How hard is the water in Wenatchee, WA?

Tap water hardness
80mg/L
4.7gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Wenatchee City of · October 2025

WA typical
36 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Wenatchee water measures 80 mg/L (4.7 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Wenatchee City of, dated October 2025.

Wenatchee on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WA typical 36Union Gap: 31 mg/LUnion Gap 31Othello: 33 mg/LOthello 33Yakima: 39 mg/LYakima 39North Bend: 41 mg/LNorth Bend 41Ellensburg: 60 mg/LEllensburg 60East Wenatchee: 80 mg/LEast Wenatchee 80Terrace Heights: 88 mg/LTerrace Heights 88Selah: 147 mg/LSelah 147Moses Lake: 168 mg/LMoses Lake 168Ephrata: 230 mg/LEphrata 230Wenatchee 80mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WA 36Ellensburg: 60 mg/LEllensburg 60East Wenatchee: 80 mg/LEast Wenat. 80Terrace Heights: 88 mg/LTerrace He. 88Selah: 147 mg/LSelah 147Moses Lake: 168 mg/LMoses Lake 168Ephrata: 230 mg/LEphrata 23080 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Wenatchee sits 44 mg/L above the typical Washington figure of 36. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 31 mg/L in Union Gap to 230 in Ephrata.

What 80 mg/L means at home

You may see faint white spots on glasses and shower doors after the water dries.

Scale builds up slowly. A kettle or coffee maker needs descaling now and then, maybe every few months.

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

Optional. Plenty of households at this level live with it and descale the kettle now and then.

Water softener

Worth a look if spots on glass bother you, or if your tankless water heater manual asks for softer water.

Carbon filter

Improves taste and removes chlorine. It leaves calcium and magnesium in place.

Softener size for Wenatchee

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 4.7 gpg = 1,058 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 22 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Wenatchee's water system

Wenatchee City of · PWSID WA5394350

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 43,690 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 Wenatchee water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 80 mg/L (4.7 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

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

About 4.7 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 80 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 4.7.

What size water softener do I need in Wenatchee?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 4.7 gpg works out to about 1,058 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 22 days.

Has the Wenatchee water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Wenatchee City of since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 145 cities in Washington

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.