Since you will be practicing the art and science of "water gardening", it is a wise idea to know what your local water contains.
Contact your local water company and ask for their water quality analysis.
If your water comes from a well, you will most likely have to send it out to a lab for analysis on your own.
The most important factor affecting water quality is its relative "hardness" or "softness".
Hand water means that there is a lot of dissolved mineral content, primarily calcium carbonate, which is often seen as scale on hot water pipes.