Fairmont, WV water hardness

Tap water hardness
55mg/L
3.2gpg
Soft

Reported by Fairmont City of · August 2022

WV typical
106 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Data
Utility report

The water in Fairmont carries roughly 55 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 3.2 grains per gallon. That is soft water. The number comes from Fairmont City of, dated August 2022.

Fairmont on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WV typical 106Charleston: 41 mg/LCharleston 41South Charleston: 41 mg/LSouth Charleston 41Brookhaven: 91 mg/LBrookhaven 91Cheat Lake: 91 mg/LCheat Lake 91Clarksburg: 104 mg/LClarksburg 104Wheeling: 106 mg/LWheeling 106Parkersburg: 114 mg/LParkersburg 114Bridgeport: 122 mg/LBridgeport 122Morgantown: 123 mg/LMorgantown 123New Martinsville: 228 mg/LNew Martinsville 228Fairmont 55mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WV 106Brookhaven: 91 mg/LBrookhaven 91Cheat Lake: 91 mg/LCheat Lake 91Clarksburg: 104 mg/LClarksburg 104Bridgeport: 122 mg/LBridgeport 122Morgantown: 123 mg/LMorgantown 123New Martinsville: 228 mg/LNew Martin. 22855 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 55 mg/L, Fairmont is 51 mg/L below the typical West Virginia figure of 106. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 2 have softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 41 mg/L in Charleston to 228 in New Martinsville.

What 55 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 55 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 Fairmont's water system

Fairmont City of · PWSID WV3302502

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 30,586 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
4
Open now
1

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 Fairmont water hard?

No. It measures about 55 mg/L (3.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as soft.

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

About 3.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 55 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 3.2.

Has the Fairmont water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Fairmont City of since 2016. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 14 cities in West Virginia

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 15, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.