Lincolnton, NC water hardness

Tap water hardness
14mg/L
0.8gpg
Soft

Reported by Lincoln County WTP · August 2025

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

The water in Lincolnton carries roughly 14 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 0.8 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Lincoln County WTP, dated August 2025.

Lincolnton on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+NC typical 31Westport: 14 mg/LWestport 14Shelby: 20 mg/LShelby 20Belmont: 21 mg/LBelmont 21Mount Holly: 23 mg/LMount Holly 23Hickory: 23 mg/LHickory 23St. Stephens: 23 mg/LSt. Stephens 23Gastonia: 28 mg/LGastonia 28Cornelius: 31 mg/LCornelius 31Huntersville: 31 mg/LHuntersville 31Davidson: 31 mg/LDavidson 31Lincolnton 14mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+NC 31Westport: 14 mg/LWestport 14Mount Holly: 23 mg/LMount Holly 23Hickory: 23 mg/LHickory 23St. Stephens: 23 mg/LSt. Stephe. 23Gastonia: 28 mg/LGastonia 28Cornelius: 31 mg/LCornelius 3114 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 14 mg/L, Lincolnton is 17 mg/L below the typical North Carolina figure of 31. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 14 mg/L in Westport to 31 in Cornelius.

What 14 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 14 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 Lincolnton's water system

Lincolnton, City of · PWSID NC0155010

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 16,309 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

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

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 Lincolnton water hard?

No. It measures about 14 mg/L (0.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 0.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 14 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.8.

Has the Lincolnton water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Lincolnton, City of since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 101 cities in North Carolina

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 2, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.