Hard water in Newark, NY
Reported by Forest Park Water CO Plant #3 · December 2020
- NY typical
- 31 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Newark carries roughly 135 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 7.9 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Forest Park Water CO Plant #3, dated December 2020. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 135 to 170 mg/L.
Newark sits 104 mg/L above the typical New York figure of 31. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 105 mg/L in Rochester to 201 in Auburn.
What 135 mg/L means at home
Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.
Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.
Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.
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 135 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 × 7.9 gpg = 1,775 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Newark's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 9,142 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 29
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists Newark Village as the system serving Newark. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Newark.
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 Newark water hard?
Yes. It measures about 135 mg/L (7.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Newark in grains per gallon?
About 7.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 135 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.9.
What size water softener do I need in Newark?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.9 gpg works out to about 1,775 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Newark water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Newark Village since 2016. There were also 29 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Irondequoit112 mg/LModerately hard
- Auburn201 mg/LVery hard
- Rochester105 mg/LModerately hard
- North Gates112 mg/LModerately hard
- Greece112 mg/LModerately hard
- Baldwinsville105 mg/LModerately hard
- Fulton105 mg/LModerately hard
- Hilton112 mg/LModerately hard
- Radisson105 mg/LModerately hard
- Oswego105 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, December 9, 2020), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.