How hard is the water in Mount Joy, PA?

Tap water hardness
93mg/L
5.4gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by MT Joy Boro Auth · September 2022

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

Tap water in Mount Joy has about 93 mg/L of hardness, which is 5.4 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from MT Joy Boro Auth, dated September 2022.

Mount Joy on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+PA typical 127Middletown: 57 mg/LMiddletown 57East York: 83 mg/LEast York 83York: 83 mg/LYork 83West York: 83 mg/LWest York 83Shiloh: 83 mg/LShiloh 83Millersville: 120 mg/LMillersville 120Lancaster: 120 mg/LLancaster 120Willow Street: 120 mg/LWillow Street 120Elizabethtown: 255 mg/LElizabethtown 255Lebanon: 266 mg/LLebanon 266Mount Joy 93mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+PA 127Middletown: 57 mg/LMiddletown 57East York: 83 mg/LEast York 83Millersville: 120 mg/LMillersvil. 120Lancaster: 120 mg/LLancaster 120Willow Street: 120 mg/LWillow Str. 120Elizabethtown: 255 mg/LElizabetht. 25593 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 93 mg/L, Mount Joy is 34 mg/L below the typical Pennsylvania figure of 127. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 57 mg/L in Middletown to 266 in Lebanon.

What 93 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 Mount Joy

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.4 gpg = 1,222 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 19 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Mount Joy's water system

MT Joy Boro Auth · PWSID PA7360091

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 15,261 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
4
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 Mount Joy water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 93 mg/L (5.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Mount Joy in grains per gallon?

About 5.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 93 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.4.

What size water softener do I need in Mount Joy?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.4 gpg works out to about 1,222 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 19 days.

Has the Mount Joy water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for MT Joy Boro Auth since 2016. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 172 cities in Pennsylvania

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 19, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.