How hard is the water in Gloucester, MA?

Tap water hardness
71mg/L
4.1gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Manchester By the Sea DPW · December 2024

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

Tap water in Gloucester has about 71 mg/L of hardness, which is 4.1 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Manchester By the Sea DPW, dated December 2024.

Gloucester on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Marblehead: 16 mg/LMarblehead 16Swampscott: 38 mg/LSwampscott 38Salem: 67 mg/LSalem 67Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Lynnfield: 72 mg/LLynnfield 72Newburyport: 100 mg/LNewburyport 100Salisbury: 107 mg/LSalisbury 107Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 130Gloucester 71mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Marblehead: 16 mg/LMarblehead 16Swampscott: 38 mg/LSwampscott 38Salem: 67 mg/LSalem 67Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 13071 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 71 mg/L, Gloucester is 33 mg/L above the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 16 mg/L in Marblehead to 130 in Danvers.

What 71 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 Gloucester

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.1 gpg = 929 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 25 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Gloucester's water system

Gloucester Public Utility Division · PWSID MA3107000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 37,440 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

EPA lists Gloucester Public Utility Division as the system serving Gloucester. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Gloucester.

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 Gloucester water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 71 mg/L (4.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 71 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.1.

What size water softener do I need in Gloucester?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.1 gpg works out to about 929 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 25 days.

Has the Gloucester water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Gloucester Public Utility Division since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, December 2, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.