Gulf Shores, AL water hardness

Tap water hardness
26mg/L
1.6gpg
Soft

Reported by Gulf Shores (Utilities Board City Of) · March 2024

AL typical
73 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Gulf Shores water measures 26 mg/L (1.6 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Gulf Shores (Utilities Board City Of), dated March 2024.

Gulf Shores on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+AL typical 73Tillmans Corner: 11 mg/LTillmans Corner 11Orange Beach: 12 mg/LOrange Beach 12Robertsdale: 12 mg/LRobertsdale 12Foley: 17 mg/LFoley 17Bay Minette: 18 mg/LBay Minette 18Loxley: 25 mg/LLoxley 25Fairhope: 27 mg/LFairhope 27Daphne: 29 mg/LDaphne 29Mobile: 30 mg/LMobile 30Spanish Fort: 31 mg/LSpanish Fort 31Gulf Shores 26mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+AL 73Orange Beach: 12 mg/LOrange Bea. 12Robertsdale: 12 mg/LRobertsdale 12Foley: 17 mg/LFoley 17Loxley: 25 mg/LLoxley 25Fairhope: 27 mg/LFairhope 27Daphne: 29 mg/LDaphne 2926 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 26 mg/L, Gulf Shores is 47 mg/L below the typical Alabama figure of 73. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 11 mg/L in Tillmans Corner to 31 in Spanish Fort.

What 26 mg/L means at home

Soap and shampoo lather with very little product. Kettles and showerheads stay mostly free of white crust.

Some people notice that soap feels slow to rinse off in soft water. That slippery feel is normal and harmless.

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

Nothing, as far as hardness goes. At 26 mg/L a softener would have almost nothing to remove.

Carbon filter

If the water tastes of chlorine, a pitcher or faucet carbon filter takes care of that. It does not change hardness.

EPA record for Gulf Shores's water system

Gulf Shores, the UB of the City of · PWSID AL0000038

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 40,947 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 Gulf Shores water hard?

No. It measures about 26 mg/L (1.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Gulf Shores in grains per gallon?

About 1.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 26 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.6.

Has the Gulf Shores water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Gulf Shores, the UB of the City of since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 91 cities in Alabama

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, March 20, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.