Cottonwood, CA water hardness

Tap water hardness
37mg/L
2.2gpg
SoftReports range 37–51

Reported by CWS - Bakersfield · February 2025

CA typical
121 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
2
Data
Utility report

The water in Cottonwood carries roughly 37 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 2.2 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from CWS - Bakersfield, dated February 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 37 to 51 mg/L.

Cottonwood on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CA typical 121Oroville: 24 mg/LOroville 24Shasta Lake: 30 mg/LShasta Lake 30Redding: 32 mg/LRedding 32Colusa: 33 mg/LColusa 33Anderson: 98 mg/LAnderson 98Marysville: 98 mg/LMarysville 98Chico: 154 mg/LChico 154Durham: 154 mg/LDurham 154Yuba City: 247 mg/LYuba City 247Orland: 356 mg/LOrland 356Cottonwood 37mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CA 121Shasta Lake: 30 mg/LShasta Lake 30Redding: 32 mg/LRedding 32Anderson: 98 mg/LAnderson 98Chico: 154 mg/LChico 154Durham: 154 mg/LDurham 154Orland: 356 mg/LOrland 35637 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 37 mg/L, Cottonwood is 84 mg/L below the typical California figure of 121. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 24 mg/L in Oroville to 356 in Orland.

What 37 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 37 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 Cottonwood's water system

Cottonwood Water District · PWSID CA4510007

2 health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 3,316 people from groundwater.

Health-based
2
Monitoring or reporting
2
Open now
0

EPA lists Cottonwood Water District as the system serving Cottonwood. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Cottonwood.

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Lead and Copper RuleTotal Coliform Rule'16'18'20'22'24'26Lead and Copper RuleTotal Coliform Rule
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling12024Resolved
Total Coliform Rulebacteria12018Resolved

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 Cottonwood water hard?

No. It measures about 37 mg/L (2.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 37 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.2.

Has the Cottonwood water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 2 health-based violations for Cottonwood Water District since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule, Total Coliform Rule. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 515 cities in California

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, February 6, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.