How hard is the water in Melrose Park, IL?

Tap water hardness
103mg/L
6.0gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Melrose Park · May 2025

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

Tap water in Melrose Park has about 103 mg/L of hardness, which is 6.0 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Melrose Park, dated May 2025.

Melrose Park on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+IL typical 139Bellwood: 104 mg/LBellwood 104River Grove: 104 mg/LRiver Grove 104Northlake: 104 mg/LNorthlake 104Franklin Park: 104 mg/LFranklin Park 104Berkeley: 104 mg/LBerkeley 104Schiller Park: 104 mg/LSchiller Park 104River Forest: 135 mg/LRiver Forest 135Maywood: 229 mg/LMaywood 229Elmwood Park: 229 mg/LElmwood Park 229Oak Park: 229 mg/LOak Park 229Melrose Park 103mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+IL 139Bellwood: 104 mg/LBellwood 104River Grove: 104 mg/LRiver Grove 104Northlake: 104 mg/LNorthlake 104Franklin Park: 104 mg/LFranklin P. 104River Forest: 135 mg/LRiver Fore. 135Maywood: 229 mg/LMaywood 229103 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 103 mg/L, Melrose Park is 36 mg/L below the typical Illinois figure of 139. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 104 mg/L in Bellwood to 229 in Maywood.

What 103 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 Melrose Park

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.0 gpg = 1,361 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 17 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Melrose Park's water system

Melrose Park · PWSID IL0311860

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 24,206 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
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 Melrose Park water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 103 mg/L (6.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Melrose Park in grains per gallon?

About 6.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 103 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.0.

What size water softener do I need in Melrose Park?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.0 gpg works out to about 1,361 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 17 days.

Has the Melrose Park water system had EPA violations?

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

Nearby cities

All 192 cities in Illinois

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, May 13, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.