How hard is the water in Visalia, CA?

Tap water hardness
74mg/L
4.3gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by CWS - Visalia · March 2024

CA typical
121 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Visalia water measures 74 mg/L (4.3 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from CWS - Visalia, dated March 2024.

Visalia on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CA typical 121Hanford: 11 mg/LHanford 11Tulare: 37 mg/LTulare 37Corcoran: 64 mg/LCorcoran 64Kingsburg: 91 mg/LKingsburg 91Dinuba: 92 mg/LDinuba 92Orosi: 170 mg/LOrosi 170Reedley: 202 mg/LReedley 202Selma: 202 mg/LSelma 202Porterville: 233 mg/LPorterville 233Lindsay: 303 mg/LLindsay 303Visalia 74mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CA 121Hanford: 11 mg/LHanford 11Tulare: 37 mg/LTulare 37Kingsburg: 91 mg/LKingsburg 91Dinuba: 92 mg/LDinuba 92Orosi: 170 mg/LOrosi 170Lindsay: 303 mg/LLindsay 30374 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 74 mg/L, Visalia is 47 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 11 mg/L in Hanford to 303 in Lindsay.

What 74 mg/L means at home

You may see faint white spots on glasses and shower doors after the water dries.

Scale builds up slowly. A kettle or coffee maker needs descaling now and then, maybe every few months.

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

Optional. Plenty of households at this level live with it and descale the kettle now and then.

Water softener

Worth a look if spots on glass bother you, or if your tankless water heater manual asks for softer water.

Carbon filter

Improves taste and removes chlorine. It leaves calcium and magnesium in place.

Softener size for Visalia

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.3 gpg = 979 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 24 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Visalia's water system

CWS - Visalia · PWSID CA5410016

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 153,522 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

TapWaterData ties Visalia to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Visalia, 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 Visalia water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 74 mg/L (4.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 74 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.3.

What size water softener do I need in Visalia?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.3 gpg works out to about 979 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 24 days.

Has the Visalia water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for CWS - Visalia since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 515 cities in California

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, March 25, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.