How hard is the water in Fairview, OR?

Tap water hardness
70mg/L
4.1gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Rockwood PUD · September 2024

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

The water in Fairview carries roughly 70 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 4.1 grains per gallon. That is moderately hard water. The number comes from Rockwood PUD, dated September 2024.

Fairview on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+OR typical 24Portland: 20 mg/LPortland 20Oak Grove: 23 mg/LOak Grove 23Gladstone: 23 mg/LGladstone 23Jennings Lodge: 23 mg/LJennings Lodge 23Happy Valley: 24 mg/LHappy Valley 24Lake Oswego: 26 mg/LLake Oswego 26Oatfield: 56 mg/LOatfield 56Troutdale: 70 mg/LTroutdale 70Gresham: 70 mg/LGresham 70Milwaukie: 120 mg/LMilwaukie 120Fairview 70mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+OR 24Portland: 20 mg/LPortland 20Happy Valley: 24 mg/LHappy Vall. 24Oatfield: 56 mg/LOatfield 56Troutdale: 70 mg/LTroutdale 70Gresham: 70 mg/LGresham 70Milwaukie: 120 mg/LMilwaukie 12070 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 70 mg/L, Fairview is 46 mg/L above the typical Oregon figure of 24. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 7 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 20 mg/L in Portland to 120 in Milwaukie.

What 70 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 Fairview

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.1 gpg = 918 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 26 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Fairview's water system

Fairview, City of · PWSID OR4100296

1 health-based violation since 2016

Serves about 9,963 people from groundwater.

Health-based
1
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

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

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Lead and Copper Rule'16'18'20'22'24'26Lead and Copper Rule
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling12024Resolved

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 Fairview water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 70 mg/L (4.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 70 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.1.

What size water softener do I need in Fairview?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.1 gpg works out to about 918 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 26 days.

Has the Fairview water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 1 health-based violation for Fairview, City of since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 53 cities in Oregon

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 11, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.