Because the two are not the same.
Hard water has high concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions
You can see this when water evaporates as in boiling leaving a white chalky ring around the kettle.

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution.[1] Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25 �C (77 �F). Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline.
The pH of table vinegar ranges from 2.4 to 3.4[1] (higher if diluted).

I pulled my water suppliers reports, and the reports are actually quite nice. No fluoride at all, not that tat is really a concern for my plants, I just don't want to consume it if I can avoid doing so... Also they only use chlorine to dissinfect, no chloramines, and chlorine is easy to gas off. Looks like I was wasting my money and water with my ro system...

I'm going to allow some water to gas off overnight and see how much lower the pH comes out just out of curiosity as I have only tested it immediately after taking the sample which is probably not that accurate.

I'm guessing they add sodium bicarbonate or something else to buffer and raise the pH to avoid corrosion int the mains, but I did not see anything in their quality reports regarding that.

Mine is in the range of 8.5 also.

I use vinegar which lowers the pH of the water solution and gets me by very well all winter.

On the plants I water with tap water,they get by, but look less than perfect by the time spring comes.

I also save rain water in barrels all winter in which I water my most special plants with and they thrive. I use to run out and buy water, but no need to any more.

Mike

Yep, ya can't beat rain water with it's low pH and no chemicals. I filter mine, and store it in plastic 55g barrels, which last me all winter long.

Howelbama, I have to ask, why would you avoid consuming fluoride?

Joe

Joe, google it. Its just no good, calcifies glands etc... I use Tom's natural toothpaste and avoid water that is treated with it if possible.

Although I don't agree 100%, I respect your position. I don't want to hijack this thread and start up a fluoride debate though, so I'll keep it somewhat brief. Fluoride comes in many forms, of which some have a higher toxicity than others. Different water utilities use different kinds, but none are scientifically proven to be toxic at the levels that are in drinking water. Also, fluoride occurs naturally in many areas in the groundwater, lakes, and rivers. This leads to many sources, municipal and non, containing fluoride, some in excess of what is added intentionally.

Anyway, fluoride is very important to your teeth, helping to fight cavities by protecting your tooth enamel. But, at the same time, what gives the government the right to put it on our water supplies, without our consent? I believe in small government that stays the heck out of our private lives, so I don't believe they should be putting things in our water that THEY think is good for us. Let us decide, and if we want fluoride to help our teeth, we'll provide it ourselves.

So, long story short, I think fluoride is beneficial, but I think we should have the right to decide ourselves, and the government shouldn't force it on us. Its no different than this garbage with the lefties forcing us to use compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Just leave us alone and let us live our lives in this "free" country.

Joe

Joe, I do use it ocassionally topically..via toothpaste for prevention of tooth decay. But there is no proven benefit of ingesting it, in fact there is only evidence of harm when it is ingested, even at the low concentrations found in drinking water.

I agree with you that it should be our choice to consume something or not.

Check out the link below if you feel like it...lots of interesting info on the topic, and no worries about high-jacking the thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fluoride info

Plenty about toothpaste but no definate answer to why soft water has high ph..im 85ppm 8.5

pH is the sum total of sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium ions trying to push up your pH and carbonate, aluminum, and sulfate ions trying to push it down. Chemists out there are already grinding their teeth. I know, I know.

There are plenty of others, but let's just start there to keep it fairly simple. In a reasonably perfect world, and with very pure water at room temperature and allowed to sit, the pH of water would be...um, well, about 5.2, actually after it stabilized in contact with the atmosphere and absorbed CO2. :-) The Universe hates us, that's why. If you uncork the jug and use it straight from a bottle where it never absorbed anything, pure water has a pH very, very close to 7.0.

Sodium ions tend to have a lot of influence. Calcium, not as much. Magnesium, less. Potassium, less still. I'm generalizing (because it varies by the binding), but it's a tolerable general rule in water supplies and soils for the most part, just be aware there are plenty of circumstances where it'll fail. Still, if you see a soil or water with a ton of sodium in it, both will tend to have a very high pH. Not always, but tend to. Again, chemists--I know, I know, I'm simplifying.

So your water can have sodium in it, but little calcium or magnesium, and be high pH without being hard in the classical sense. Most softeners will add sodium, which you won't need since you already have lots of it, to counter the calcium, which you don't have.

And again, that's a really, really simplified and generalized explanation. The full one would go on for days.