How hard is the water in Oxford, MS?

Tap water hardness
77mg/L
4.5gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by City of Oxford · February 2025

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

Tap water in Oxford has about 77 mg/L of hardness, which is 4.5 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from City of Oxford, dated February 2025.

Oxford on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MS typical 38Bay St. Louis: 4 mg/LBay St. Louis 4Meridian: 15 mg/LMeridian 15Clinton: 38 mg/LClinton 38Jackson: 38 mg/LJackson 38Byram: 38 mg/LByram 38Columbus: 51 mg/LColumbus 51Oxford 77mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MS 38Bay St. Louis: 4 mg/LBay St. Lo. 4Meridian: 15 mg/LMeridian 15Clinton: 38 mg/LClinton 38Jackson: 38 mg/LJackson 38Byram: 38 mg/LByram 38Columbus: 51 mg/LColumbus 5177 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Oxford sits 39 mg/L above the typical Mississippi figure of 38. None of the 6 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 4 mg/L in Bay St. Louis to 51 in Columbus.

What 77 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 Oxford

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.5 gpg = 1,012 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 23 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Oxford's water system

City of Oxford · PWSID MS0360011

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 28,500 people from groundwater.

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 Oxford water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 77 mg/L (4.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 77 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.5.

What size water softener do I need in Oxford?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.5 gpg works out to about 1,012 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 23 days.

Has the Oxford water system had EPA violations?

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

Nearby cities

All 7 cities in Mississippi

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, February 13, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.