Hard water in Burnsville, MN
Reported by Burnsville · September 2025
- MN typical
- 160 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Burnsville water measures 193 mg/L (11.3 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Burnsville, dated September 2025.
At 193 mg/L, Burnsville is 33 mg/L above the typical Minnesota figure of 160. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 99 mg/L in Eden Prairie to 420 in Shakopee.
What 193 mg/L means at home
Scale forms fast here. Kettles and coffee makers need regular descaling, and showerheads clog unless you clean them.
Tank water heaters collect mineral sediment that insulates the water from the burner, so flushing the tank matters more than usual.
Dishes and glass shower doors spot easily. Soap scum and a dull film on hair or laundry are common complaints.
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
At 193 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.
Ion-exchange water softener
The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.
Salt-free conditioner
No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.
Reverse osmosis or carbon filter
Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 11.3 gpg = 2,540 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 9 days.
EPA record for Burnsville's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 64,317 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 Burnsville water hard?
Yes. It measures about 193 mg/L (11.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Burnsville in grains per gallon?
About 11.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 193 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 11.3.
What size water softener do I need in Burnsville?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 11.3 gpg works out to about 2,540 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 9 days.
Has the Burnsville water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Burnsville since 2016.
Nearby cities
- Savage310 mg/LVery hard
- Bloomington100 mg/LModerately hard
- Lakeville270 mg/LVery hard
- Eagan132 mg/LHard
- Prior Lake196 mg/LVery hard
- Farmington270 mg/LVery hard
- Edina146 mg/LHard
- Shakopee420 mg/LVery hard
- Rosemount270 mg/LVery hard
- Eden Prairie99 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 27, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.