Hanover Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Hanover, Massachusetts, in Plymouth County — a Plymouth County town adjacent to Norwell and Rockland on the South Shore of Massachusetts Bay — receives its municipal water from the Hanover Water Department, drawing from local reservoir sources and groundwater wells in the Plymouth County coastal plain aquifer (south coastal Massachusetts).

The moderately soft 49.5 mg/L hardness and low TDS of 91.8 mg/L reflect the South Shore Massachusetts coastal plain's insoluble crystalline and glacial character. The Hanover watershed drains the Plymouth-South Shore Coastal Plain — Cretaceous Aquinnah silica sand (highly insoluble), Pleistocene South Shore glacial outwash (insoluble quartz sand and gravel from the Cape Cod-South Shore glacial lobes), and Precambrian Dedham Granodiorite basement (insoluble). The predominantly insoluble coastal plain geology produces the moderately soft supply.

At 49.5 mg/L, Hanover's water is moderately soft — light scale forms slowly in appliances, dishwashers remain efficient, and bathroom fixtures need occasional cleaning. Semi-annual descaling is appropriate. The PFAS level of 6.5 ppt warrants a certified drinking water filter — the Plymouth County South Shore suburban industrial corridor, the South Weymouth Naval Air Station legacy (Weymouth PFAS plume migrating into the South Shore watershed), and the southeast Massachusetts PFAS background contribute to Hanover's elevated readings.