How hard is the water in Ellicott City, MD?

Tap water hardness
82mg/L
4.8gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Taylorsville MHC, LLC · May 2025

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

Ellicott City water measures 82 mg/L (4.8 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Taylorsville MHC, LLC, dated May 2025.

Ellicott City on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MD typical 105Fort Meade: 4 mg/LFort Meade 4Severna Park: 35 mg/LSeverna Park 35Columbia: 74 mg/LColumbia 74Odenton: 77 mg/LOdenton 77Crofton: 77 mg/LCrofton 77Fairwood: 78 mg/LFairwood 78Takoma Park: 110 mg/LTakoma Park 110Mount Airy: 131 mg/LMount Airy 131Baltimore: 169 mg/LBaltimore 169Towson: 216 mg/LTowson 216Ellicott City 82mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MD 105Fort Meade: 4 mg/LFort Meade 4Columbia: 74 mg/LColumbia 74Odenton: 77 mg/LOdenton 77Mount Airy: 131 mg/LMount Airy 131Baltimore: 169 mg/LBaltimore 169Towson: 216 mg/LTowson 21682 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Ellicott City sits 23 mg/L below the typical Maryland figure of 105. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 4 mg/L in Fort Meade to 216 in Towson.

What 82 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 Ellicott City

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.8 gpg = 1,084 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 22 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Ellicott City's water system

Taylorsville MHC, LLC · PWSID MD0060216

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 38 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
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 Ellicott City water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 82 mg/L (4.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Ellicott City in grains per gallon?

About 4.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 82 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.8.

What size water softener do I need in Ellicott City?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.8 gpg works out to about 1,084 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 22 days.

Has the Ellicott City water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Taylorsville MHC, LLC since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 24 cities in Maryland

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