Smithfield, VA water hardness

Tap water hardness
9mg/L
0.5gpg
Soft

Reported by Smithfield, Town of · August 2022

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

Tap water in Smithfield has about 9 mg/L of hardness, which is 0.5 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from Smithfield, Town of, dated August 2022.

Smithfield on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+VA typical 65Suffolk: 16 mg/LSuffolk 16Carrollton: 19 mg/LCarrollton 19Petersburg: 23 mg/LPetersburg 23Portsmouth: 36 mg/LPortsmouth 36Hopewell: 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 68Smithfield 9mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+VA 65Suffolk: 16 mg/LSuffolk 16Carrollton: 19 mg/LCarrollton 19Portsmouth: 36 mg/LPortsmouth 36Hopewell: 42 mg/LHopewell 42Virginia Beach: 52 mg/LVirginia B. 52Newport News: 68 mg/LNewport Ne. 689 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Smithfield sits 56 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 16 mg/L in Suffolk to 68 in Newport News.

What 9 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 9 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 Smithfield's water system

Smithfield, Town of · PWSID VA3093640

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 8,089 people from groundwater.

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 Smithfield water hard?

No. It measures about 9 mg/L (0.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 0.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 9 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 0.5.

Has the Smithfield water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Smithfield, Town of since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 79 cities in Virginia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 18, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.