Well water hardness in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
2.9 gpg soft
Private wells in Norfolk County typically give soft water: the median well sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey has 2.9 gpg (50 mg/L as CaCO₃).
Wells differ a lot, even next door: one in ten sampled wells had less than 30 mg/L and one in ten more than 70 mg/L. The figure comes from 21 wells and 25 samples taken between 1985 and 2019 (half of them by 1986).
Most samples are older than ten years. Groundwater hardness comes from the rock the well is drilled into and changes slowly, but your own well can be quite different, so treat this as a regional indication and test your water.
On city or town water instead of a well? Your utility publishes its own figures: Quincy (1 gpg), Cambridge (4.2 gpg), Boston (0.8 gpg), Somerville (0.8 gpg), Taunton (0.7 gpg), Malden (0.8 gpg).
What this hardness means for a well household
- Little or no limescale in kettles, water heaters or washing machines.
- Soap lathers easily; water does not dry skin or hair.
- Dishwasher: salt setting at minimum or off.
- No softener needed; a jug filter only changes taste.
How to test your well in Massachusetts
Hardness is only one part of a well test. Federal health agencies advise every private well owner to test regularly:
- Test a private well every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH; test more often if young children, older adults or a pregnant or nursing person live in the home. (US EPA, Protect Your Home's Water)
- Test at least once a year and ask the local health department which other germs or chemicals matter where you live. (CDC, Guidelines for Testing Well Water)
Use a certified laboratory: MassDEP online searchable laboratory certification listing (matrix: Potable / Drinking Water).
Testing is your own responsibility: no state agency samples existing private wells routinely.
If no local lab suits you, mail-in kits from certified labs test a wider panel at home; they cost more than a state or county lab.
Treating hard well water
Water this soft needs no softener. Soft well water can be corrosive, though: test pH, lead and copper if you see blue-green stains.
Nearby counties
FAQ
How hard is well water in Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
The median well sampled by the USGS in Norfolk County has 2.9 gpg (50 mg/L as CaCO₃), which is soft. One in ten wells had less than 30 mg/L and one in ten more than 70 mg/L.
Is my own well the same?
Not necessarily. Hardness depends on the rock layer your well draws from and on its depth, so neighbouring wells can differ by a factor of two or more. Only a test of your own water tells you.
How often should I test my well in Massachusetts?
Every year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH (EPA and CDC advice), and after floods, repairs or a change in taste or smell. Hardness, iron and manganese once, and again before you buy a softener.
Do I need a water softener for my well?
No. With soft water a softener adds nothing.
Where does this figure come from?
From 25 samples of 21 wells measured by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1985 and 2019, retrieved from the Water Quality Portal. We publish a county only when at least 10 wells were sampled.
Source and method
Computed by Water Hardness Atlas from USGS National Water Information System samples (characteristic "Hardness, Ca, Mg", sites of type well, samples since 1980), retrieved 2026-10-29 through the Water Quality Portal. For each well we take the median of its samples, then the median of all wells in the county; wells above 1,000 mg/L (oil, gas or mine brines) are left out. USGS data are in the U.S. public domain. Water Quality Portal query
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