How hard is the water in Denver, CO?

Tap water hardness
97mg/L
5.7gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Denver Water Board · October 2025

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

Denver water measures 97 mg/L (5.7 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Denver Water Board, dated October 2025.

Denver on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CO typical 97Derby: 79 mg/LDerby 79Commerce City: 95 mg/LCommerce City 95Four Square Mile: 96 mg/LFour Square Mile 96Welby: 96 mg/LWelby 96Berkley: 96 mg/LBerkley 96Cherry Hills Village: 96 mg/LCherry Hills Village 96Twin Lakes: 99 mg/LTwin Lakes 99Sherrelwood: 100 mg/LSherrelwood 100Aurora: 100 mg/LAurora 100Englewood: 101 mg/LEnglewood 101Denver 97mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CO 97Derby: 79 mg/LDerby 79Four Square Mile: 96 mg/LFour Squar. 96Welby: 96 mg/LWelby 96Berkley: 96 mg/LBerkley 96Twin Lakes: 99 mg/LTwin Lakes 99Sherrelwood: 100 mg/LSherrelwood 10097 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Denver sits close to the typical Colorado figure of 97 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 79 mg/L in Derby to 101 in Englewood.

What 97 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 Denver

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.7 gpg = 1,280 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 18 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Denver's water system

Denver Water Board · PWSID CO0116001

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 1,287,000 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
35
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 Denver water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 97 mg/L (5.7 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.7 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 97 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.7.

What size water softener do I need in Denver?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.7 gpg works out to about 1,280 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 18 days.

Has the Denver water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Denver Water Board since 2016. There were also 35 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, October 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.