How hard is the water in Needham, MA?

Tap water hardness
96mg/L
5.6gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Natick Water Department · October 2025

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

Needham water measures 96 mg/L (5.6 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Natick Water Department, dated October 2025.

Needham on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Watertown: 16 mg/LWatertown 16Belmont: 16 mg/LBelmont 16Waltham: 17 mg/LWaltham 17Brookline: 19 mg/LBrookline 19Newton: 32 mg/LNewton 32Norwood: 46 mg/LNorwood 46Wellesley: 89 mg/LWellesley 89Cochituate: 93 mg/LCochituate 93Medfield: 95 mg/LMedfield 95Dedham: 110 mg/LDedham 110Needham 96mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Watertown: 16 mg/LWatertown 16Brookline: 19 mg/LBrookline 19Newton: 32 mg/LNewton 32Wellesley: 89 mg/LWellesley 89Cochituate: 93 mg/LCochituate 93Dedham: 110 mg/LDedham 11096 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Needham sits 58 mg/L above the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 16 mg/L in Watertown to 110 in Dedham.

What 96 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 Needham

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.6 gpg = 1,269 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 18 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Needham's water system

Needham Water Dept · PWSID MA3199000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 31,664 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

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

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 Needham water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 96 mg/L (5.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 96 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.6.

What size water softener do I need in Needham?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.6 gpg works out to about 1,269 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 18 days.

Has the Needham water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Needham Water Dept since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.