How hard is the water in Bear, DE?

Tap water hardness
94mg/L
5.5gpg
Moderately hardReports range 94–117

Reported by Artesian Water Company · September 2025

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

Tap water in Bear has about 94 mg/L of hardness, which is 5.5 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Artesian Water Company, dated September 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 94 to 117 mg/L.

Bear on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+DE typical 87Brookside: 87 mg/LBrookside 87Wilmington Manor: 87 mg/LWilmington Manor 87New Castle: 87 mg/LNew Castle 87Pike Creek Valley: 87 mg/LPike Creek Valley 87Pike Creek: 87 mg/LPike Creek 87Elsmere: 87 mg/LElsmere 87North Star: 87 mg/LNorth Star 87Wilmington: 87 mg/LWilmington 87Glasgow: 90 mg/LGlasgow 90Newark: 94 mg/LNewark 94Bear 94mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+DE 87Brookside: 87 mg/LBrookside 87Wilmington Manor: 87 mg/LWilmington. 87New Castle: 87 mg/LNew Castle 87Pike Creek Valley: 87 mg/LPike Creek. 87Glasgow: 90 mg/LGlasgow 90Newark: 94 mg/LNewark 9494 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 94 mg/L, Bear is close to the typical Delaware figure of 87 mg/L. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 87 mg/L in Brookside to 94 in Newark.

What 94 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 Bear

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.5 gpg = 1,240 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 19 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Bear's water system

Artesian Water Company · PWSID DE0000552

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 231,114 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
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 Bear water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 94 mg/L (5.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 94 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.5.

What size water softener do I need in Bear?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.5 gpg works out to about 1,240 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 19 days.

Has the Bear water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Artesian Water Company since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 17 cities in Delaware

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 23, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.