How hard is the water in Clifton, CO?

Tap water hardness
110mg/L
6.4gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Grand Junction City of · April 2025

CO typical
97 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
1
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Clifton water measures 110 mg/L (6.4 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Grand Junction City of, dated April 2025.

Clifton on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CO typical 97Steamboat Springs: 64 mg/LSteamboat Springs 64Fruitvale: 110 mg/LFruitvale 110Orchard Mesa: 110 mg/LOrchard Mesa 110Grand Junction: 110 mg/LGrand Junction 110Redlands: 110 mg/LRedlands 110Montrose: 111 mg/LMontrose 111Silverthorne: 112 mg/LSilverthorne 112Salida: 143 mg/LSalida 143Aspen: 168 mg/LAspen 168Eagle: 226 mg/LEagle 226Clifton 110mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CO 97Fruitvale: 110 mg/LFruitvale 110Orchard Mesa: 110 mg/LOrchard Me. 110Grand Junction: 110 mg/LGrand Junc. 110Redlands: 110 mg/LRedlands 110Montrose: 111 mg/LMontrose 111Aspen: 168 mg/LAspen 168110 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 110 mg/L, Clifton is 13 mg/L above the typical Colorado figure of 97. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 64 mg/L in Steamboat Springs to 226 in Eagle.

What 110 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 Clifton

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.4 gpg = 1,447 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 16 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Clifton's water system

Clifton WD · PWSID CO0139180

1 health-based violation since 2016

Serves about 34,500 people from surface water.

Health-based
1
Monitoring or reporting
4
Open now
0

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

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Surface Water Treatment Rule'16'18'20'22'24'26Surface Water Treatment Rule
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Surface Water Treatment Rulefiltration and disinfection12017Resolved

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 Clifton water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 110 mg/L (6.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 6.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 110 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.4.

What size water softener do I need in Clifton?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.4 gpg works out to about 1,447 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 16 days.

Has the Clifton water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 1 health-based violation for Clifton WD since 2016, involving Surface Water Treatment Rule. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 64 cities in Colorado

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 28, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.