How hard is the water in Camden, NJ?

Tap water hardness
82mg/L
4.8gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by NJ American Water - Western · September 2025

NJ typical
80 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
2
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Camden water measures 82 mg/L (4.8 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from NJ American Water - Western, dated September 2025.

Camden on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+NJ typical 80Cherry Hill Mall: 78 mg/LCherry Hill Mall 78Audubon: 82 mg/LAudubon 82Haddon Heights: 82 mg/LHaddon Heights 82Haddonfield: 82 mg/LHaddonfield 82Bellmawr: 82 mg/LBellmawr 82Ellisburg: 82 mg/LEllisburg 82Barrington: 82 mg/LBarrington 82Palmyra: 82 mg/LPalmyra 82Collingswood: 97 mg/LCollingswood 97Westmont: 101 mg/LWestmont 101Camden 82mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+NJ 80Audubon: 82 mg/LAudubon 82Haddon Heights: 82 mg/LHaddon Hei. 82Haddonfield: 82 mg/LHaddonfield 82Bellmawr: 82 mg/LBellmawr 82Collingswood: 97 mg/LCollingswo. 97Westmont: 101 mg/LWestmont 10182 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 82 mg/L, Camden is close to the typical New Jersey figure of 80 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 2 have harder. The range nearby runs from 78 mg/L in Cherry Hill Mall to 101 in Westmont.

What 82 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 Camden

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.8 gpg = 1,073 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 22 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Camden's water system

City of Camden · PWSID NJ0408001

2 health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 46,585 people from surface water.

Health-based
2
Monitoring or reporting
26
Open now
0

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

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Lead and Copper Rule'16'18'20'22'24'26Lead and Copper Rule
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling22024–2025Resolved

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 Camden water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 82 mg/L (4.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 82 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.8.

What size water softener do I need in Camden?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.8 gpg works out to about 1,073 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 22 days.

Has the Camden water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 2 health-based violations for City of Camden since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule. There were also 26 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 227 cities in New Jersey

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 22, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.