Hard water in Highland, IN
Reported by Evansville Water Utility · August 2025
- IN typical
- 178 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Highland carries roughly 134 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 7.8 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Evansville Water Utility, dated August 2025.
At 134 mg/L, Highland is 44 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 135 mg/L in East Chicago to 210 in Munster.
What 134 mg/L means at home
Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.
Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.
Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.
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
At 134 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.
Ion-exchange water softener
The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.
Salt-free conditioner
No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.
Reverse osmosis or carbon filter
Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 7.8 gpg = 1,764 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Highland's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 23,984 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 1
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists Highland Water Works as the system serving Highland. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Highland.
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 Highland water hard?
Yes. It measures about 134 mg/L (7.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Highland in grains per gallon?
About 7.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 134 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.8.
What size water softener do I need in Highland?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.8 gpg works out to about 1,764 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Highland water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Highland Water Works since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Munster210 mg/LVery hard
- Dyer158 mg/LHard
- Schererville210 mg/LVery hard
- Hammond210 mg/LVery hard
- Gary210 mg/LVery hard
- East Chicago135 mg/LHard
- St. John210 mg/LVery hard
- Merrillville210 mg/LVery hard
- Hobart210 mg/LVery hard
- Crown Point210 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 4, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.