How hard is the water in Northborough, MA?

Tap water hardness
110mg/L
6.4gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Shrewsbury Water Department · August 2025

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

Northborough water measures 110 mg/L (6.4 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Shrewsbury Water Department, dated August 2025.

Northborough on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Leominster: 10 mg/LLeominster 10Clinton: 14 mg/LClinton 14Whitinsville: 28 mg/LWhitinsville 28Milford: 37 mg/LMilford 37Worcester: 42 mg/LWorcester 42Framingham: 52 mg/LFramingham 52West Concord: 57 mg/LWest Concord 57Marlborough: 67 mg/LMarlborough 67Maynard: 86 mg/LMaynard 86Cochituate: 93 mg/LCochituate 93Northborough 110mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Clinton: 14 mg/LClinton 14Milford: 37 mg/LMilford 37Worcester: 42 mg/LWorcester 42Framingham: 52 mg/LFramingham 52Marlborough: 67 mg/LMarlborough 67Maynard: 86 mg/LMaynard 86110 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Northborough sits 72 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 10 mg/L in Leominster to 93 in Cochituate.

What 110 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 Northborough

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.4 gpg = 1,444 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 16 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Northborough's water system

Northborough Water Department (MWRA) · PWSID MA2215000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 13,551 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

EPA lists Northborough Water Department (MWRA) as the system serving Northborough. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Northborough.

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 Northborough water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 110 mg/L (6.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 6.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 110 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.4.

What size water softener do I need in Northborough?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.4 gpg works out to about 1,444 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 16 days.

Has the Northborough water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Northborough Water Department (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.