Tap a county to see what its utilities publish about their water. Only one utility we checked publishes a hardness figure; for everywhere else, the free in-home test measures it at your tap.
Ask anyone who has moved to Central Florida about the water and you will hear about white crust on the faucets, spots on the glasses and soap that will not lather. Most of the region’s water comes from the Floridan Aquifer, which runs through limestone, so it picks up calcium and magnesium on the way. That is what hardness is.
How hard it is at your tap depends on your utility, how that utility treats its water, and whether your home is on city water or a private well. This page sets out what each utility we have checked actually publishes, with a link to its own report, so you can see the facts rather than an estimate.
The short version: of the six utilities below, only OUC in Orlando publishes a hardness figure (129 mg/L, about 7.5 grains per gallon, classed as hard). Two others, Daytona Beach and Palm Bay, soften their water at the treatment plant. For everyone else, the reliable number is the one measured at your own tap.
What each utility publishes
| City | Utility | Hardness it publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Orlando Orange County | OUC water quality report | 129 mg/L (7.5 gpg), hard |
| Winter Park Orange County | City of Winter Park Water & Wastewater Utilities water quality report | Not published |
| Sanford Seminole County | City of Sanford Utilities water quality report | Not published |
| Clermont Lake County | City of Clermont water quality report | Not published |
| Daytona Beach Volusia County | City of Daytona Beach Utilities water quality report | Not published softens at the plant |
| Palm Bay Brevard County | Palm Bay Utilities water quality report | Not published softens at the plant |
Brita Pro of Central Florida works in six counties: Orange, Seminole, Lake, Volusia, Brevard and Osceola. We are adding utilities to this table as we check their reports. Facts checked November 2026.
City by city
Orlando (Orange County)
OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) supplies most of Orlando. It draws from the lower Floridan Aquifer, about a quarter of a mile down, and disinfects with chlorine, after ozone treatment. OUC treats the water with ozone at its seven plants, which removes the naturally occurring hydrogen sulfide (rotten-egg smell) before chlorine is added. OUC gives an average hardness of 129 mg/L, about 7.5 grains per gallon, which the U.S. Geological Survey classes as hard. Hardness still varies by address.
Source: OUC 2025 Water Quality Report. More on water softeners and filtration in Orlando.
Winter Park (Orange County)
City of Winter Park Water & Wastewater Utilities supplies most of Winter Park. It draws from six wells in the lower Floridan Aquifer, up to 1,330 ft deep, and disinfects with chlorine, after ozone treatment. The City treats the well water with ozone, which removes the naturally occurring hydrogen sulfide (the rotten-egg smell), then adds chlorine. Three interconnected treatment plants serve a 23-square-mile area. Winter Park runs its own water utility; it is not supplied by OUC. The utility does not publish a hardness figure. Our free in-home test measures it at your tap.
Source: City of Winter Park 2025 Water Quality Report. More on water softeners and filtration in Winter Park.
Sanford (Seminole County)
City of Sanford Utilities supplies most of Sanford. It draws from 17 wells in the Floridan Aquifer and disinfects with chlorine. The City removes naturally occurring hydrogen sulfide (the rotten-egg smell) by aeration at one plant and by ozone and activated-carbon filtration at the other. The utility does not publish a hardness figure. Our free in-home test measures it at your tap.
Source: City of Sanford 2026 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report (2025 data) and the City's drinking-water FAQ. More on water softeners and filtration in Sanford.
Clermont (Lake County)
City of Clermont supplies most of Clermont. It draws from eight city wells in the Floridan Aquifer and disinfects with chlorine. The City says its groundwater needs “only minimal disinfection with chlorine” and reported no violations in 2025. Some homes with a Clermont address are served by Southlake Utilities or Lake Utility Services instead. Your water bill shows which. The utility does not publish a hardness figure. Our free in-home test measures it at your tap.
Source: City of Clermont 2025 Drinking Water Quality Report. More on water softeners and filtration in Clermont.
Daytona Beach (Volusia County)
City of Daytona Beach Utilities supplies most of Daytona Beach. It draws from 24 wells over 200 ft deep in the Floridan Aquifer and disinfects with chloramine. Treated at the Ralph Brennan Water Treatment Plant by ozonation, softening and filtration before chloramine disinfection. The utility does not publish a hardness figure. Our free in-home test measures it at your tap.
Source: City of Daytona Beach 2026 Water Quality Report (2025 data). More on water softeners and filtration in Daytona Beach.
Palm Bay (Brevard County)
Palm Bay Utilities supplies most of Palm Bay. It draws from 42 wells in the Floridan Aquifer (850 ft) and shallower surficial aquifers (80–150 ft) and disinfects with chloramine. Treated by reverse osmosis and lime softening at the City's two water treatment plants. The utility does not publish a hardness figure. Our free in-home test measures it at your tap.
Source: Palm Bay Utilities 2026 Water Quality Report (2025 data). More on water softeners and filtration in Palm Bay.
Other cities
Apopka, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Deltona, Melbourne and the other cities we serve each get their water from a city utility, a county utility or a private company. Your water bill names it. Every utility publishes an annual water quality report, usually on its website; look for “hardness” or “total hardness”. Many do not list it, because hardness is not a health standard. If yours does not, our free in-home water test measures it.
How to read a hardness number
Utilities and labs report hardness in milligrams per litre (mg/L, the same as parts per million). Water treatment companies often use grains per gallon (gpg). One grain per gallon is 17.1 mg/L. The U.S. Geological Survey classes water like this:
| Class | mg/L (as calcium carbonate) | Grains per gallon |
|---|---|---|
| Soft | 0–60 | 0–3.5 |
| Moderately hard | 61–120 | 3.6–7.0 |
| Hard | 121–180 | 7.1–10.5 |
| Very hard | over 180 | over 10.5 |
To check your own water roughly at home, see how to check water hardness in five steps.
Why Central Florida water is hard
Rain soaks into the ground, picks up a little carbon dioxide and becomes slightly acidic. As it moves through the limestone of the Floridan Aquifer, it dissolves calcium and magnesium. The wells that supply the region draw that water up.
Utilities make the water safe to drink and meet federal standards. Most do not remove hardness, because hardness is not a health issue. Some do: the City of Daytona Beach includes a softening step at its treatment plant, and Palm Bay Utilities treats its water with reverse osmosis and lime softening. So “every city has hard water” is not true. Even so, softened city water can still leave scale, which is why a measurement at your tap is worth more than any regional average.
City water and well water
Homes on a private well get water straight from the ground, with no utility treatment. Well water here often carries iron, which leaves orange or brown stains, or hydrogen sulfide, the rotten-egg smell, as well as hardness. A well needs testing for all three together. See well water treatment and how to remove a sulfur smell from water.
Two homes on the same city water can also test differently, depending on which plant or wellfield serves the area and how far the water travels to reach the house.
What to do about hard water
- Measure first. A free in-home test shows hardness, chlorine and iron at your tap, so the treatment fits the water you actually have. Here is what the free water test checks.
- For hardness: a water softener removes the calcium and magnesium that cause scale.
- For a chlorine or chloramine taste or smell: a whole-house filter with carbon reduces it at every tap. Chloramine, used in Daytona Beach and Palm Bay, needs catalytic carbon.
- For drinking water: reverse osmosis under the kitchen sink.
- Not sure which you need? Read water softener or water filter: which one.
Brita Pro of Central Florida is family-owned and has installed water treatment in Central Florida homes since 1986. If your water tests fine, we will tell you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Orlando water hard?
Yes. OUC gives an average hardness of 129 mg/L, about 7.5 grains per gallon, which the U.S. Geological Survey classes as hard. It varies by address.
Why does my utility’s report not show hardness?
Hardness is not a federal health standard, so utilities do not have to report it, and many do not. Of the six utilities in the table above, only OUC publishes a figure.
Does any Central Florida utility soften its water?
Yes. The City of Daytona Beach includes a softening step at its treatment plant, and Palm Bay Utilities uses reverse osmosis and lime softening. Neither publishes a hardness figure for the water at your tap.
Is hard water safe to drink?
Yes. Hardness is calcium and magnesium. It causes scale and affects how soap works, but it is not a health risk. The utilities above all disinfect their water and test it to federal standards.
How do I find out how hard my water is?
Check your utility’s annual water quality report, test it yourself with a strip kit, or book our free in-home test, which measures hardness, chlorine and iron at your tap and shows you the numbers.
