How hard is the water in Bartlesville, OK?

Tap water hardness

88mg/L

5.2gpg

Moderately hard

Reported by Bartlesville · July 2025

OK typical: 152 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016: 1
Softener for 3 people: 24k grain
Data: Utility report

Bartlesville water measures 88 mg/L (5.2 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Bartlesville, dated July 2025.

Bartlesville on the hardness scale, with nearby cities

Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Bartlesville sits 64 mg/L below the typical Oklahoma figure of 152. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 92 mg/L in Catoosa to 153 in Collinsville.

What 88 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 Bartlesville

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.2 gpg = 1,163 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 20 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Bartlesville's water system

Bartlesville · PWSID OK1021401

1 health-based violation since 2016

Serves about 34,748 people from surface water.

Health-based: 1
Monitoring or reporting: 3
Open now: 0

Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.

Contaminant or rule	Violations	Period	Status
Total Coliform Rulebacteria	1	2025	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 Bartlesville water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 88 mg/L (5.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 5.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 88 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.2.

What size water softener do I need in Bartlesville?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.2 gpg works out to about 1,163 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 20 days.

Has the Bartlesville water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 1 health-based violation for Bartlesville since 2016, involving Total Coliform Rule. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 34 cities in Oklahoma

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.