Charlottesville, VA water hardness

Tap water hardness
37mg/L
2.2gpg
SoftReports range 37–81

Reported by Acsa Urban Area · September 2025

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

Tap water in Charlottesville has about 37 mg/L of hardness, which is 2.2 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from Acsa Urban Area, dated September 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 37 to 81 mg/L.

Charlottesville on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+VA typical 65Lake Monticello: 22 mg/LLake Monticello 22University of Virginia: 37 mg/LUniversity of Virginia 37Spotsylvania Courthouse: 39 mg/LSpotsylvania Courthouse 39Fishersville: 55 mg/LFishersville 55Stuarts Draft: 55 mg/LStuarts Draft 55Harrisonburg: 80 mg/LHarrisonburg 80Waynesboro: 84 mg/LWaynesboro 84Culpeper: 110 mg/LCulpeper 110Staunton: 131 mg/LStaunton 131Bridgewater: 175 mg/LBridgewater 175Charlottesville 37mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+VA 65Lake Monticello: 22 mg/LLake Monti. 22University of Virginia: 37 mg/LUniversity. 37Fishersville: 55 mg/LFishersvil. 55Stuarts Draft: 55 mg/LStuarts Dr. 55Waynesboro: 84 mg/LWaynesboro 84Staunton: 131 mg/LStaunton 13137 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 37 mg/L, Charlottesville is 28 mg/L below the typical Virginia figure of 65. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 22 mg/L in Lake Monticello to 175 in Bridgewater.

What 37 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 37 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 Charlottesville's water system

Acsa Urban Area · PWSID VA2003053

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 77,408 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 Charlottesville water hard?

No. It measures about 37 mg/L (2.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 37 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.2.

Has the Charlottesville water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Acsa Urban Area since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 79 cities in Virginia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 30, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.