How hard is the water in Urbana, IL?

Tap water hardness
84mg/L
4.9gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by IL American-Champaign · October 2025

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

Tap water in Urbana has about 84 mg/L of hardness, which is 4.9 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from IL American-Champaign, dated October 2025.

Urbana on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+IL typical 139Savoy: 84 mg/LSavoy 84Champaign: 85 mg/LChampaign 85Bloomington: 89 mg/LBloomington 89Mount Zion: 103 mg/LMount Zion 103Mattoon: 108 mg/LMattoon 108Pontiac: 191 mg/LPontiac 191Lincoln: 222 mg/LLincoln 222Decatur: 261 mg/LDecatur 261Danville: 310 mg/LDanville 310Normal: 327 mg/LNormal 327Urbana 84mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+IL 139Savoy: 84 mg/LSavoy 84Champaign: 85 mg/LChampaign 85Mount Zion: 103 mg/LMount Zion 103Mattoon: 108 mg/LMattoon 108Decatur: 261 mg/LDecatur 261Danville: 310 mg/LDanville 31084 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 84 mg/L, Urbana is 55 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 84 mg/L in Savoy to 327 in Normal.

What 84 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 Urbana

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.9 gpg = 1,109 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 21 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Urbana's water system

U of I-Champaign · PWSID IL0195500

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 13,000 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
3
Open now
2

EPA lists U of I-Champaign as the system serving Urbana. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Urbana.

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 Urbana water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 84 mg/L (4.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 84 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.9.

What size water softener do I need in Urbana?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.9 gpg works out to about 1,109 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 21 days.

Has the Urbana water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for U of I-Champaign since 2016. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 192 cities in Illinois

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 21, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.