Wadsworth Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Wadsworth, Ohio, in Medina County — a Medina County city in the Summit-Medina County corridor between Cleveland and Akron, known for the Annual Medina County Fair and the city's proud match industry heritage (Wadsworth was once home to the Diamond Match Company) — receives its municipal water from the Wadsworth City Utilities or through the Medina County Water system, which draws from the Rocky River headwaters or from local Medina County reservoir and river sources. The Medina County supply zone lies between the Lake Erie drainage and the Cuyahoga Valley water systems.

The moderately hard 102 mg/L hardness and TDS of 154.7 mg/L reflect the Medina County supply's relatively soft character — significantly softer than many northeastern Ohio river supplies (Alliance 168.5 mg/L, Chillicothe 209.5 mg/L). The Rocky River headwaters in Medina County drain the Devonian shale and Berea Sandstone clastic sequence of the northern Ohio lakeshore plain — primarily non-carbonate clastics (shale and sandstone) that produce softer runoff than the carbonate-dominated central and southern Ohio formations. The Medina County watershed's Devonian clastic terrain, combined with relatively limited Silurian dolomite exposure in this zone, produces moderately soft water consistent with the Erie lakeshore plain's non-carbonate sedimentary character.

At 102 mg/L, Wadsworth's water is moderately hard — comfortable for all household uses in the northeastern Ohio corridor. Scale builds in kettles and appliances over months, the dishwasher benefits from rinse aid, and faucet aerators need periodic cleaning. Quarterly descaling of heating appliances is the standard schedule. The PFAS level of 3.9 ppt is favorable for the northeastern Ohio corridor — Wadsworth's small-city manufacturing heritage (match and related industries) is no longer an active PFAS source, and the Rocky River-Medina watershed's limited military presence produces a modest PFAS background.