Bloomington, IN water hardness

Tap water hardness
42mg/L
2.5gpg
Soft

Reported by City of Bloomington Utilities · July 2025

IN typical
178 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
3
Data
Utility report

Bloomington water measures 42 mg/L (2.5 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from City of Bloomington Utilities, dated July 2025.

Bloomington on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+IN typical 178Columbus: 107 mg/LColumbus 107Mooresville: 178 mg/LMooresville 178Plainfield: 178 mg/LPlainfield 178Greenwood: 178 mg/LGreenwood 178Danville: 178 mg/LDanville 178Avon: 178 mg/LAvon 178Beech Grove: 178 mg/LBeech Grove 178Speedway: 178 mg/LSpeedway 178Seymour: 208 mg/LSeymour 208Franklin: 322 mg/LFranklin 322Bloomington 42mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+IN 178Columbus: 107 mg/LColumbus 107Mooresville: 178 mg/LMooresville 178Plainfield: 178 mg/LPlainfield 178Greenwood: 178 mg/LGreenwood 178Seymour: 208 mg/LSeymour 208Franklin: 322 mg/LFranklin 32242 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Bloomington sits 136 mg/L below the typical Indiana figure of 178. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 107 mg/L in Columbus to 322 in Franklin.

What 42 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 42 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 Bloomington's water system

City of Bloomington Utilities · PWSID IN5253002

3 health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 83,000 people from surface water.

Health-based
3
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0
20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Surface Water Treatment RuleLead and Copper Rule'16'18'20'22'24'26Surface Water Treatment RuleLead and Copper Rule
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Surface Water Treatment Rulefiltration and disinfection12024Resolved
Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling22016–2018Resolved

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 Bloomington water hard?

No. It measures about 42 mg/L (2.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 42 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.5.

Has the Bloomington water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 3 health-based violations for City of Bloomington Utilities since 2016, involving Surface Water Treatment Rule, Lead and Copper Rule. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 53 cities in Indiana

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 1, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.