more cement pipes than lead pipes so another reason for water authorities to raise pH of reticulated water.

There is some mention of pH affecting the flocculation process which is used to remove dirt, particles and other contaminants from the water but it appears that high pH is detrimental so raising pH is done after flocculation.

And, finally back to @Joe Dupre'
pH of water always matters for all the reasons given so far and more. Sometimes it is not fatal but it has always affected a range of plant growth factors.

As a father of daughters, I can dang well imagine that she did!!
Crazy that in the 21st century, safe drinking water is still far from a given.

 

[CapeCodBonsai]

Interesting
My house was built in 1987 or 1988 so if the builder followed the rules, my pipes shouldn't have the lead solder. Do you know what was used after 1986 to solder copper pipes?

What bonsai nut said is correct. Metals like silver, antimony, tin, and even transitional metals like molybdenum are used in various combinations to try to emulate the flow characteristics of leaded solders. Unfortunately, plumbers are human and resist change just like the rest of us. The “silver” solders required higher temperatures (read: new torch) and you had to learn to work a little differently than how you were accustomed. Consequently, a lot of the older guys I worked with would still use leaded solders whenever they thought they could get away with it. If you had any new work done AND it was properly permitted back in the late eighties, the plumbing inspectors would swab a joint or two in order to test for lead. If you have any concerns, I believe you can purchase a test kit and swab your water piping joints yourself.

 

[Jrmcmich]

So I did buy a probe and measured 7.6 for my tap water. would it be advisable to try to reduce this for watering?

 

[MHBonsai]

So I did buy a probe and measured 7.6 for my tap water. would it be advisable to try to reduce this for watering?

Most likely you are fine. If your trees are in soils that are totally non-acidic, or you get very little rain, or you have a lot of azaleas/gardenias you may need to throw something at it occasionally to acidify.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

As I said before - for majority of plants we grow for bonsai - pH is TRIVIAL. So do not get over-worked on the topic of pH.

This does require some explanation. All plants to a significant degree can and DO actively buffer the pH of the soil water film around their root tips to suite their ideal range for mineral and nutrient absorption. The scientific paper I read was by John Atwood, PhD, Unv MI at Ann Arbor, back in the 1980's. There have been further studies. Atwood went to Sumatra, and measured the pH of the water film surrounding the root tips of an orchid that clings to vertical limestone cliff faces. The rain water running over this cliff face had a pH that was above 8 due to the limestone. Yet the water film against the roots of the orchid had been buffered to roughlyh 5.0 to 5.5 pH, This was in the wild, Later in the lab in Michigan, it was demonstrated that the pH of the irrigation water could be varied over a fairly wide range, yet this species of orchid would buffer the pH of the water film around its root tip to roughly 5,0 to 5,5 pH which was apparently ideal for the orchid known to live only on Karst structures in Sumatra.

If you do a literature search, turns out where ever investigated, most groups of plants do indeed buffer the water film around their root tips into the idea range for nutrient absorption for that genus.

The right size pot, the plant can buffer the quantity of media to ideal range. Over pot, and the plant fails to thrive because its buffer capacity has been over-whelmed. This explains the beneficial effect of a "community pot" for small seedlings.

Again, irrigation water pH anywhere vaguely inside the buffer capacity range where a plant can effectively control pH the plant grows fine, stress free. Use water wildly out of buffer capacity of the plant and the plant will be stress.

By and large, if the water does not kill your lawn, its not going to kill your trees. Keep pH below 8.9 and above 4.5 and most trees will be happy.

Some rhododendron and carnivorous plants are exceptions, but they are worth their own threads.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I've been doing a bit more research and experimenting with my new ph meter. I made a small sample of my soil mix------equal parts DE, SafeTsorb and composted pine bark. I added distilled water (tested at 5.5 ph), mixed and let set for 10 minutes. I strained off the liquid and got a ph reading of 5.1. Research shows that DE is approx. 7 ph. Composted pine bark averages 5.5 ph. Fullers earth ( the base of SafeTsorb) runs 6-10 ph.

So, I'd have to say my soil is in the neighborhood of 5.1 or so. Factor in my tap water that runs right at 8 ph and my heavy feeding with Miracle-Gro twice a month, and I probably have a realistic environment in my pots of about 6 ph or a bit more. From what I've read, that ph is a pretty good range for most trees I've studied. I've been giving my maple, junipers, mulberries, bougies and one patio blueberry a dose of Miracid, and they seem to be happy.

My take-away is this. If you have trees that are not thriving and just don't seem to respond to normal fixes, check the ph requirements. My friend almost lost a $400 trident because of ...............water.