How hard is the water in Gresham, OR?

Tap water hardness
70mg/L
4.1gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Gresham, City of · November 2024

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

Gresham water measures 70 mg/L (4.1 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Gresham, City of, dated November 2024.

Gresham on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+OR typical 24Portland: 20 mg/LPortland 20Gladstone: 23 mg/LGladstone 23Oak Grove: 23 mg/LOak Grove 23Jennings Lodge: 23 mg/LJennings Lodge 23Oregon City: 23 mg/LOregon City 23Happy Valley: 24 mg/LHappy Valley 24Oatfield: 56 mg/LOatfield 56Fairview: 70 mg/LFairview 70Troutdale: 70 mg/LTroutdale 70Milwaukie: 120 mg/LMilwaukie 120Gresham 70mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+OR 24Portland: 20 mg/LPortland 20Happy Valley: 24 mg/LHappy Vall. 24Oatfield: 56 mg/LOatfield 56Fairview: 70 mg/LFairview 70Troutdale: 70 mg/LTroutdale 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, Gresham 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 Gresham

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.1 gpg = 914 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 26 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Gresham's water system

Gresham, City of · PWSID OR4100357

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 73,932 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
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 Gresham 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 Gresham 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 Gresham?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.1 gpg works out to about 914 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 26 days.

Has the Gresham water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Gresham, City of since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 53 cities in Oregon

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, November 12, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.