Somerset, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
45mg/L
2.6gpg
Soft

Reported by Swansea Water District · September 2025

MA typical
38 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
13
Data
Utility report

The water in Somerset carries roughly 45 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 2.6 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Swansea Water District, dated September 2025.

Somerset on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Fall River: 8 mg/LFall River 8New Bedford: 18 mg/LNew Bedford 18Middleborough Center: 42 mg/LMiddleborough Center 42Taunton: 47 mg/LTaunton 47Foxborough: 48 mg/LFoxborough 48Brockton: 49 mg/LBrockton 49Mansfield Center: 50 mg/LMansfield Center 50Attleboro: 56 mg/LAttleboro 56Bridgewater: 62 mg/LBridgewater 62North Attleborough: 71 mg/LNorth Attleborough 71Somerset 45mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Fall River: 8 mg/LFall River 8New Bedford: 18 mg/LNew Bedford 18Middleborough Center: 42 mg/LMiddleboro. 42Taunton: 47 mg/LTaunton 47Attleboro: 56 mg/LAttleboro 56North Attleborough: 71 mg/LNorth Attl. 7145 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Somerset sits close to the typical Massachusetts figure of 38 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 3 have softer water and 7 have harder. The range nearby runs from 8 mg/L in Fall River to 71 in North Attleborough.

What 45 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 45 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 Somerset's water system

Somerset Water Department · PWSID MA4273000

13 health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 18,303 people from surface water.

Health-based
13
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

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

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)'16'18'20'22'24'26Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)a disinfection byproduct132018–2023Resolved

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 Somerset water hard?

No. It measures about 45 mg/L (2.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 45 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.6.

Has the Somerset water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 13 health-based violations for Somerset Water Department since 2016, involving Total trihalomethanes (TTHM).

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 30, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.