Hard water in Longview, WA
Reported by Longview Water Department · September 2024
- WA typical
- 36 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Longview carries roughly 127 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 7.4 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Longview Water Department, dated September 2024. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 86 to 127 mg/L.
Longview sits 91 mg/L above the typical Washington figure of 36. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 85 mg/L in Battle Ground to 101 in Hazel Dell.
What 127 mg/L means at home
Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.
Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.
Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.
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
At 127 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.
Ion-exchange water softener
The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.
Salt-free conditioner
No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.
Reverse osmosis or carbon filter
Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 7.4 gpg = 1,672 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 14 days.
EPA record for Longview's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 57,617 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 5
- 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 Longview water hard?
Yes. It measures about 127 mg/L (7.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Longview in grains per gallon?
About 7.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 127 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.4.
What size water softener do I need in Longview?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.4 gpg works out to about 1,672 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 14 days.
Has the Longview water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Longview Water Department since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Woodland86 mg/LModerately hard
- Ridgefield86 mg/LModerately hard
- Felida86 mg/LModerately hard
- Mount Vista86 mg/LModerately hard
- Battle Ground85 mg/LModerately hard
- Salmon Creek86 mg/LModerately hard
- Lake Shore86 mg/LModerately hard
- Barberton86 mg/LModerately hard
- Hazel Dell101 mg/LModerately hard
- Five Corners101 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 22, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.