Bremerton is fortunate that our water sources are not considered "hard." A water softener is generally not needed with the low amounts of minerals present in Bremerton's water. Water described as hard is high in dissolved minerals, mostly calcium and magnesium. Hard water is not a health risk, but more of an annoyance because minerals can build up on fixtures and decrease soap and/or detergent performance.

There are predominantly two different measurements used to describe the hardness of water:

• mg/L (as calcium carbonate), same as parts per million
• grains/gallon

One grain of hardness equals 17.1 mg/L or ppm of hardness.

The City of Bremerton is proud to provide our customers with high quality water. Your drinking water is regularly tested to ensure that it meets all federal and state standards. Although there is no standard set for water hardness, the city conducts testing of water hardness from surface water supply every year and every 3 years from ground water supplies.

For more information, visit the National Sanitation Foundation website.