How hard is the water in Yarmouth, ME?

Tap water hardness
76mg/L
4.4gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Yarmouth Water District · June 2022

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

Yarmouth water measures 76 mg/L (4.4 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Yarmouth Water District, dated June 2022.

Yarmouth on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+ME typical 16Portland: 8 mg/LPortland 8South Portland: 8 mg/LSouth Portland 8Gorham: 8 mg/LGorham 8Bath: 9 mg/LBath 9Brunswick: 14 mg/LBrunswick 14Saco: 14 mg/LSaco 14Lewiston: 16 mg/LLewiston 16Topsham: 39 mg/LTopsham 39Biddeford: 71 mg/LBiddeford 71Auburn: 89 mg/LAuburn 89Yarmouth 76mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+ME 16Portland: 8 mg/LPortland 8South Portland: 8 mg/LSouth Port. 8Gorham: 8 mg/LGorham 8Bath: 9 mg/LBath 9Brunswick: 14 mg/LBrunswick 14Topsham: 39 mg/LTopsham 3976 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Yarmouth sits 60 mg/L above the typical Maine figure of 16. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 8 mg/L in Portland to 89 in Auburn.

What 76 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 Yarmouth

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.4 gpg = 994 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 24 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Yarmouth's water system

Yarmouth Water District · PWSID ME0091670

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 8,000 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
3
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 Yarmouth water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 76 mg/L (4.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 76 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.4.

What size water softener do I need in Yarmouth?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.4 gpg works out to about 994 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 24 days.

Has the Yarmouth water system had EPA violations?

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

Nearby cities

All 23 cities in Maine

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 20, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.