Hard water in Hingham, MA
Reported by Weir River Water System · April 2025
- MA typical
- 38 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Hingham has about 123 mg/L of hardness, which is 7.2 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as hard. The number comes from Weir River Water System, dated April 2025.
At 123 mg/L, Hingham is 85 mg/L above the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 17 mg/L in Boston to 74 in Holbrook.
What 123 mg/L means at home
Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.
Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.
Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.
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
At 123 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.
Ion-exchange water softener
The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.
Salt-free conditioner
No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.
Reverse osmosis or carbon filter
Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 7.2 gpg = 1,618 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 14 days.
EPA record for Hingham's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 45,339 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 60
- 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 Hingham water hard?
Yes. It measures about 123 mg/L (7.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Hingham in grains per gallon?
About 7.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 123 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.2.
What size water softener do I need in Hingham?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.2 gpg works out to about 1,618 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 14 days.
Has the Hingham water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Weir River Water System since 2016. There were also 60 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Weymouth28 mg/LSoft
- Braintree55 mg/LSoft
- Quincy38 mg/LSoft
- North Scituate35 mg/LSoft
- Holbrook74 mg/LModerately hard
- Scituate68 mg/LModerately hard
- Abington67 mg/LModerately hard
- Randolph68 mg/LModerately hard
- Boston17 mg/LSoft
- Milton44 mg/LSoft
All 104 cities in Massachusetts
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 10, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.