Dothan Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Dothan, Alabama, the Houston County seat in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama — the 'Peanut Capital of the World' and the third-largest city in Alabama — draws its municipal water supply from local groundwater wells via the City of Dothan Water and Sewer Department, accessing the Cretaceous Providence Sand and Clayton Formation (and related Eocene Wilcox Group) aquifer system beneath Houston County in the southeast Alabama Coastal Plain. Water hardness in Dothan measures 87.5 mg/L — classified as moderately soft.

Dothan's moderately soft supply reflects the southeast Alabama Gulf Coastal Plain's Cretaceous and Eocene siliceous aquifer geology. The Providence Sand (Late Cretaceous — a thick, coarse fluvial and coastal plain sand with minor calcareous clay interbeds) and the Clayton Formation (Paleocene calcareous sandy limestone — the base of the Alabama Coastal Plain Cenozoic sequence) provide the principal aquifer water in Houston County. These Cretaceous–Paleocene Coastal Plain formations are predominantly siliceous sand, with only minor calcareous content from shell fragments and limestone interbeds. The resulting moderate 87.5 mg/L reflects the predominantly siliceous southeastern Alabama aquifer character — harder than the purely siliceous West Gulf Coastal Plain formations (Pensacola sand: 30–50 mg/L) but softer than the carbonate-dominated formations (Florida Floridan: 200–400 mg/L).

With hardness at 87.5 mg/L, Dothan residents enjoy moderately soft water with minimal scale challenges. City of Dothan Water and Sewer Department consistently delivers water meeting all Alabama ADEM and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.