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1. What is water hardness?

Water hardness is an aesthetic quality of water, and is caused mostly by the minerals calcium and magnesium, but is classified or measured based on the level of concentration of calcium carbonate. How hardness is classified is based on the following scale:

Calcium Carbonate Concentration

Classification	Measurement
Soft Water	0 to 60 Milligrams Per Liter or 0 to 3.5 Grains Per Gallon
Moderately Hard Water	61 to 120 Milligrams Per Liter or 3.6 to 7 Grains Per Gallon
Hard Water	121 to 180 MillIgrams Per Liter or 7.1 to 10.5 Grains Per Gallon
Very Hard Water	Over 180 Milligrams Per Liter or over 10.5 Grains Per Gallon

Water Treatment Plants

The water that the Canton Water Department delivers to its customers is considered to be "very hard water" but it varies slightly from our three water treatment plants. The following is a comparison of the three plants average hardness:

Plant	Water Hardness
Northeast Plant	429 Milligrams Per Liter or 25 Grains Per Gallon
Northwest Plant	497 Milligrams Per Liter or 29 Grains Per Gallon
Sugarcreek Plant	354 Milligrams Per Liter or 21 Grains Per Gallon

2. What makes water hard?

Water is often called the universal solvent. Water picks up minerals as it travels many miles over rocks and through soil as it makes its way to water treatment facilities. Those minerals, mostly calcium and magnesium, are dissolved and held in solution even after going through the treatment process.

3. How can I tell if my water is hard?

The minerals in hard water can cause spots to form on dishes and a scale to form on showerheads, faucets and kitchen appliances like coffee makers. Boiling hard water causes the dissolved calcium to form a whitish or grayish or oily-looking scum on top of the boiling water. Freezing hard water will also cause the calcium to form white particles that appear when the ice melts in a glass.

4. What if I think I have a serious water quality problem?

Call the Canton Water Department Laboratory at 330-489-3035 or call the after-hours the dispatcher at 330-489-3315. We will ask you questions regarding the problem and take the steps required to resolve it. If you have any further questions, visit the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website.

Private Wells

If you have a private well and need more testing than the Canton Water Department Laboratory can provide, Heidelberg College can provide further testing at an economical cost.