Hard water in Big Bear Lake, CA
Reported by Big Bear Lake DWP - Big Bear System · May 2025
- CA typical
- 121 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Big Bear Lake carries roughly 173 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 10.1 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Big Bear Lake DWP - Big Bear System, dated May 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 88 to 173 mg/L.
Big Bear Lake sits 52 mg/L above the typical California figure of 121. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 36 mg/L in Running Springs to 186 in Banning.
What 173 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 173 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 × 10.1 gpg = 2,279 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for Big Bear Lake's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 26,164 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 Big Bear Lake water hard?
Yes. It measures about 173 mg/L (10.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Big Bear Lake in grains per gallon?
About 10.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 173 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 10.1.
What size water softener do I need in Big Bear Lake?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 10.1 gpg works out to about 2,279 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the Big Bear Lake water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Big Bear Lake DWP - Big Bear System since 2016.
Nearby cities
- Big Bear City161 mg/LHard
- Running Springs36 mg/LSoft
- Lucerne Valley53 mg/LSoft
- Lake Arrowhead56 mg/LSoft
- Yucaipa108 mg/LModerately hard
- Mentone111 mg/LModerately hard
- Highland123 mg/LHard
- Banning186 mg/LVery hard
- Redlands111 mg/LModerately hard
- Crestline51 mg/LSoft
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, May 19, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.