How hard is the water in Brunswick, MD?
Reported by Town of Poolesville · September 2025
- MD typical
- 105 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Brunswick carries roughly 84 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 4.9 grains per gallon. That is moderately hard water. The number comes from Town of Poolesville, dated September 2025.
At 84 mg/L, Brunswick is 21 mg/L below the typical Maryland figure of 105. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 4 mg/L in Fort Meade to 132 in Urbana.
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.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.9 gpg = 1,107 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 21 days.
EPA record for Brunswick's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 7,312 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 2
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists City of Brunswick as the system serving Brunswick. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Brunswick.
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 Brunswick 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 Brunswick 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 Brunswick?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.9 gpg works out to about 1,107 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 21 days.
Has the Brunswick water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Brunswick since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Frederick105 mg/LModerately hard
- Urbana132 mg/LHard
- Poolesville84 mg/LModerately hard
- Hagerstown126 mg/LHard
- Mount Airy131 mg/LHard
- Westminster62 mg/LModerately hard
- Takoma Park110 mg/LModerately hard
- Columbia74 mg/LModerately hard
- Ellicott City82 mg/LModerately hard
- Fort Meade4 mg/LSoft
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 2, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.