Merrick, NY water hardness

Tap water hardness
42mg/L
2.5gpg
SoftReports range 26–42

Reported by Hempstead (village) · September 2025

NY typical
31 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Merrick water measures 42 mg/L (2.5 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Hempstead (village), dated September 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 26 to 42 mg/L.

Merrick on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+NY typical 31Wantagh: 10 mg/LWantagh 10North Wantagh: 10 mg/LNorth Wantagh 10Massapequa: 10 mg/LMassapequa 10Seaford: 13 mg/LSeaford 13Freeport: 33 mg/LFreeport 33Roosevelt: 33 mg/LRoosevelt 33Rockville Centre: 39 mg/LRockville Centre 39North Merrick: 42 mg/LNorth Merrick 42Baldwin: 42 mg/LBaldwin 42East Meadow: 42 mg/LEast Meadow 42Merrick 42mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+NY 31Wantagh: 10 mg/LWantagh 10Seaford: 13 mg/LSeaford 13Freeport: 33 mg/LFreeport 33Roosevelt: 33 mg/LRoosevelt 33North Merrick: 42 mg/LNorth Merr. 42Baldwin: 42 mg/LBaldwin 4242 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 42 mg/L, Merrick is 11 mg/L above the typical New York figure of 31. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 10 mg/L in Wantagh to 42 in North Merrick.

What 42 mg/L means at home

Soap and shampoo lather with very little product. Kettles and showerheads stay mostly free of white crust.

Some people notice that soap feels slow to rinse off in soft water. That slippery feel is normal and harmless.

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

Nothing, as far as hardness goes. At 42 mg/L a softener would have almost nothing to remove.

Carbon filter

If the water tastes of chlorine, a pitcher or faucet carbon filter takes care of that. It does not change hardness.

EPA record for Merrick's water system

Hempstead (village) · PWSID NY2902827

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 56,000 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
Open now
0

TapWaterData ties Merrick to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Merrick, so check the utility printed on your water bill.

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 Merrick water hard?

No. It measures about 42 mg/L (2.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 42 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.5.

Has the Merrick water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Hempstead (village) since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 149 cities in New York

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 8, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.