How hard is the water in Gladstone, MO?

Tap water hardness
117mg/L
6.8gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Kansas City PWS · October 2025

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

Tap water in Gladstone has about 117 mg/L of hardness, which is 6.8 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Kansas City PWS, dated October 2025.

Gladstone on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MO typical 121Smithville: 106 mg/LSmithville 106North Kansas City: 116 mg/LNorth Kansas City 116Kansas City: 116 mg/LKansas City 116Raytown: 116 mg/LRaytown 116Independence: 118 mg/LIndependence 118Kearney: 135 mg/LKearney 135Excelsior Springs: 154 mg/LExcelsior Springs 154Liberty: 162 mg/LLiberty 162Parkville: 172 mg/LParkville 172Blue Springs: 310 mg/LBlue Springs 310Gladstone 117mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MO 121Smithville: 106 mg/LSmithville 106North Kansas City: 116 mg/LNorth Kans. 116Kansas City: 116 mg/LKansas City 116Independence: 118 mg/LIndependen. 118Liberty: 162 mg/LLiberty 162Parkville: 172 mg/LParkville 172117 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Gladstone sits close to the typical Missouri figure of 121 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 106 mg/L in Smithville to 310 in Blue Springs.

What 117 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 Gladstone

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.8 gpg = 1,537 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 15 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Gladstone's water system

Gladstone PWS · PWSID MO1010307

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 27,000 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

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

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 Gladstone water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 117 mg/L (6.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 6.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 117 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.8.

What size water softener do I need in Gladstone?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.8 gpg works out to about 1,537 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 15 days.

Has the Gladstone water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Gladstone PWS since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 90 cities in Missouri

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 6, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.