Portsmouth, VA water hardness

Tap water hardness
36mg/L
2.1gpg
Soft

Reported by Norfolk, City of · August 2025

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

Portsmouth water measures 36 mg/L (2.1 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Norfolk, City of, dated August 2025.

Portsmouth on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+VA typical 65Smithfield: 9 mg/LSmithfield 9Suffolk: 16 mg/LSuffolk 16Carrollton: 19 mg/LCarrollton 19Petersburg: 23 mg/LPetersburg 23Hopewell: 42 mg/LHopewell 42Chester: 45 mg/LChester 45Virginia Beach: 52 mg/LVirginia Beach 52Sandston: 65 mg/LSandston 65Highland Springs: 65 mg/LHighland Springs 65Newport News: 68 mg/LNewport News 68Portsmouth 36mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+VA 65Smithfield: 9 mg/LSmithfield 9Suffolk: 16 mg/LSuffolk 16Carrollton: 19 mg/LCarrollton 19Hopewell: 42 mg/LHopewell 42Virginia Beach: 52 mg/LVirginia B. 52Newport News: 68 mg/LNewport Ne. 6836 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Portsmouth sits 29 mg/L below the typical Virginia figure of 65. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 9 mg/L in Smithfield to 68 in Newport News.

What 36 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 36 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 Portsmouth's water system

Portsmouth, City of · PWSID VA3740600

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 97,915 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
10
Open now
2

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

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 Portsmouth water hard?

No. It measures about 36 mg/L (2.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 2.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 36 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.1.

Has the Portsmouth water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Portsmouth, City of since 2016. There were also 10 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 79 cities in Virginia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 19, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.