Bellingham, WA water hardness

Tap water hardness
29mg/L
1.7gpg
Soft

Reported by Bellingham-Water Division City of · July 2025

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

Bellingham water measures 29 mg/L (1.7 gpg) of hardness, soft by USGS standards. The number comes from Bellingham-Water Division City of, dated July 2025.

Bellingham on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WA typical 36Mukilteo: 13 mg/LMukilteo 13Sedro-Woolley: 18 mg/LSedro-Woolley 18Burlington: 18 mg/LBurlington 18Mount Vernon: 18 mg/LMount Vernon 18Everett: 19 mg/LEverett 19Arlington: 29 mg/LArlington 29Marysville: 29 mg/LMarysville 29Lake Stevens: 36 mg/LLake Stevens 36Oak Harbor: 45 mg/LOak Harbor 45Port Townsend: 60 mg/LPort Townsend 60Bellingham 29mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WA 36Sedro-Woolley: 18 mg/LSedro-Wool. 18Burlington: 18 mg/LBurlington 18Mount Vernon: 18 mg/LMount Vern. 18Arlington: 29 mg/LArlington 29Oak Harbor: 45 mg/LOak Harbor 45Port Townsend: 60 mg/LPort Towns. 6029 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Bellingham sits close to the typical Washington figure of 36 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 3 have harder. The range nearby runs from 13 mg/L in Mukilteo to 60 in Port Townsend.

What 29 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 29 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 Bellingham's water system

Bellingham-Water Division City of · PWSID WA5305600

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 141,127 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 Bellingham water hard?

No. It measures about 29 mg/L (1.7 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 1.7 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 29 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 1.7.

Has the Bellingham water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Bellingham-Water Division City of since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 145 cities in Washington

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 22, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.