How hard is the water in Huntsville, AL?

Tap water hardness
100mg/L
5.8gpg
Moderately hardReports range 77–100

Reported by Huntsville Utilities · July 2025

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

Huntsville water measures 100 mg/L (5.8 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Huntsville Utilities, dated July 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 77 to 100 mg/L.

Huntsville on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+AL typical 73Cullman: 40 mg/LCullman 40Moores Mill: 67 mg/LMoores Mill 67Guntersville: 69 mg/LGuntersville 69Decatur: 74 mg/LDecatur 74Harvest: 78 mg/LHarvest 78Scottsboro: 78 mg/LScottsboro 78Arab: 79 mg/LArab 79Triana: 100 mg/LTriana 100Madison: 112 mg/LMadison 112Athens: 112 mg/LAthens 112Huntsville 100mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+AL 73Moores Mill: 67 mg/LMoores Mill 67Decatur: 74 mg/LDecatur 74Harvest: 78 mg/LHarvest 78Triana: 100 mg/LTriana 100Madison: 112 mg/LMadison 112Athens: 112 mg/LAthens 112100 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 100 mg/L, Huntsville is 27 mg/L above the typical Alabama figure of 73. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 7 have softer water and 2 have harder. The range nearby runs from 40 mg/L in Cullman to 112 in Madison.

What 100 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 Huntsville

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.8 gpg = 1,316 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 18 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Huntsville's water system

Huntsville Utilities Water Dept. · PWSID AL0000882

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 310,107 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
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 Huntsville water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 100 mg/L (5.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 100 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.8.

What size water softener do I need in Huntsville?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.8 gpg works out to about 1,316 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 18 days.

Has the Huntsville water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Huntsville Utilities Water Dept. since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 91 cities in Alabama

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 16, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.