Fall River, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
8mg/L
0.5gpg
Soft

Reported by Fall River Water Department · June 2025

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

The water in Fall River carries roughly 8 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 0.5 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Fall River Water Department, dated June 2025.

Fall River on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38New Bedford: 18 mg/LNew Bedford 18Middleborough Center: 42 mg/LMiddleborough Center 42Somerset: 45 mg/LSomerset 45Taunton: 47 mg/LTaunton 47Foxborough: 48 mg/LFoxborough 48Brockton: 49 mg/LBrockton 49Mansfield Center: 50 mg/LMansfield Center 50Attleboro: 56 mg/LAttleboro 56Bridgewater: 62 mg/LBridgewater 62North Attleborough: 71 mg/LNorth Attleborough 71Fall River 8mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38New Bedford: 18 mg/LNew Bedford 18Middleborough Center: 42 mg/LMiddleboro. 42Somerset: 45 mg/LSomerset 45Taunton: 47 mg/LTaunton 47Attleboro: 56 mg/LAttleboro 56Bridgewater: 62 mg/LBridgewater 628 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Fall River sits 30 mg/L below the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 18 mg/L in New Bedford to 71 in North Attleborough.

What 8 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 8 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 Fall River's water system

Fall River Water Department · PWSID MA4095000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 94,000 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
61
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 Fall River water hard?

No. It measures about 8 mg/L (0.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Fall River in grains per gallon?

About 0.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 8 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.5.

Has the Fall River water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Fall River Water Department since 2016. There were also 61 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, June 13, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.