Hard water in Centerville, OH
Reported by Montgomery County Water Services 1 PWS · September 2025
- OH typical
- 113 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 2
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Centerville carries roughly 142 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 8.3 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Montgomery County Water Services 1 PWS, dated September 2025.
Centerville sits 29 mg/L above the typical Ohio figure of 113. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 139 mg/L in Bellbrook to 356 in Xenia.
What 142 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 142 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 × 8.3 gpg = 1,872 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 12 days.
EPA record for Centerville's water system
2 health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 150,207 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 2
- Monitoring or reporting
- 4
- Open now
- 0
TapWaterData ties Centerville to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Centerville, so check the utility printed on your water bill.
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling | 2 | 2017 | Resolved |
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 Centerville water hard?
Yes. It measures about 142 mg/L (8.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Centerville in grains per gallon?
About 8.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 142 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.3.
What size water softener do I need in Centerville?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.3 gpg works out to about 1,872 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 12 days.
Has the Centerville water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 2 health-based violations for Montgomery County Water Services 1 PWS since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Bellbrook139 mg/LHard
- Kettering147 mg/LHard
- Oakwood148 mg/LHard
- West Carrollton147 mg/LHard
- Miamisburg142 mg/LHard
- Moraine147 mg/LHard
- Beavercreek149 mg/LHard
- Riverside149 mg/LHard
- Dayton147 mg/LHard
- Xenia356 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 16, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.