How hard is the water in Salisbury, MA?

Tap water hardness
107mg/L
6.3gpg
Moderately hardReports range 90–107

Reported by Salisbury Water Division · June 2025

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

Tap water in Salisbury has about 107 mg/L of hardness, which is 6.3 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Salisbury Water Division, dated June 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 90 to 107 mg/L.

Salisbury on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Lawrence: 32 mg/LLawrence 32Andover: 38 mg/LAndover 38Amesbury: 40 mg/LAmesbury 40Haverhill: 40 mg/LHaverhill 40Methuen: 49 mg/LMethuen 49Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Gloucester: 71 mg/LGloucester 71Newburyport: 100 mg/LNewburyport 100Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 130Salisbury 107mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Lawrence: 32 mg/LLawrence 32Amesbury: 40 mg/LAmesbury 40Haverhill: 40 mg/LHaverhill 40Methuen: 49 mg/LMethuen 49Gloucester: 71 mg/LGloucester 71Newburyport: 100 mg/LNewburyport 100107 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Salisbury sits 69 mg/L above the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 8 have softer water and 2 have harder. The range nearby runs from 32 mg/L in Lawrence to 130 in Danvers.

What 107 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 Salisbury

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.3 gpg = 1,408 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 17 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Salisbury's water system

Salisbury Water Division · PWSID MA3259000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 9,334 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
8
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 Salisbury water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 107 mg/L (6.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 6.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 107 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.3.

What size water softener do I need in Salisbury?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.3 gpg works out to about 1,408 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 17 days.

Has the Salisbury water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Salisbury Water Division since 2016. There were also 8 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 16, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.