Amesbury, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
40mg/L
2.4gpg
Soft

Reported by Amesbury DPW Water Div. · March 2025

MA typical
38 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

The water in Amesbury carries roughly 40 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 2.4 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Amesbury DPW Water Div., dated March 2025.

Amesbury on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Lawrence: 32 mg/LLawrence 32Andover: 38 mg/LAndover 38Haverhill: 40 mg/LHaverhill 40Methuen: 49 mg/LMethuen 49Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Gloucester: 71 mg/LGloucester 71Newburyport: 100 mg/LNewburyport 100Salisbury: 107 mg/LSalisbury 107Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 130Amesbury 40mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Lawrence: 32 mg/LLawrence 32Andover: 38 mg/LAndover 38Haverhill: 40 mg/LHaverhill 40Methuen: 49 mg/LMethuen 49Newburyport: 100 mg/LNewburyport 100Salisbury: 107 mg/LSalisbury 10740 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Amesbury sits close to the typical Massachusetts figure of 38 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 2 have softer water and 7 have harder. The range nearby runs from 32 mg/L in Lawrence to 130 in Danvers.

What 40 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 40 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 Amesbury's water system

Amesbury DPW Water Div. · PWSID MA3007000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 17,366 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
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 Amesbury water hard?

No. It measures about 40 mg/L (2.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 40 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.4.

Has the Amesbury water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Amesbury DPW Water Div. since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, March 9, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.