Lents Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Lents, Oregon, in Multnomah County — a Southeast Portland neighborhood in the Foster-Powell corridor, one of Portland's most affordable and rapidly developing inner Southeast neighborhoods — receives its municipal water from the Portland Water Bureau, which draws from the Bull Run Reservoir watershed on the western slopes of Mount Hood — the same pristine Bull Run supply serving all of Portland.

The very soft 48.5 mg/L hardness and very low TDS of 95.1 mg/L reflect the Bull Run watershed's Western Cascades volcanic basalt character. The Bull Run River drains the Mount Hood National Forest — terrain dominated by Tertiary basalt lava flows, andesite, and pyroclastic volcanic deposits of the Western Cascades. These crystalline volcanic rocks contain essentially no carbonate minerals, and the Bull Run's protected, pristine watershed (one of the most closely protected municipal watersheds in North America) produces exceptionally soft, pure mountain water. Portland's Bull Run supply is regarded as one of the best municipal water supplies in the United States.

At 48.5 mg/L, Lents's water is very soft — excellent for household use. Scale forms very slowly, soap lathers richly, and appliances maintain excellent efficiency. Annual descaling is more than sufficient. The PFAS level of 1.7 ppt is excellent — among the lowest in any major US metropolitan area, reflecting the Bull Run watershed's strict no-entry protection (the watershed is closed to public access), the Mount Hood National Forest's limited direct military-industrial PFAS sources, and Portland's exceptional source water management.