Auburn Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Auburn, New York, the Cayuga County seat — a major central New York Finger Lakes and Erie Canal city (Auburn is the Cayuga County seat — one of the most historically significant cities in upstate New York; Auburn was a major stop on the Underground Railroad (Auburn was the home of Harriet Tubman (one of the most important figures in American history — Harriet Tubman lived in Auburn from 1859 until her death in 1913; her home is preserved as the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park — one of the most important civil rights heritage sites in the United States)); Auburn is also the home of William H. Seward (Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State — the architect of the Alaska Purchase ('Seward's Folly') in 1867; Seward's Auburn home is a National Historic Landmark); Auburn was the site of the first electric chair execution in American history (1890, at Auburn State Prison — one of the most significant early state prisons in the United States), a diverse Cayuga County community with a significant African-American, Puerto Rican-American, and working-class and government employee population — draws its municipal water supply from Owasco Lake via the City of Auburn Water Division. Water hardness in Auburn measures 137.5 mg/L — classified as moderately hard.

Auburn's moderate hardness reflects the central New York Cayuga County Finger Lakes watershed's calcareous-moderate character. The Owasco Lake watershed drains the Devonian calcareous-moderate Finger Lakes shale with effective treatment, producing the moderately hard 137.5 mg/L.

At 137.5 mg/L, Auburn residents encounter moderate scale accumulation. Monthly cleaning is recommended. City of Auburn Water Division consistently delivers water meeting all New York State DEC and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.