Eugene, OR water hardness

Tap water hardness
19mg/L
1.1gpg
Soft

Reported by Eugene Water & Electric Board · September 2025

OR typical
24 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Eugene water measures 19 mg/L (1.1 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Eugene Water & Electric Board, dated September 2025.

Eugene on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+OR typical 24Salem: 16 mg/LSalem 16Four Corners: 16 mg/LFour Corners 16Hayesville: 16 mg/LHayesville 16Springfield: 18 mg/LSpringfield 18River Road: 19 mg/LRiver Road 19Santa Clara: 19 mg/LSanta Clara 19Lebanon: 25 mg/LLebanon 25Albany: 25 mg/LAlbany 25Corvallis: 27 mg/LCorvallis 27Roseburg: 66 mg/LRoseburg 66Eugene 19mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+OR 24Springfield: 18 mg/LSpringfield 18River Road: 19 mg/LRiver Road 19Santa Clara: 19 mg/LSanta Clara 19Lebanon: 25 mg/LLebanon 25Albany: 25 mg/LAlbany 25Corvallis: 27 mg/LCorvallis 2719 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Eugene sits close to the typical Oregon figure of 24 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 16 mg/L in Salem to 66 in Roseburg.

What 19 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 19 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 Eugene's water system

Eugene Water & Electric Board · PWSID OR4100287

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 176,000 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

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 Eugene water hard?

No. It measures about 19 mg/L (1.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 1.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 19 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.1.

Has the Eugene water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Eugene Water & Electric Board since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 53 cities in Oregon

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 10, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.