How hard is the water in Marshall, MI?

Tap water hardness
96mg/L
5.6gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Farmington Hills, City of · April 2025

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

The water in Marshall carries roughly 96 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 5.6 grains per gallon. That is moderately hard water. The number comes from Farmington Hills, City of, dated April 2025.

Marshall on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MI typical 112Battle Creek: 195 mg/LBattle Creek 195Jackson: 221 mg/LJackson 221Coldwater: 302 mg/LColdwater 302Portage: 304 mg/LPortage 304Eastwood: 319 mg/LEastwood 319Kalamazoo: 319 mg/LKalamazoo 319Westwood: 319 mg/LWestwood 319Mason: 355 mg/LMason 355Hillsdale: 389 mg/LHillsdale 389Grand Ledge: 458 mg/LGrand Ledge 458Marshall 96mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MI 112Battle Creek: 195 mg/LBattle Cre. 195Jackson: 221 mg/LJackson 221Coldwater: 302 mg/LColdwater 302Eastwood: 319 mg/LEastwood 319Kalamazoo: 319 mg/LKalamazoo 319Hillsdale: 389 mg/LHillsdale 38996 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 96 mg/L, Marshall is 16 mg/L below the typical Michigan figure of 112. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 195 mg/L in Battle Creek to 458 in Grand Ledge.

What 96 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 Marshall

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.6 gpg = 1,267 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 18 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Marshall's water system

Marshall · PWSID MI0004150

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 7,088 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
3
Open now
0

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

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 Marshall water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 96 mg/L (5.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 96 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.6.

What size water softener do I need in Marshall?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.6 gpg works out to about 1,267 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 18 days.

Has the Marshall water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Marshall since 2016. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 118 cities in Michigan

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 19, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.