Water hardness in Central Ohio towns beyond Columbus, in each utility's own words
Hardness is what leaves the film on shower glass and the crust on a shower head, and the hardness page gives the figures for Columbus, Westerville and Del-Co. This page goes through the other Central Ohio water systems: where a utility publishes a hardness figure, it gives that figure exactly as printed, with the document and its date, and where a utility publishes none, it says so and gives what the utility says about softening instead. Every figure and softening statement was read in the utility's own document in September 2026, two of them in archived copies of the utility's pages, and none comes from a water-softener or water-rating site.
Last updated September 2026 · Figures and quotations are each utility's own, read in its reports and pages on September 24 and 25, 2026 · No prices on this page; the Estimate Builder carries those · Part of the knowledge base
The systems that publish a figure
Utilities print hardness in milligrams per liter, in parts per million, which for this purpose is the same number, or in grains per gallon, and some give an average, some a range and one a target. The table prints each exactly as the utility does. What the numbers mean for glass and fixtures, and the usual bands from soft to very hard, are on the hardness page.
| Water system | Hardness, as the utility prints it | Where it is printed | Softening, in the utility's words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newark City | 119 mg/L | City of Newark, 2025 Water Quality Report | Its plant "is designed to clarify, soften, fluoridate and disinfect water"; lime "is used to raise the pH levels and cause the hardness constituents to be precipitated" |
| City of Delaware | 121 ppm as calcium carbonate, range 103 to 142 | City of Delaware annual water quality report, 2025 sampling | Its 2025 report: river water passes through "ultrafiltration membranes, followed by nanofiltration membranes", and well water "through separate nanofiltration membranes" |
| Village of Granville | Aims for 140 to 160 parts per million, or 8 to 9 grains per gallon, a target rather than a measurement | Village of Granville Resident Packet, 2025 | Well water is "aerated, lime softened, chlorinated, re-carbonated, filtered, and fluoridated" |
| Fairfield County Utilities, Tussing Road system | 125 ppm, range 90 to 164 | Tussing Road Water Treatment System Consumer Confidence Report for 2025 | Not described in the report |
| Fairfield County Utilities, Little Walnut system | 137 ppm, range 110 to 190 | Little Walnut Consumer Confidence Report for 2025 | Not described in the report |
| Fairfield County, Greenfield Township Water District | 132 ppm, range 76 to 172 | Greenfield Township Water District Consumer Confidence Report for 2025 | "Treatment consists of iron and manganese removal, ion exchange softening and chlorination" |
| Jefferson Water and Sewer District | 70 to 120 mg/L | The district's frequently asked questions page, undated | Not stated |
| Plain City, now the Mid-Ohio Water and Sewer District | 90 to 110 ppm, or 5.26 to 6.43 grains per gallon, as an average | The village's water and sewer page, undated | The district's 2025 report: water "goes through ion exchange for water softening" |
| Pataskala City | Kept between 90 and 130 parts per million, a target rather than a measurement | Pataskala Utilities Department notice on water hardness, undated, as archived in November 2024 | Softened to "a hardness of zero", then blended with treated but unsoftened water |
| Del-Co Water | Approximately 7 to 8 grains per gallon, 120 to 140 mg/L | Del-Co's water hardness page, undated | "Del-Co lowers the hardness of the water by removing some of these minerals" |
Read across, the published figures cluster. Newark's 119 milligrams per liter, Delaware's 121 parts per million and the Fairfield County systems' 125 to 137 sit close to the Columbus system's roughly 120, on either side of the 120 line that separates moderately hard from hard on the U.S. Geological Survey's scale, while Plain City's and Jefferson's published ranges sit somewhat lower, Pataskala's stated target spans 90 to 130 and Granville's target of 140 to 160 sits higher. All three Fairfield County reports print the same sentence beside their figure: "OEPA RECOMMENDS HARDNESS IN THE RANGE OF 120-160 mg/l." That is the county's statement of what the state recommends, printed in its reports; it was not read in an Ohio EPA document for this page.
The systems that describe softening but print no figure
Several utilities publish no hardness number in their current reports or pages, yet say in their own words that they soften the water, and how.
| Water system | What the utility says |
|---|---|
| Marysville City | Its water page: "We use lime and soda ash for softening" |
| London, now the Mid-Ohio Water and Sewer District | Its 2025 report pictures "London's lime softening contact tanks" |
| Licking Regional Water District | Its 2025 report: "nano-filtration to remove calcium/magnesium (hardness)" |
| Lancaster City | Its South plant page, as archived in 2025: "the South plant uses membrane filtration to soften the water" |
| Canal Winchester City | Its 2025 report: the city "operates a 2.0 million gallon per day (MGD) Ion Exchange Softening Plant" |
A third group publishes neither a hardness figure nor a softening statement in the reports read for this page: Pickerington and Groveport, whose 2025 reports were searched and carry no hardness line. For any of these, the utility itself is the one to ask.
What none of this says about a shower
Scope, plainly. These are the utilities' figures for water leaving their plants, published at different times in different forms, and a house on a private well is on none of them; what the state's well logs say about the aquifers under each county is on the page on private wells by county. What hard water does to glass, a shower head and the walls, and whether a new shower needs a softener, is answered on the hardness page, and the answer does not change between these systems.
The short version. Where Central Ohio utilities beyond Columbus publish a hardness figure, it lands close to the Columbus system's: Newark 119 milligrams per liter, Delaware 121 parts per million, the three Fairfield County systems 125 to 137, with Plain City, Pataskala and Jefferson Township publishing ranges between 70 and 130, and Granville a target of 140 to 160. Marysville, London, Licking Regional, Lancaster and Canal Winchester publish no figure but say in their own words that they soften, by lime, nanofiltration, membranes or ion exchange. Every figure here is the utility's own, read in its own document in September 2026.
Sources
Every figure, date and quotation on this page comes from one of these documents, read on the date given. Where two of them disagree, the page says so.
- City of Newark, 2025 Water Quality Report, Consumer Information, 2026; read September 2026.
- City of Delaware, Annual water quality report for 2025 testing, 2026; read September 2026.
- Fairfield County Utilities, The Tussing Road Water Treatment System Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report for 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
- Fairfield County Utilities, Little Walnut Consumer Confidence Report for 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
- Fairfield County Utilities, Greenfield Township Water District Consumer Confidence Report for 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
- Jefferson Water and Sewer District, Frequently asked questions, undated; read September 2026.
- Village of Plain City, Water and sewer, undated; read September 2026.
- Village of Granville, Resident Packet 2025, 2025; read September 25, 2026.
- Mid-Ohio Water and Sewer District, Plain City Consumer Confidence Report 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
- Mid-Ohio Water and Sewer District, London Consumer Confidence Report 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
- City of Pataskala, Pataskala Utilities Department, Water Hardness (archived copy of November 2, 2024), undated; read September 2026.
- Del-Co Water, Water hardness, undated; read September 2026.
- City of Marysville, Water, undated; read September 2026.
- Licking Regional Water District, Consumer Confidence Report for 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
- City of Lancaster, South Water Plant (archived copy, 2025), undated; read September 2026.
- City of Canal Winchester, Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report for 2025, 2026; read September 2026.
Common questions
How hard is the water in Newark, Ohio?
The City of Newark prints 119 mg/L hardness in its 2025 Water Quality Report. Its treatment plant is designed, in the report's words, to clarify, soften, fluoridate and disinfect water from the North Fork of the Licking River, and lime is used to raise the pH levels and cause the hardness constituents to be precipitated. That puts Newark's water in the same moderately hard range as the Columbus system's.
How hard is City of Delaware, Ohio water?
The City of Delaware's annual water quality report for 2025 testing lists total hardness as calcium carbonate at 121 parts per million, with a range of 103 to 142. Many addresses in Delaware County outside the city are on Del-Co Water, which publishes approximately 7 to 8 grains per gallon, or 120 to 140 mg/L, on its own hardness page.
What hardness does Ohio EPA recommend for drinking water?
Fairfield County Utilities prints the same line in each of its three 2025 water quality reports: OEPA recommends hardness in the range of 120-160 mg/l. That is the county's statement of the state's recommendation; no Ohio EPA document was read for the page. The county's own systems reported 125, 137 and 132 parts per million as their 2025 levels, inside that range.
Does Marysville, Ohio soften its water?
Yes, by its own account. The City of Marysville's water page says the treatment process uses lime and soda ash for softening, followed by carbon dioxide for pH stabilization, ozone and conventional filtration. The city's 2025 water quality report publishes no hardness figure, so no number is given for Marysville on the page, and the city is the one to ask for one.
Which Central Ohio water systems publish no hardness figure?
In the documents read in September 2026, Marysville, London, Licking Regional Water District, Lancaster and Canal Winchester publish no hardness number but describe softening by lime, nanofiltration, membranes or ion exchange, and Pickerington and Groveport publish neither a figure nor a softening statement in their 2025 reports. For those, the utility itself is the one to ask.
How hard is Pataskala, Ohio water?
The Pataskala Utilities Department says it maintains a hardness level between 90 and 130 parts per million. Its notice describes softening the water to a hardness of zero and then blending in a measured amount of treated but unsoftened water. That is a stated target rather than a measured figure, and the notice is undated; the copy read for the page is an archived one from November 2024.
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