How hard is the water in Livingston Parish, LA?

2.3 grains per gallon

You do not need a softener here.

The median hardness measured in Livingston Parish, LA is 39 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 2.3 gpg. That is soft on the USGS scale. It comes from 8 samples at 7 sites between 1990 and 2024, drawn from groundwater wells, which is what most taps and private wells in the county draw on.

How much it varies here

Half the sites came in between 1.3 and 3.2 gpg. The whole middle of that range gives the same answer, so a test of your own tap is unlikely to change it. Confidence in the county figure: medium (how it is measured).

What to do next

You can skip the softener. At 2.3 gpg the most a softener would fix is the odd water spot. If a salesperson in Livingston Parish says otherwise, ask to see their reading in grains per gallon and compare it with this one.

More on when a softener is not worth it.

From 0.4 to 8.2 gpg

The softest single sample on record in Livingston Parish was 6 mg/L and the hardest 140 mg/L, a 23-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 3.2 gpg and the bottom quarter below 1.3 gpg.

Wells 2.3 gpg, rivers and lakes 2 gpg

8 groundwater samples from 7 wells put the median at 39.4 mg/L. 667 surface samples from 14 sites put it at 33.9 mg/L. In Livingston Parish the wells come out 0.3 gpg harder. Groundwater sits in contact with rock for years and picks up calcium and magnesium as it goes, so wells usually read harder. The two sources are close, so the county figure should hold whichever one your tap is on.

Livingston Parish against the rest of Louisiana

Among the 64 Louisiana counties with data, Livingston Parish is number 42 of 64 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 18% of counties.

Softest in Louisiana: Lincoln Parish at 0.1 gpg. Hardest: St. Bernard Parish at 53.9 gpg. Closest to Livingston Parish: Caddo Parish (2.6), Webster Parish (1.6), Ouachita Parish (1.6).