Wakefield, MA water hardness

Tap water hardness
51mg/L
3.0gpg
Soft

Reported by Wakefield Water Dept · August 2025

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

Wakefield water measures 51 mg/L (3.0 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Wakefield Water Dept, dated August 2025.

Wakefield on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Saugus: 10 mg/LSaugus 10Stoneham: 16 mg/LStoneham 16Melrose: 18 mg/LMelrose 18Winchester: 20 mg/LWinchester 20Reading: 22 mg/LReading 22Malden: 25 mg/LMalden 25Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Lynnfield: 72 mg/LLynnfield 72Woburn: 99 mg/LWoburn 99Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Wakefield 51mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Saugus: 10 mg/LSaugus 10Stoneham: 16 mg/LStoneham 16Melrose: 18 mg/LMelrose 18Reading: 22 mg/LReading 22Lynnfield: 72 mg/LLynnfield 72Woburn: 99 mg/LWoburn 9951 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 51 mg/L, Wakefield is 13 mg/L above the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 10 mg/L in Saugus to 128 in Peabody.

What 51 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 51 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 Wakefield's water system

Wakefield Water Dept · PWSID MA3305000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 27,090 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
3
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 Wakefield water hard?

No. It measures about 51 mg/L (3.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 3.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 51 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 3.0.

Has the Wakefield water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Wakefield Water Dept since 2016. There were also 3 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, August 20, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.