Hard water in Pelham, AL
Reported by Pelham Water Works · May 2022
- AL typical
- 73 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Pelham carries roughly 169 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 9.9 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Pelham Water Works, dated May 2022.
Pelham sits 96 mg/L above 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 77 mg/L in Homewood to 263 in Montevallo.
What 169 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 169 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.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 9.9 gpg = 2,223 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for Pelham's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 38,703 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 21
- 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 Pelham water hard?
Yes. It measures about 169 mg/L (9.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Pelham in grains per gallon?
About 9.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 169 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.9.
What size water softener do I need in Pelham?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.9 gpg works out to about 2,223 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the Pelham water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Pelham, City of since 2016. There were also 21 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Helena190 mg/LVery hard
- Alabaster193 mg/LVery hard
- Homewood77 mg/LModerately hard
- Columbiana86 mg/LModerately hard
- Mountain Brook77 mg/LModerately hard
- Bessemer113 mg/LModerately hard
- Calera196 mg/LVery hard
- Birmingham77 mg/LModerately hard
- Montevallo263 mg/LVery hard
- Irondale79 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, May 17, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.