Columbia Heights Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Columbia Heights, Minnesota, in Anoka County — an Anoka County inner-ring suburb adjacent to Minneapolis on the north side, one of the densest first-ring suburbs in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area — receives its municipal water from the Columbia Heights Water Department, which draws from the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan water supply system or from deep aquifer wells in Anoka County.

The moderately hard 173.5 mg/L hardness and TDS of 355.9 mg/L reflect the Twin Cities Mississippi River or Anoka County aquifer supply character. The Mississippi River at the Twin Cities drains the Minnesota Drift Plains — glaciated terrain underlain by the Ordovician Prairie du Chien Dolomite, Cambrian Jordan Sandstone (with calcareous cement), and the Devonian Cedar Valley Formation. The Ordovician Prairie du Chien Dolomite is the primary carbonate source for the Twin Cities groundwater aquifer systems, consistently producing moderately hard water throughout the metropolitan Anoka-Hennepin-Ramsey county corridor.

At 173.5 mg/L, Columbia Heights's water is moderately hard — scale builds in kettles and appliances over months, dishwashers benefit from rinse aid, and bathroom fixtures develop calcium deposits. Quarterly descaling is appropriate. The PFAS level of 5.1 ppt warrants a certified drinking water filter — the Minneapolis-Saint Paul industrial corridor, 3M's Maplewood (Ramsey County) manufacturing facilities (a major documented PFAS source in the Twin Cities metro), and the upper Mississippi PFAS legacy contribute to Columbia Heights's PFAS readings.