Seaside, OR water hardness

Tap water hardness
16mg/L
0.9gpg
Soft

Reported by Seaside Water Department · November 2024

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

The water in Seaside carries roughly 16 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 0.9 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Seaside Water Department, dated November 2024.

Seaside on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+OR typical 24Rockcreek: 23 mg/LRockcreek 23Bethany: 23 mg/LBethany 23Aloha: 23 mg/LAloha 23Cedar Mill: 23 mg/LCedar Mill 23Hillsboro: 24 mg/LHillsboro 24Oak Hills: 35 mg/LOak Hills 35Marlene Village: 35 mg/LMarlene Village 35Cedar Hills: 35 mg/LCedar Hills 35Beaverton: 35 mg/LBeaverton 35Forest Grove: 42 mg/LForest Grove 42Seaside 16mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+OR 24Rockcreek: 23 mg/LRockcreek 23Bethany: 23 mg/LBethany 23Aloha: 23 mg/LAloha 23Hillsboro: 24 mg/LHillsboro 24Oak Hills: 35 mg/LOak Hills 35Forest Grove: 42 mg/LForest Gro. 4216 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 16 mg/L, Seaside is close to the typical Oregon figure of 24 mg/L. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 23 mg/L in Rockcreek to 42 in Forest Grove.

What 16 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 16 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 Seaside's water system

Seaside Water Department · PWSID OR4100799

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 7,482 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
9
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 Seaside water hard?

No. It measures about 16 mg/L (0.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 0.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 16 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.9.

Has the Seaside water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Seaside Water Department since 2016. There were also 9 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 18, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.