East Providence, RI water hardness

Tap water hardness
50mg/L
2.9gpg
SoftReports range 50–76

Reported by East Providence-City of · August 2025

RI typical
42 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
3
Data
Utility report

Tap water in East Providence has about 50 mg/L of hardness, which is 2.9 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from East Providence-City of, dated August 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 50 to 76 mg/L.

East Providence on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+RI typical 42Tiverton: 7 mg/LTiverton 7Central Falls: 23 mg/LCentral Falls 23Cranston: 23 mg/LCranston 23Woonsocket: 23 mg/LWoonsocket 23Providence: 42 mg/LProvidence 42Warwick: 42 mg/LWarwick 42Newport East: 42 mg/LNewport East 42Newport: 42 mg/LNewport 42Kingston: 44 mg/LKingston 44Wakefield-Peace Dale: 44 mg/LWakefield-Peace Dale 44East Providence 50mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+RI 42Tiverton: 7 mg/LTiverton 7Central Falls: 23 mg/LCentral Fa. 23Cranston: 23 mg/LCranston 23Woonsocket: 23 mg/LWoonsocket 23Providence: 42 mg/LProvidence 42Warwick: 42 mg/LWarwick 4250 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 50 mg/L, East Providence is close to the typical Rhode Island figure of 42 mg/L. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 7 mg/L in Tiverton to 44 in Kingston.

What 50 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 50 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 East Providence's water system

East Providence-City of · PWSID RI1615610

3 health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 47,961 people from surface water.

Health-based
3
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0
20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)'16'18'20'22'24'26Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Each dot is one health-based violation, placed at the start of its compliance period.
Contaminant or ruleViolationsPeriodStatus
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)a disinfection byproduct32017–2018Resolved

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 East Providence water hard?

No. It measures about 50 mg/L (2.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in East Providence in grains per gallon?

About 2.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 50 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.9.

Has the East Providence water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show 3 health-based violations for East Providence-City of since 2016, involving Total trihalomethanes (TTHM). There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 12 cities in Rhode Island

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 14, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.