Chapel Hill, NC water hardness

Tap water hardness
30mg/L
1.7gpg
Soft

Reported by Orange Water & Sewer Authority · July 2025

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

Chapel Hill water measures 30 mg/L (1.7 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Orange Water & Sewer Authority, dated July 2025.

Chapel Hill on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+NC typical 31Raleigh: 25 mg/LRaleigh 25Apex: 27 mg/LApex 27Carrboro: 30 mg/LCarrboro 30Durham: 30 mg/LDurham 30Morrisville: 30 mg/LMorrisville 30Cary: 33 mg/LCary 33Mebane: 40 mg/LMebane 40Graham: 40 mg/LGraham 40Burlington: 40 mg/LBurlington 40Holly Springs: 41 mg/LHolly Springs 41Chapel Hill 30mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+NC 31Apex: 27 mg/LApex 27Carrboro: 30 mg/LCarrboro 30Durham: 30 mg/LDurham 30Morrisville: 30 mg/LMorrisville 30Cary: 33 mg/LCary 33Mebane: 40 mg/LMebane 4030 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 30 mg/L, Chapel Hill is close to the typical North Carolina figure of 31 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 2 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 25 mg/L in Raleigh to 41 in Holly Springs.

What 30 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 30 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 Chapel Hill's water system

Orange Water & Sewer Authority · PWSID NC0368010

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 86,500 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

TapWaterData ties Chapel Hill to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Chapel Hill, 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 Chapel Hill water hard?

No. It measures about 30 mg/L (1.7 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Chapel Hill in grains per gallon?

About 1.7 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 30 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.7.

Has the Chapel Hill water system had EPA violations?

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

Nearby cities

All 101 cities in North Carolina

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 21, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.