How hard is the water in Wooster, OH?

Tap water hardness
85mg/L
5.0gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Wooster City PWS · September 2023

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

Wooster water measures 85 mg/L (5.0 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Wooster City PWS, dated September 2023.

Wooster on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+OH typical 113Medina: 88 mg/LMedina 88Portage Lakes: 116 mg/LPortage Lakes 116Akron: 116 mg/LAkron 116Barberton: 220 mg/LBarberton 220Green: 220 mg/LGreen 220Wadsworth: 247 mg/LWadsworth 247Brunswick: 247 mg/LBrunswick 247Mansfield: 274 mg/LMansfield 274Massillon: 285 mg/LMassillon 285Canton: 285 mg/LCanton 285Wooster 85mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+OH 113Medina: 88 mg/LMedina 88Portage Lakes: 116 mg/LPortage La. 116Barberton: 220 mg/LBarberton 220Green: 220 mg/LGreen 220Wadsworth: 247 mg/LWadsworth 247Massillon: 285 mg/LMassillon 28585 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Wooster sits 28 mg/L below the typical Ohio figure of 113. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 88 mg/L in Medina to 285 in Massillon.

What 85 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 Wooster

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.0 gpg = 1,116 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 21 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Wooster's water system

Wooster City PWS · PWSID OH8504512

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 26,618 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
3
Open now
1

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 Wooster water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 85 mg/L (5.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 85 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.0.

What size water softener do I need in Wooster?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.0 gpg works out to about 1,116 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 21 days.

Has the Wooster water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Wooster City PWS since 2016. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 108 cities in Ohio

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 25, 2023), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.