How hard is the water in Athens, AL?

Tap water hardness
112mg/L
6.5gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Limestone County Water System · June 2022

AL typical
73 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Athens water measures 112 mg/L (6.5 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Limestone County Water System, dated June 2022.

Athens on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+AL typical 73Cullman: 40 mg/LCullman 40Florence: 62 mg/LFlorence 62Moores Mill: 67 mg/LMoores Mill 67Muscle Shoals: 71 mg/LMuscle Shoals 71Decatur: 74 mg/LDecatur 74Harvest: 78 mg/LHarvest 78Arab: 79 mg/LArab 79Huntsville: 100 mg/LHuntsville 100Triana: 100 mg/LTriana 100Madison: 112 mg/LMadison 112Athens 112mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+AL 73Moores Mill: 67 mg/LMoores Mill 67Decatur: 74 mg/LDecatur 74Harvest: 78 mg/LHarvest 78Huntsville: 100 mg/LHuntsville 100Triana: 100 mg/LTriana 100Madison: 112 mg/LMadison 112112 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Athens sits 39 mg/L above the typical Alabama figure of 73. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 40 mg/L in Cullman to 112 in Madison.

What 112 mg/L means at home

You may see faint white spots on glasses and shower doors after the water dries.

Scale builds up slowly. A kettle or coffee maker needs descaling now and then, maybe every few months.

Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.

What to do about it

Optional. Plenty of households at this level live with it and descale the kettle now and then.

Water softener

Worth a look if spots on glass bother you, or if your tankless water heater manual asks for softer water.

Carbon filter

Improves taste and removes chlorine. It leaves calcium and magnesium in place.

Softener size for Athens

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.5 gpg = 1,469 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 16 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Athens's water system

Limestone County Water & Sewer Auth. · PWSID AL0000833

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 90,900 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
5
Open now
0

Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.

Questions

Is Athens water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 112 mg/L (6.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Athens in grains per gallon?

About 6.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 112 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.5.

What size water softener do I need in Athens?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.5 gpg works out to about 1,469 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 16 days.

Has the Athens water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Limestone County Water & Sewer Auth. since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 91 cities in Alabama

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 2, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.