Milpitas, CA water hardness

Tap water hardness
49mg/L
2.9gpg
Soft

Reported by Santa Clara Valley Water District · October 2025

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

Milpitas water measures 49 mg/L (2.9 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Santa Clara Valley Water District, dated October 2025.

Milpitas on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CA typical 121Fremont: 65 mg/LFremont 65Newark: 65 mg/LNewark 65Mountain View: 134 mg/LMountain View 134East Foothills: 178 mg/LEast Foothills 178Alum Rock: 178 mg/LAlum Rock 178Campbell: 178 mg/LCampbell 178San Jose: 185 mg/LSan Jose 185Cupertino: 186 mg/LCupertino 186Santa Clara: 248 mg/LSanta Clara 248Sunnyvale: 298 mg/LSunnyvale 298Milpitas 49mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CA 121Fremont: 65 mg/LFremont 65Newark: 65 mg/LNewark 65East Foothills: 178 mg/LEast Footh. 178Alum Rock: 178 mg/LAlum Rock 178Santa Clara: 248 mg/LSanta Clara 248Sunnyvale: 298 mg/LSunnyvale 29849 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Milpitas sits 72 mg/L below the typical California figure of 121. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 65 mg/L in Fremont to 298 in Sunnyvale.

What 49 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 49 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 Milpitas's water system

City of Milpitas · PWSID CA4310005

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 81,915 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
Open now
0

EPA lists City of Milpitas as the system serving Milpitas. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Milpitas.

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 Milpitas water hard?

No. It measures about 49 mg/L (2.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 49 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.9.

Has the Milpitas water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Milpitas since 2016. 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, October 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.