Marblehead, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
16mg/L
0.9gpg
Soft

Reported by Marblehead Water Dept. (MWRA) · August 2025

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

Tap water in Marblehead has about 16 mg/L of hardness, which is 0.9 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from Marblehead Water Dept. (MWRA), dated August 2025.

Marblehead on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Saugus: 10 mg/LSaugus 10Swampscott: 38 mg/LSwampscott 38Wakefield: 51 mg/LWakefield 51Salem: 67 mg/LSalem 67Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Lynnfield: 72 mg/LLynnfield 72Revere: 87 mg/LRevere 87Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 130Marblehead 16mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Swampscott: 38 mg/LSwampscott 38Salem: 67 mg/LSalem 67Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 13016 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Marblehead sits 22 mg/L below the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 9 have harder. The range nearby runs from 10 mg/L in Saugus to 130 in Danvers.

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 Marblehead's water system

Marblehead Water Dept. (MWRA) · PWSID MA3168000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 20,441 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
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 Marblehead 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 Marblehead 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 Marblehead water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Marblehead Water Dept. (MWRA) since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 18, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.