Orange Beach, AL water hardness

Tap water hardness
12mg/L
0.7gpg
Soft

Reported by Orange Beach Water, Sewer and F.p.a. · June 2022

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

Orange Beach water measures 12 mg/L (0.7 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Orange Beach Water, Sewer and F.p.a., dated June 2022.

Orange Beach on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+AL typical 73Tillmans Corner: 11 mg/LTillmans Corner 11Robertsdale: 12 mg/LRobertsdale 12Foley: 17 mg/LFoley 17Bay Minette: 18 mg/LBay Minette 18Loxley: 25 mg/LLoxley 25Gulf Shores: 26 mg/LGulf Shores 26Fairhope: 27 mg/LFairhope 27Daphne: 29 mg/LDaphne 29Mobile: 30 mg/LMobile 30Spanish Fort: 31 mg/LSpanish Fort 31Orange Beach 12mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+AL 73Robertsdale: 12 mg/LRobertsdale 12Foley: 17 mg/LFoley 17Loxley: 25 mg/LLoxley 25Gulf Shores: 26 mg/LGulf Shores 26Fairhope: 27 mg/LFairhope 27Daphne: 29 mg/LDaphne 2912 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 12 mg/L, Orange Beach is 61 mg/L below the typical Alabama figure of 73. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 11 mg/L in Tillmans Corner to 31 in Spanish Fort.

What 12 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 12 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 Orange Beach's water system

Orange Beach Water Sewer and F.p.a. · PWSID AL0000053

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 17,796 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
99
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 Orange Beach water hard?

No. It measures about 12 mg/L (0.7 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Orange Beach in grains per gallon?

About 0.7 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 12 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.7.

Has the Orange Beach water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Orange Beach Water Sewer and F.p.a. since 2016. There were also 99 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 8, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.