Hard water in New Martinsville, WV

Tap water hardness
228mg/L
13.3gpg
Very hard

Reported by New Martinsville · March 2025

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

New Martinsville water measures 228 mg/L (13.3 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from New Martinsville, dated March 2025.

New Martinsville on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WV typical 106Charleston: 41 mg/LCharleston 41South Charleston: 41 mg/LSouth Charleston 41Fairmont: 55 mg/LFairmont 55Brookhaven: 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 228mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WV 106Fairmont: 55 mg/LFairmont 55Clarksburg: 104 mg/LClarksburg 104Wheeling: 106 mg/LWheeling 106Parkersburg: 114 mg/LParkersburg 114Bridgeport: 122 mg/LBridgeport 122Morgantown: 123 mg/LMorgantown 123228 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 228 mg/L, New Martinsville is 122 mg/L above the typical West Virginia figure of 106. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 41 mg/L in Charleston to 123 in Morgantown.

What 228 mg/L means at home

Scale forms fast here. Kettles and coffee makers need regular descaling, and showerheads clog unless you clean them.

Tank water heaters collect mineral sediment that insulates the water from the burner, so flushing the tank matters more than usual.

Dishes and glass shower doors spot easily. Soap scum and a dull film on hair or laundry are common complaints.

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 228 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.

Softener size for New Martinsville

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 13.3 gpg = 2,999 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 8 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for New Martinsville's water system

New Martinsville · PWSID WV3305203

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 5,272 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
74
Open now
5

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 New Martinsville water hard?

Yes. It measures about 228 mg/L (13.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.

What is the water hardness in New Martinsville in grains per gallon?

About 13.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 228 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 13.3.

What size water softener do I need in New Martinsville?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 13.3 gpg works out to about 2,999 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 8 days.

Has the New Martinsville water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for New Martinsville since 2016. There were also 74 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, March 17, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.