How hard is the water in Auburn, AL?

Tap water hardness
73mg/L
4.3gpg
Moderately hardReports range 40–73

Reported by Auburn Water Works · April 2025

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

Tap water in Auburn has about 73 mg/L of hardness, which is 4.3 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Auburn Water Works, dated April 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 40 to 73 mg/L.

Auburn on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+AL typical 73Millbrook: 11 mg/LMillbrook 11Troy: 12 mg/LTroy 12Prattville: 19 mg/LPrattville 19Alexander City: 21 mg/LAlexander City 21Opelika: 29 mg/LOpelika 29Roanoke: 34 mg/LRoanoke 34Pike Road: 38 mg/LPike Road 38Montgomery: 38 mg/LMontgomery 38Tuskegee: 65 mg/LTuskegee 65Sylacauga: 94 mg/LSylacauga 94Auburn 73mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+AL 73Alexander City: 21 mg/LAlexander. 21Opelika: 29 mg/LOpelika 29Roanoke: 34 mg/LRoanoke 34Pike Road: 38 mg/LPike Road 38Montgomery: 38 mg/LMontgomery 38Tuskegee: 65 mg/LTuskegee 6573 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Auburn sits close to the typical Alabama figure of 73 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 11 mg/L in Millbrook to 94 in Sylacauga.

What 73 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 Auburn

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.3 gpg = 961 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 24 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Auburn's water system

Auburn, the WW Board of the City of · PWSID AL0000804

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 74,292 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
11
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 Auburn water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 73 mg/L (4.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 73 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.3.

What size water softener do I need in Auburn?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.3 gpg works out to about 961 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 24 days.

Has the Auburn water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Auburn, the WW Board of the City of since 2016. There were also 11 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, April 23, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.