Cartersville Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Cartersville, Georgia, in Bartow County — the Bartow County seat in the Etowah River valley of northwest Georgia, adjacent to Lake Allatoona (the Etowah River impoundment), historically significant for the Etowah Indian Mounds (a major Mississippian culture archaeological site) and the Cartersville Civil War battlefields — receives its municipal water from the Cartersville Water and Wastewater Division, which draws from Lake Allatoona (the US Army Corps of Engineers Etowah River impoundment) through the Cartersville water intake.

The moderately hard 128.5 mg/L hardness and TDS of 306.5 mg/L reflect the Etowah River-Lake Allatoona watershed's Valley and Ridge geological character. The Etowah River drains the Valley and Ridge province of northwest Georgia — terrain underlain by the Ordovician and Cambrian limestone and dolomite sequence (Knox Group dolostone, Chickamauga Limestone) and the Mississippian Fort Payne Chert and Bangor Limestone. The Valley and Ridge's prolific carbonate formations produce moderately hard water throughout the northwest Georgia reservoir system. The Blue Ridge headwaters (soft crystalline) dilute some of the carbonate loading, producing the moderate 128.5 mg/L outcome.

At 128.5 mg/L, Cartersville's water is moderately hard — scale builds in kettles and appliances over months, dishwashers benefit from rinse aid, and faucet aerators need periodic cleaning. Quarterly descaling is appropriate. The PFAS level of 7.9 ppt warrants a certified drinking water filter — the Cartersville industrial corridor (Kerr-McGee Chemical / Tronox barium and titanium chemical plant — a significant Superfund site on the Etowah River), the Rome Army Depot area, and the northwest Georgia industrial manufacturing legacy contribute to Cartersville's elevated PFAS reading.