West Fargo Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

West Fargo, North Dakota, in Cass County — a major east Cass County suburban community (West Fargo is the second-largest city in North Dakota and one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States — a rapidly expanding western Fargo suburb with one of the most dramatic growth rates of any US city; West Fargo grew from approximately 14,000 in 2000 to over 40,000 by the mid-2020s), a rapidly growing Cass County community with a significant Somali-American, South Asian-American, and working-class professional population, home of one of the most active school districts in North Dakota (West Fargo Public Schools is one of the largest and fastest-growing school districts in North Dakota), and part of the Fargo–Moorhead metropolitan area — draws its municipal water supply from the Red River of the North via the City of West Fargo Water Division. Water hardness in West Fargo measures 175.5 mg/L — classified as hard.

West Fargo's hard supply reflects the Red River Valley's highly calcareous geology. The Red River of the North at West Fargo–Cass County drains: the Lake Agassiz lacustrine plain (calcareous lacustrine deposits from the enormous glacial Lake Agassiz — the calcareous lake bed sediment of the Red River Valley flat plain); the Devonian–Mississippian Prairie du Chien and Madison carbonate (highly calcareous carbonate of the North Dakota Paleozoic Platform); and the Wisconsin Age calcareous Des Moines Lobe till (carbonate-rich glacial till). City of West Fargo treatment produces the hard 175.5 mg/L.

At 175.5 mg/L, West Fargo residents face regular hard water challenges. Monthly descaling with citric acid solution is recommended. City of West Fargo Water Division consistently delivers water meeting all North Dakota DEQ and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.