Oroville, CA water hardness
Reported by Cal-Water Service CO.-Oroville · March 2023
- CA typical
- 121 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Oroville has about 24 mg/L of hardness, which is 1.4 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from Cal-Water Service CO.-Oroville, dated March 2023. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 10 to 24 mg/L.
Oroville sits 97 mg/L below the typical California figure of 121. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 3 have softer water and 7 have harder. The range nearby runs from 13 mg/L in Grass Valley to 356 in Orland.
What 24 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 24 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 Oroville's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 11,047 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 1
- Open now
- 0
TapWaterData ties Oroville to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Oroville, so check the utility printed on your water bill.
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 Oroville water hard?
No. It measures about 24 mg/L (1.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.
What is the water hardness in Oroville in grains per gallon?
About 1.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 24 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.4.
Has the Oroville water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Cal-Water Service CO.-Oroville since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Durham154 mg/LHard
- Chico154 mg/LHard
- Marysville98 mg/LModerately hard
- Yuba City247 mg/LVery hard
- Colusa33 mg/LSoft
- Grass Valley13 mg/LSoft
- Plumas Lake197 mg/LVery hard
- Alta Sierra16 mg/LSoft
- Orland356 mg/LVery hard
- Lincoln15 mg/LSoft
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, March 16, 2023), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.