Fair Oaks, CA water hardness

Tap water hardness
53mg/L
3.1gpg
Soft

Reported by Citrus Heights Water District · July 2025

CA typical
121 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Fair Oaks water measures 53 mg/L (3.1 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Citrus Heights Water District, dated July 2025.

Fair Oaks on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CA typical 121Folsom: 18 mg/LFolsom 18Rancho Cordova: 28 mg/LRancho Cordova 28Gold River: 30 mg/LGold River 30Orangevale: 45 mg/LOrangevale 45Carmichael: 74 mg/LCarmichael 74Citrus Heights: 82 mg/LCitrus Heights 82La Riviera: 85 mg/LLa Riviera 85Antelope: 90 mg/LAntelope 90Foothill Farms: 92 mg/LFoothill Farms 92North Highlands: 98 mg/LNorth Highlands 98Fair Oaks 53mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CA 121Rancho Cordova: 28 mg/LRancho Cor. 28Gold River: 30 mg/LGold River 30Orangevale: 45 mg/LOrangevale 45Carmichael: 74 mg/LCarmichael 74Citrus Heights: 82 mg/LCitrus Hei. 82Foothill Farms: 92 mg/LFoothill F. 9253 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 53 mg/L, Fair Oaks is 68 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 18 mg/L in Folsom to 98 in North Highlands.

What 53 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 53 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 Fair Oaks's water system

Fair Oaks Water District · PWSID CA3410009

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 36,226 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

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

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 Fair Oaks water hard?

No. It measures about 53 mg/L (3.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Fair Oaks in grains per gallon?

About 3.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 53 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 3.1.

Has the Fair Oaks water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Fair Oaks Water District since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 515 cities in California

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 14, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.