Oak Harbor, WA water hardness

Tap water hardness
45mg/L
2.6gpg
Soft

Reported by Oak Harbor City of · August 2022

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

Tap water in Oak Harbor has about 45 mg/L of hardness, which is 2.6 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as soft. The number comes from Oak Harbor City of, dated August 2022.

Oak Harbor on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WA typical 36Mukilteo: 13 mg/LMukilteo 13Picnic Point: 13 mg/LPicnic Point 13Mount Vernon: 18 mg/LMount Vernon 18Burlington: 18 mg/LBurlington 18Sedro-Woolley: 18 mg/LSedro-Woolley 18Everett: 19 mg/LEverett 19Arlington: 29 mg/LArlington 29Marysville: 29 mg/LMarysville 29Lake Stevens: 36 mg/LLake Stevens 36Port Townsend: 60 mg/LPort Townsend 60Oak Harbor 45mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WA 36Mount Vernon: 18 mg/LMount Vern. 18Burlington: 18 mg/LBurlington 18Sedro-Woolley: 18 mg/LSedro-Wool. 18Arlington: 29 mg/LArlington 29Marysville: 29 mg/LMarysville 29Port Townsend: 60 mg/LPort Towns. 6045 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 45 mg/L, Oak Harbor is close to the typical Washington figure of 36 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 13 mg/L in Mukilteo to 60 in Port Townsend.

What 45 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 45 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 Oak Harbor's water system

Oak Harbor City of · PWSID WA5362650

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 23,675 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
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 Oak Harbor water hard?

No. It measures about 45 mg/L (2.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

What is the water hardness in Oak Harbor in grains per gallon?

About 2.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 45 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 2.6.

Has the Oak Harbor water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Oak Harbor 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, August 16, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.