Chelsea, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
16mg/L
0.9gpg
Soft

Reported by Everett Water Dept. (MWRA) · June 2025

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

The water in Chelsea carries roughly 16 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 0.9 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Everett Water Dept. (MWRA), dated June 2025.

Chelsea on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Saugus: 10 mg/LSaugus 10Everett: 16 mg/LEverett 16Stoneham: 16 mg/LStoneham 16Boston: 17 mg/LBoston 17Melrose: 18 mg/LMelrose 18Somerville: 20 mg/LSomerville 20Medford: 21 mg/LMedford 21Malden: 25 mg/LMalden 25Cambridge: 60 mg/LCambridge 60Revere: 87 mg/LRevere 87Chelsea 16mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Everett: 16 mg/LEverett 16Boston: 17 mg/LBoston 17Melrose: 18 mg/LMelrose 18Somerville: 20 mg/LSomerville 20Malden: 25 mg/LMalden 25Revere: 87 mg/LRevere 8716 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 16 mg/L, Chelsea is 22 mg/L below the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 7 have harder. The range nearby runs from 10 mg/L in Saugus to 87 in Revere.

What 16 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 16 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 Chelsea's water system

Chelsea Water Dept. (MWRA) · PWSID MA3057000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 40,787 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

EPA lists Chelsea Water Dept. (MWRA) as the system serving Chelsea. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Chelsea.

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 Chelsea water hard?

No. It measures about 16 mg/L (0.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 0.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 16 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.9.

Has the Chelsea water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Chelsea Water Dept. (MWRA) since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 20, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.