Colorado Springs, CO water hardness
Reported by Colorado Springs Utilities · August 2025
- CO typical
- 97 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Data
- Utility report
Colorado Springs water measures 36 mg/L (2.1 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Colorado Springs Utilities, dated August 2025.
At 36 mg/L, Colorado Springs is 61 mg/L below the typical Colorado figure of 97. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 36 mg/L in Cimarron Hills to 335 in Security-Widefield.
What 36 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 36 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 Colorado Springs's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 464,111 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 2
- Open now
- 0
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 Colorado Springs water hard?
No. It measures about 36 mg/L (2.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.
What is the water hardness in Colorado Springs in grains per gallon?
About 2.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 36 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.1.
Has the Colorado Springs water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Colorado Springs Utilities since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Cimarron Hills36 mg/LSoft
- Stratmoor50 mg/LSoft
- Security-Widefield335 mg/LVery hard
- Fort Carson335 mg/LVery hard
- Fountain335 mg/LVery hard
- Pueblo West169 mg/LHard
- Cañon City132 mg/LHard
- Pueblo139 mg/LHard
- Meridian96 mg/LModerately hard
- Dove Valley96 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 20, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.