Hard water in New Brighton, MN
Reported by New Brighton · April 2025
- MN typical
- 160 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
New Brighton water measures 230 mg/L (13.4 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from New Brighton, dated April 2025.
New Brighton sits 70 mg/L above the typical Minnesota figure of 160. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 39 mg/L in Lino Lakes to 254 in St. Anthony.
What 230 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 230 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 × 13.4 gpg = 3,026 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.
EPA record for New Brighton's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 22,902 people from groundwater.
- 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 New Brighton water hard?
Yes. It measures about 230 mg/L (13.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in New Brighton in grains per gallon?
About 13.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 230 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 13.4.
What size water softener do I need in New Brighton?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 13.4 gpg works out to about 3,026 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.
Has the New Brighton water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for New Brighton since 2016.
Nearby cities
- St. Anthony254 mg/LVery hard
- Shoreview192 mg/LVery hard
- Roseville78 mg/LModerately hard
- Brooklyn Center79 mg/LModerately hard
- Robbinsdale201 mg/LVery hard
- Blaine191 mg/LVery hard
- Brooklyn Park120 mg/LModerately hard
- Lino Lakes39 mg/LSoft
- Minneapolis89 mg/LModerately hard
- Coon Rapids201 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 11, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.