How hard is the water in Federal Heights, CO?

Tap water hardness
119mg/L
7.0gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Thornton City of · July 2025

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

The water in Federal Heights carries roughly 119 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 7.0 grains per gallon. That is moderately hard water. The number comes from Thornton City of, dated July 2025.

Federal Heights on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CO typical 97Broomfield: 46 mg/LBroomfield 46Derby: 79 mg/LDerby 79Welby: 96 mg/LWelby 96Berkley: 96 mg/LBerkley 96Thornton: 98 mg/LThornton 98Twin Lakes: 99 mg/LTwin Lakes 99Sherrelwood: 100 mg/LSherrelwood 100Westminster: 100 mg/LWestminster 100Northglenn: 118 mg/LNorthglenn 118Shaw Heights: 127 mg/LShaw Heights 127Federal Heights 119mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CO 97Welby: 96 mg/LWelby 96Twin Lakes: 99 mg/LTwin Lakes 99Sherrelwood: 100 mg/LSherrelwood 100Westminster: 100 mg/LWestminster 100Northglenn: 118 mg/LNorthglenn 118Shaw Heights: 127 mg/LShaw Heigh. 127119 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 119 mg/L, Federal Heights is 22 mg/L above the typical Colorado figure of 97. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 46 mg/L in Broomfield to 127 in Shaw Heights.

What 119 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 Federal Heights

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 7.0 gpg = 1,566 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 15 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Federal Heights's water system

Federal Heights City of · PWSID CO0101055

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 11,678 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

EPA lists Federal Heights City of as the system serving Federal Heights. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Federal Heights.

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 Federal Heights water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 119 mg/L (7.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Federal Heights in grains per gallon?

About 7.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 119 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.0.

What size water softener do I need in Federal Heights?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.0 gpg works out to about 1,566 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 15 days.

Has the Federal Heights water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Federal Heights City of since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 64 cities in Colorado

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 2, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.