Well water hardness in North Dakota
Across 36 counties of North Dakota, the median well sampled by the USGS has 15.7 gpg of hardness. Counties range from 1.1 gpg (Hettinger County) to 27.7 gpg (Towner County).
Millions of American households drink water from their own well. No utility tests that water and no water quality report covers it. These pages summarise the hardness the U.S. Geological Survey measured in wells county by county, so you know what to expect before you test your own well.
Counties, hardest first
| gpg | mg/L | wells | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towner County | 27.7 | 475 | 148 | very hard |
| Williams County | 25.7 | 440 | 71 | very hard |
| Rolette County | 23.6 | 404 | 61 | very hard |
| Wells County | 22.5 | 386 | 20 | very hard |
| Walsh County | 22.4 | 384 | 10 | very hard |
| Burleigh County | 22.2 | 381 | 16 | very hard |
| Richland County | 21.2 | 363 | 25 | very hard |
| Nelson County | 20.3 | 348 | 15 | very hard |
| Dickey County | 20.3 | 347 | 317 | very hard |
| Bottineau County | 19 | 326 | 15 | very hard |
| LaMoure County | 18.6 | 319 | 119 | very hard |
| Stutsman County | 18.4 | 315 | 52 | very hard |
| Sargent County | 18.2 | 312 | 57 | very hard |
| Ward County | 18.1 | 310 | 10 | very hard |
| Ransom County | 17.9 | 306 | 31 | very hard |
| McLean County | 17.6 | 302 | 61 | very hard |
| Logan County | 16.7 | 286 | 33 | very hard |
| Eddy County | 16.3 | 279 | 51 | very hard |
| Benson County | 15 | 257 | 51 | very hard |
| Pierce County | 15 | 257 | 10 | very hard |
| Cass County | 14.6 | 250 | 20 | very hard |
| McHenry County | 14.6 | 250 | 23 | very hard |
| Emmons County | 14.5 | 248 | 15 | very hard |
| Billings County | 12.8 | 219 | 39 | very hard |
| Divide County | 12.6 | 216 | 11 | very hard |
| Dunn County | 11.3 | 194 | 37 | very hard |
| Mountrail County | 11.1 | 190 | 55 | very hard |
| McKenzie County | 9.3 | 160 | 131 | hard |
| Slope County | 9 | 154 | 31 | hard |
| Stark County | 8.8 | 150 | 87 | hard |
| Morton County | 4.7 | 81 | 14 | moderately hard |
| Bowman County | 4.1 | 71 | 70 | moderately hard |
| Sioux County | 2.7 | 47 | 34 | soft |
| Golden Valley County | 2.3 | 39 | 13 | soft |
| Burke County | 2.2 | 37 | 11 | soft |
| Hettinger County | 1.1 | 19 | 40 | soft |
Counties with fewer than 10 sampled wells, or a median outside 5–500 mg/L, are not shown until the figure is reviewed.
North Dakota: tap water hardness by city → · Well water hardness by state and county →