Huntington Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Huntington, West Virginia, the Cabell County seat on the Ohio River at the West Virginia–Kentucky–Ohio tristate corner — home of Marshall University (the 'Thundering Herd'), one of West Virginia's largest cities, historically a major Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) terminus and steel and nickel alloy manufacturing city, and the focus of significant opioid epidemic reporting — draws its municipal water supply from the Ohio River via the City of Huntington Water Division. Water hardness in Huntington measures 78 mg/L — classified as moderately soft.

Huntington's moderate softness reflects the Ohio River supply's diluted Appalachian watershed characteristics. The Ohio River at Huntington–Ashland receives tributary flow from: the West Virginia Appalachian Plateau (Pennsylvanian Conemaugh Group and Mississippian Greenbrier Limestone — moderately calcareous); the Big Sandy River (Kentucky–West Virginia border — Appalachian Plateau calcareous-poor drainage); and the Guyandotte River (calcareous-poor West Virginia Devonian shale drainage). The City of Huntington Water Division applies effective treatment (coagulation, filtration, lime softening) to the Ohio River supply, producing the moderate 78 mg/L — soft for an Appalachian river supply.

With hardness at 78 mg/L, Huntington residents enjoy moderately soft water. City of Huntington Water Division consistently delivers water meeting all West Virginia DEP and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.