How hard is the water in Oxford County, ME?

2.8 grains per gallon

You do not need a softener here.

The median hardness measured in Oxford County, ME is 49 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 2.8 gpg. That is soft on the USGS scale. It comes from 12 samples at 6 sites between 1990 and 2023, 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 2.4 and 3.7 gpg. That spread crosses a decision line, so some homes here land on a different answer. A $10 test strip on your own tap settles it. Confidence in the county figure: medium (how it is measured).

What to do next

You can skip the softener. At 2.8 gpg the most a softener would fix is the odd water spot. If a salesperson in Oxford County says otherwise, ask to see their reading in grains per gallon and compare it with this one. Because Oxford County straddles a decision line, check your own tap with a $10 test strip before you spend anything.

More on when a softener is not worth it.

From 2.2 to 4.2 gpg

The softest single sample on record in Oxford County was 36.9 mg/L and the hardest 71.9 mg/L, a 2-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 3.7 gpg and the bottom quarter below 2.4 gpg.

Wells 2.8 gpg, rivers and lakes 0.3 gpg

12 groundwater samples from 6 wells put the median at 48.6 mg/L. 507 surface samples from 11 sites put it at 4.3 mg/L. In Oxford County the wells come out 2.5 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.

Oxford County against the rest of Maine

Among the 16 Maine counties with data, Oxford County is number 10 of 16 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 21% of counties.

Softest in Maine: Lincoln County at 0.7 gpg. Hardest: Penobscot County at 6.9 gpg. Closest to Oxford County: Androscoggin County (3.1), Franklin County (3.2), Cumberland County (2.4).