Saugus, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
10mg/L
0.6gpg
Soft

Reported by Saugus Water Dept. (MWRA) · December 2024

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

Saugus water measures 10 mg/L (0.6 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Saugus Water Dept. (MWRA), dated December 2024.

Saugus on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Stoneham: 16 mg/LStoneham 16Everett: 16 mg/LEverett 16Chelsea: 16 mg/LChelsea 16Melrose: 18 mg/LMelrose 18Malden: 25 mg/LMalden 25Wakefield: 51 mg/LWakefield 51Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Lynnfield: 72 mg/LLynnfield 72Revere: 87 mg/LRevere 87Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Saugus 10mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Stoneham: 16 mg/LStoneham 16Melrose: 18 mg/LMelrose 18Malden: 25 mg/LMalden 25Wakefield: 51 mg/LWakefield 51Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Revere: 87 mg/LRevere 8710 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Saugus sits 28 mg/L below the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 16 mg/L in Stoneham to 128 in Peabody.

What 10 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 10 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 Saugus's water system

Saugus Water Dept. (MWRA) · PWSID MA3262000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 27,844 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 Saugus water hard?

No. It measures about 10 mg/L (0.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 0.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 10 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.6.

Has the Saugus water system had EPA violations?

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

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, December 14, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.