How hard is the water in Manassas, VA?

Tap water hardness
74mg/L
4.3gpg
Moderately hardReports range 47–74

Reported by Pwcsa - West · May 2025

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

Tap water in Manassas has about 74 mg/L of hardness, which is 4.3 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Pwcsa - West, dated May 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 47 to 74 mg/L.

Manassas on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+VA typical 65Dale City: 78 mg/LDale City 78Potomac Mills: 78 mg/LPotomac Mills 78Manassas Park: 82 mg/LManassas Park 82Buckhall: 82 mg/LBuckhall 82Sudley: 82 mg/LSudley 82Yorkshire: 82 mg/LYorkshire 82Gainesville: 82 mg/LGainesville 82Woodbridge: 82 mg/LWoodbridge 82Long Branch: 100 mg/LLong Branch 100New Baltimore: 152 mg/LNew Baltimore 152Manassas 74mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+VA 65Dale City: 78 mg/LDale City 78Manassas Park: 82 mg/LManassas P. 82Buckhall: 82 mg/LBuckhall 82Sudley: 82 mg/LSudley 82Yorkshire: 82 mg/LYorkshire 82Gainesville: 82 mg/LGainesville 8274 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Manassas sits close to the typical Virginia figure of 65 mg/L. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 78 mg/L in Dale City to 152 in New Baltimore.

What 74 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 Manassas

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.3 gpg = 967 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 24 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Manassas's water system

Manassas, City of · PWSID VA6685100

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 42,696 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
Open now
0

EPA lists Manassas, City of as the system serving Manassas. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Manassas.

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 Manassas water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 74 mg/L (4.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 74 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.3.

What size water softener do I need in Manassas?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.3 gpg works out to about 967 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 24 days.

Has the Manassas water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Manassas, City of since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 79 cities in Virginia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, May 20, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.