Hard water in Dixon, CA
Reported by City of Dixon · January 2025
- CA typical
- 121 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Dixon carries roughly 152 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 8.9 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from City of Dixon, dated January 2025.
At 152 mg/L, Dixon is 31 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 25 mg/L in Lemon Hill to 212 in University of California-Davis.
What 152 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 152 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 × 8.9 gpg = 2,000 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 11 days.
EPA record for Dixon's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 12,540 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 Dixon water hard?
Yes. It measures about 152 mg/L (8.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Dixon in grains per gallon?
About 8.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 152 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.9.
What size water softener do I need in Dixon?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.9 gpg works out to about 2,000 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 11 days.
Has the Dixon water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Dixon since 2016.
Nearby cities
- University of California-Davis212 mg/LVery hard
- Davis68 mg/LModerately hard
- Vacaville94 mg/LModerately hard
- Woodland44 mg/LSoft
- West Sacramento35 mg/LSoft
- Suisun City107 mg/LModerately hard
- Fairfield109 mg/LModerately hard
- Rio Vista49 mg/LSoft
- Lemon Hill25 mg/LSoft
- Parkway66 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, January 2, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.