Hard water in Glencoe, AL

Tap water hardness
168mg/L
9.8gpg
Hard

Reported by Glencoe Water Works Board · June 2022

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

The water in Glencoe carries roughly 168 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 9.8 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Glencoe Water Works Board, dated June 2022.

Glencoe on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+AL typical 73Albertville: 34 mg/LAlbertville 34Gadsden: 63 mg/LGadsden 63Saks: 63 mg/LSaks 63Anniston: 63 mg/LAnniston 63Rainbow City: 111 mg/LRainbow City 111Southside: 112 mg/LSouthside 112Oneonta: 116 mg/LOneonta 116Jacksonville: 120 mg/LJacksonville 120Oxford: 125 mg/LOxford 125Attalla: 134 mg/LAttalla 134Glencoe 168mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+AL 73Gadsden: 63 mg/LGadsden 63Saks: 63 mg/LSaks 63Rainbow City: 111 mg/LRainbow Ci. 111Southside: 112 mg/LSouthside 112Jacksonville: 120 mg/LJacksonvil. 120Attalla: 134 mg/LAttalla 134168 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Glencoe sits 95 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 34 mg/L in Albertville to 134 in Attalla.

What 168 mg/L means at home

Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.

Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.

Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.

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

At 168 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.

Ion-exchange water softener

The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.

Salt-free conditioner

No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.

Reverse osmosis or carbon filter

Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.

Softener size for Glencoe

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 9.8 gpg = 2,210 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Glencoe's water system

Glencoe Water Works Board · PWSID AL0000578

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 6,465 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
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 Glencoe water hard?

Yes. It measures about 168 mg/L (9.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.

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

About 9.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 168 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.8.

What size water softener do I need in Glencoe?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.8 gpg works out to about 2,210 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.

Has the Glencoe water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Glencoe Water Works Board since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 91 cities in Alabama

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 7, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.