Big Stone Gap, VA water hardness

Tap water hardness
7mg/L
0.4gpg
Soft

Reported by Big Stone Gap, Town of · July 2022

VA typical
65 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

Tap water in Big Stone Gap has about 7 mg/L of hardness, which is 0.4 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from Big Stone Gap, Town of, dated July 2022.

Big Stone Gap on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+VA typical 65Pulaski: 20 mg/LPulaski 20Blacksburg: 41 mg/LBlacksburg 41Radford: 55 mg/LRadford 55Bristol: 88 mg/LBristol 88Abingdon: 93 mg/LAbingdon 93Richlands: 143 mg/LRichlands 143Cave Spring: 145 mg/LCave Spring 145Roanoke: 145 mg/LRoanoke 145Salem: 166 mg/LSalem 166Christiansburg: 213 mg/LChristiansburg 213Big Stone Gap 7mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+VA 65Pulaski: 20 mg/LPulaski 20Blacksburg: 41 mg/LBlacksburg 41Radford: 55 mg/LRadford 55Bristol: 88 mg/LBristol 88Abingdon: 93 mg/LAbingdon 93Richlands: 143 mg/LRichlands 1437 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 7 mg/L, Big Stone Gap is 58 mg/L below the typical Virginia figure of 65. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 20 mg/L in Pulaski to 213 in Christiansburg.

What 7 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 7 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 Big Stone Gap's water system

Big Stone Gap, Town of · PWSID VA1195100

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 9,372 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
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 Big Stone Gap water hard?

No. It measures about 7 mg/L (0.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Big Stone Gap in grains per gallon?

About 0.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 7 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.4.

Has the Big Stone Gap water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Big Stone Gap, Town of since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 79 cities in Virginia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 22, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.