How hard is the water in Tonawanda, NY?

Tap water hardness
109mg/L
6.4gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Ecwa Direct · September 2025

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

The water in Tonawanda carries roughly 109 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 6.4 grains per gallon. That is moderately hard water. The number comes from Ecwa Direct, dated September 2025.

Tonawanda on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+NY typical 31Buffalo: 86 mg/LBuffalo 86Eggertsville: 109 mg/LEggertsville 109Williamsville: 109 mg/LWilliamsville 109Cheektowaga: 109 mg/LCheektowaga 109Harris Hill: 109 mg/LHarris Hill 109Depew: 109 mg/LDepew 109Lancaster: 109 mg/LLancaster 109Lackawanna: 109 mg/LLackawanna 109North Tonawanda: 167 mg/LNorth Tonawanda 167Niagara Falls: 167 mg/LNiagara Falls 167Tonawanda 109mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+NY 31Buffalo: 86 mg/LBuffalo 86Eggertsville: 109 mg/LEggertsvil. 109Williamsville: 109 mg/LWilliamsvi. 109Cheektowaga: 109 mg/LCheektowaga 109North Tonawanda: 167 mg/LNorth Tona. 167Niagara Falls: 167 mg/LNiagara Fa. 167109 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 109 mg/L, Tonawanda is 78 mg/L above the typical New York figure of 31. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 2 have harder. The range nearby runs from 86 mg/L in Buffalo to 167 in North Tonawanda.

What 109 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 Tonawanda

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 6.4 gpg = 1,433 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 16 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Tonawanda's water system

Tonawanda, Town Water Dept. · PWSID NY1404556

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 72,571 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

EPA lists Tonawanda, Town Water Dept. as the system serving Tonawanda. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Tonawanda.

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 Tonawanda water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 109 mg/L (6.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 6.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 109 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 6.4.

What size water softener do I need in Tonawanda?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 6.4 gpg works out to about 1,433 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 16 days.

Has the Tonawanda water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Tonawanda, Town Water Dept. since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 149 cities in New York

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 3, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.