Newport, RI water hardness

Tap water hardness
42mg/L
2.4gpg
Soft

Reported by Naval Station, Newport · March 2025

RI typical
42 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Newport water measures 42 mg/L (2.4 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Naval Station, Newport, dated March 2025.

Newport on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+RI typical 42Tiverton: 7 mg/LTiverton 7Cranston: 23 mg/LCranston 23Central Falls: 23 mg/LCentral Falls 23Westerly: 41 mg/LWesterly 41Newport East: 42 mg/LNewport East 42Warwick: 42 mg/LWarwick 42Providence: 42 mg/LProvidence 42Wakefield-Peace Dale: 44 mg/LWakefield-Peace Dale 44Kingston: 44 mg/LKingston 44East Providence: 50 mg/LEast Providence 50Newport 42mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+RI 42Tiverton: 7 mg/LTiverton 7Cranston: 23 mg/LCranston 23Newport East: 42 mg/LNewport Ea. 42Warwick: 42 mg/LWarwick 42Wakefield-Peace Dale: 44 mg/LWakefield-. 44Kingston: 44 mg/LKingston 4442 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 42 mg/L, Newport is close to the typical Rhode Island figure of 42 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 3 have harder. The range nearby runs from 7 mg/L in Tiverton to 50 in East Providence.

What 42 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 42 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 Newport's water system

Naval Station, Newport · PWSID RI1000016

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 7,870 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 Newport water hard?

No. It measures about 42 mg/L (2.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 42 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.4.

Has the Newport water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Naval Station, Newport since 2016. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, 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, March 6, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.