Auburn, WA water hardness

Tap water hardness
58mg/L
3.4gpg
SoftReports range 58–70

Reported by Lakehaven Water and Sewer District · April 2025

WA typical
36 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

The water in Auburn carries roughly 58 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 3.4 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Lakehaven Water and Sewer District, dated April 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 58 to 70 mg/L.

Auburn on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WA typical 36Bonney Lake: 30 mg/LBonney Lake 30Federal Way: 31 mg/LFederal Way 31Lakeland South: 38 mg/LLakeland South 38Milton: 38 mg/LMilton 38Pacific: 39 mg/LPacific 39Lakeland North: 48 mg/LLakeland North 48Lake Morton-Berrydale: 52 mg/LLake Morton-Berrydale 52Kent: 52 mg/LKent 52Covington: 59 mg/LCovington 59Lake Tapps: 95 mg/LLake Tapps 95Auburn 58mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WA 36Lakeland South: 38 mg/LLakeland S. 38Pacific: 39 mg/LPacific 39Lakeland North: 48 mg/LLakeland N. 48Lake Morton-Berrydale: 52 mg/LLake Morto. 52Kent: 52 mg/LKent 52Lake Tapps: 95 mg/LLake Tapps 9558 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 58 mg/L, Auburn is 22 mg/L above the typical Washington figure of 36. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 8 have softer water and 2 have harder. The range nearby runs from 30 mg/L in Bonney Lake to 95 in Lake Tapps.

What 58 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 58 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 Auburn's water system

Auburn City of · PWSID WA5303350

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 107,655 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
Open now
0

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

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 Auburn water hard?

No. It measures about 58 mg/L (3.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 3.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 58 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 3.4.

Has the Auburn water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Auburn City of since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 145 cities in Washington

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 16, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.