Columbus, GA water hardness

Tap water hardness
28mg/L
1.6gpg
Soft

Reported by Columbus · September 2025

GA typical
28 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

The water in Columbus carries roughly 28 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 1.6 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Columbus, dated September 2025.

Columbus on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+GA typical 28Thomaston: 12 mg/LThomaston 12Griffin: 22 mg/LGriffin 22LaGrange: 24 mg/LLaGrange 24Fort Valley: 28 mg/LFort Valley 28Byron: 28 mg/LByron 28Perry: 28 mg/LPerry 28Peachtree City: 70 mg/LPeachtree City 70Tyrone: 70 mg/LTyrone 70Fayetteville: 70 mg/LFayetteville 70Newnan: 94 mg/LNewnan 94Columbus 28mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+GA 28Thomaston: 12 mg/LThomaston 12Griffin: 22 mg/LGriffin 22LaGrange: 24 mg/LLaGrange 24Fort Valley: 28 mg/LFort Valley 28Peachtree City: 70 mg/LPeachtree. 70Newnan: 94 mg/LNewnan 9428 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 28 mg/L, Columbus is close to the typical Georgia figure of 28 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 3 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 12 mg/L in Thomaston to 94 in Newnan.

What 28 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 28 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 Columbus's water system

Columbus · PWSID GA2150000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 229,000 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 Columbus water hard?

No. It measures about 28 mg/L (1.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 1.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 28 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.6.

Has the Columbus water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Columbus since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 85 cities in Georgia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 17, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.