Southaven Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Southaven, Mississippi, in DeSoto County on the Tennessee border adjacent to Memphis — Mississippi's third-largest city, a major commercial and residential suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, known for the Malco Desoto Cinema Grill and the rapidly developing Stateline Road retail corridor — draws its municipal water supply from the Memphis Sand Aquifer (the Middle Claiborne Aquifer — the most prolific municipal aquifer in the Mid-South) via the City of Southaven Utilities Water Division. Water hardness in Southaven measures 110 mg/L — classified as moderately hard.

SouthavenSouthavenSouthavenSouthavenSouthaven's moderate hardness — softer than many Mid-South communities — reflects the Memphis Sand Aquifer's relatively clean geology. The Memphis Sand Aquifer (Eocene Claiborne Formation — thick, clean quartz sand and gravel of the Mississippi Embayment, deposited as deltaic and fluvial sand during the Eocene) is predominantly composed of calcium-poor quartz sand with minimal calcareous cement. The Memphis Sand is one of the cleanest and purest large aquifers in the eastern United States — the calcium content in the DeSoto County–Shelby County area reflects minimal calcareous contact in the relatively pure Eocene quartz sand, producing the moderate 110 mg/L at Southaven.

At 110 mg/L, Southaven residents encounter moderate scale accumulation. Faucet aerators and showerheads develop deposits after several months — monthly cleaning with citric acid solution is practical maintenance. City of Southaven Utilities Water Division consistently delivers water meeting all Mississippi MDEQ and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.