How hard is the water in Bloomington, MN?

Tap water hardness
100mg/L
5.8gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Bloomington · April 2025

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

Bloomington water measures 100 mg/L (5.8 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Bloomington, dated April 2025.

Bloomington on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MN typical 160Minneapolis: 89 mg/LMinneapolis 89Eden Prairie: 99 mg/LEden Prairie 99St. Louis Park: 112 mg/LSt. Louis Park 112Eagan: 132 mg/LEagan 132Edina: 146 mg/LEdina 146Hopkins: 163 mg/LHopkins 163Burnsville: 193 mg/LBurnsville 193Prior Lake: 196 mg/LPrior Lake 196Savage: 310 mg/LSavage 310Shakopee: 420 mg/LShakopee 420Bloomington 100mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MN 160Eden Prairie: 99 mg/LEden Prair. 99Eagan: 132 mg/LEagan 132Edina: 146 mg/LEdina 146Hopkins: 163 mg/LHopkins 163Burnsville: 193 mg/LBurnsville 193Savage: 310 mg/LSavage 310100 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 100 mg/L, Bloomington is 60 mg/L below the typical Minnesota figure of 160. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 2 have softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 89 mg/L in Minneapolis to 420 in Shakopee.

What 100 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 Bloomington

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.8 gpg = 1,316 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 18 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Bloomington's water system

Bloomington · PWSID MN1270001

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 91,300 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
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 Bloomington water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 100 mg/L (5.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 100 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.8.

What size water softener do I need in Bloomington?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.8 gpg works out to about 1,316 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 18 days.

Has the Bloomington water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Bloomington since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 57 cities in Minnesota

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 17, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.