WaterProfile Local

Utilities / Arizona

Scottsdale, AZ water hardness

Scottsdale Water does not publish one hardness figure for Scottsdale. It publishes 3 separate figures, one per area, on the page cited below. Across them the published numbers run from 275 to 430 mg/L. On the USGS scale those figures are all very hard water, so the classification does not depend on which area serves an address. Every published figure is in the table below.

Soft Moderate Hard Very hard 0 60 120 180 500+ 352.5 mg/L Scottsdale, AZ spans 3 published areas, all in the very hard band mg/L as CaCO₃. Bands drawn equal width, so the axis is not linear.
Scottsdale Water published a figure for each of 3 areas rather than one for the system; the bar spans the lowest and highest of those published figures, 275 to 430 mg/L. The plotted point is the midpoint of the lowest and highest figures published across this system's 3 areas; the utility publishes no system-wide figure, so this midpoint is not one of its numbers. Classification bands from the USGS Water Science School.

Every figure Scottsdale Water publishes, by area

These are the only hardness numbers this utility publishes. There is no system-wide figure to quote, so the figure plotted above is a midpoint we calculated from the lowest and highest of them, and it is labelled as such everywhere it appears.

Area as publishedmg/L (ppm)Grains per gallonUSGS class
North of Chaparral Road 275–300 16–18 Very hard
Indian School Road to Chaparral Road 340–370 20–22 Very hard
South of Indian School Road 370–430 22–25 Very hard

Figures in the grains column are the utility's own where it published them. Where it published only one unit, the other column is our conversion at 17.1 mg/L per grain, and the row above says which. Nothing in this table is averaged across areas.

The published figures, exactly as they appear

This is the hardness line transcribed from the source, with nothing added:

Boundary | Hardness (gpg) | Hardness (mg/L) — South of Indian School Road | 22 - 25 | 370 - 430; Indian School Road to Chaparral Road | 20 - 22 | 340 - 370; North of Chaparral Road | 16 - 18 | 275 - 300

Scottsdale Water

Units as published: gpg and mg/L. What kind of figure it is: a single value. Retrieved 2026-10-17.

Scottsdale hardness in mg/L and grains per gallon

Water-quality reports use mg/L (identical to ppm). Softener instructions and plumbing specifications use grains per gallon. Both are below. Where a figure is our arithmetic rather than the utility's own number, it says so.

Figuremg/L (ppm)Grains per gallonWhose number
Low end of published span across areas27516both published by the utility
High end of published span across areas43025both published by the utility
Plotted on the scale above352.520.6midpoint of the lowest and highest figures published across this system's 3 areas; the utility publishes no system-wide figure, so this midpoint is not one of its numbers; the gpg here is our conversion at 17.1, so it can differ slightly from a utility’s own rounded gpg figure

The conversion, both ways: gpg = mg/L ÷ 17.1 and mg/L = gpg × 17.1. Worked for this system: 352.5 ÷ 17.1 = 20.6 gpg. The converter does °dH and °f as well, and why the factor is 17.1 explains where the number comes from.

What this figure does not tell you

Service area and source water

UtilityScottsdale Water
Service area as publishedScottsdale Water's service area, divided in the fact sheet by three road boundaries. The fact sheet names no treatment plant for any area.

Provenance of every number on this page

Source documentScottsdale Water, “Hard Water” fact sheet
Source URLhttps://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/docs/default-source/scottsdaleaz/water/water-quality/hard-water-fact-sheet.pdf?sfvrsn=a4fb4a24_2
Published byScottsdale Water
Report yearNot stated on the source page
Year noteThe fact sheet states no year and cites no report.
Retrieved2026-10-17
Classification bandsUSGS Water Science School, retrieved 2026-10-16

Notes the report forces on this page

If you are sizing a softener for Scottsdale water

At 20.6 gpg, the sizing arithmetic starts from your household's water use, not from the hardness alone. The calculator below is pre-filled with this system's figure and every other input is an editable assumption.

Whether a softener is worth installing at this hardness is a judgement, not arithmetic, and it is not one this site makes for you. Nothing here has been tested by the author.

Where Scottsdale sits against other verified systems

Soft Soft 0–60
Moderately hard Moderate 61–120
Hard Hard 121–180
Very hard Very hard 181+
  1. Portland, OR 9 mg/L 0.5 gpg Soft
  2. Boston, MA 16 mg/L 1 gpg Soft
  3. Manchester, NH 17.9 mg/L 1 gpg Soft
  4. Raleigh, NC 25 mg/L 1.47 gpg Soft
  5. New York, NY 32 mg/L 2 gpg Soft
  6. Charlotte, NC 32 mg/L 1.9 gpg Soft
  7. Memphis, TN 46 mg/L 2.7 gpg Soft
  8. Anchorage, AK 56 mg/L 3.3 gpg Soft
  9. Oakland, CA 68.4 mg/L 4 gpg Moderately hard
  10. Nashville, TN 77.3 mg/L 4.5 gpg Moderately hard
  11. Sacramento, CA 83 mg/L 4.9 gpg Moderately hard
  12. Fresno, CA 89.3 mg/L 5.2 gpg Moderately hard
  13. Saint Paul, MN 90 mg/L 5 gpg Moderately hard
  14. Austin, TX 93 mg/L 5.4 gpg Moderately hard
  15. Washington, DC 95 mg/L 5.6 gpg Moderately hard
  16. Birmingham, AL 98 mg/L 5.7 gpg Moderately hard
  17. Kansas City, MO 100 mg/L 5.8 gpg Moderately hard
  18. Denver, CO 105 mg/L 6.1 gpg Moderately hard
  19. Tulsa, OK 114.5 mg/L 6.7 gpg Moderately hard
  20. Louisville, KY 115 mg/L 6.7 gpg Moderately hard
  21. Columbus, OH 120 mg/L 7 gpg Moderately hard
  22. Cleveland, OH 120 mg/L 7 gpg Moderately hard
  23. Philadelphia, PA 125 mg/L 7.3 gpg Hard
  24. Ann Arbor, MI 126 mg/L 7.4 gpg Hard
  25. Cincinnati, OH 133 mg/L 7.8 gpg Hard
  26. Milwaukee, WI 137 mg/L 8.01 gpg Hard
  27. St. Louis, MO 138 mg/L 8.1 gpg Hard
  28. Fort Worth, TX 145 mg/L 8.5 gpg Hard
  29. Honolulu, HI 162.5 mg/L 9.5 gpg Hard
  30. Wichita, KS 170 mg/L 9.9 gpg Hard
  31. Omaha, NE 170 mg/L 10 gpg Hard
  32. Los Angeles, CA 192 mg/L 11.2 gpg Very hard
  33. Lincoln, NE 192 mg/L 11.2 gpg Very hard
  34. Tampa, FL 220 mg/L 12.9 gpg Very hard
  35. Phoenix, AZ 237 mg/L 13.9 gpg Very hard
  36. Mesa, AZ 239.4 mg/L 14 gpg Very hard
  37. San Diego, CA 276 mg/L 16 gpg Very hard
  38. Las Vegas, NV 280 mg/L 16 gpg Very hard
  39. Chandler, AZ 282.2 mg/L 16.5 gpg Very hard
  40. San Antonio, TX 299.3 mg/L 17.5 gpg Very hard
  41. Anaheim, CA 300 mg/L 18 gpg Very hard
  42. Indianapolis, IN 317 mg/L 19 gpg Very hard
  43. Madison, WI 324.9 mg/L 19 gpg Very hard
  44. Scottsdale, AZ 352.5 mg/L 20.6 gpg Very hard

mg/L as calcium carbonate. Each classification band is drawn the same width, so the axis is not linear in mg/L.

Scottsdale, AZ is the highlighted row. Every other system on this chart has its own page with its own published figure and report date. Grains per gallon are the utility's own figure where it published one, and our conversion at 17.1 mg/L per grain where it did not.

Systems with similar published hardness

All 44 verified systems   How to find hardness in your own utility's report   If you are on a well instead