TapMatch

Rochester, New York

City of Rochester Water Bureau 2025 Water Quality Report. Hemlock hardness 91 mg/L; Ontario 123 mg/L (range 120–130). Free chlorine in distribution 0.94 mg/L (range 0.13–1.90). No Measure S-style residential softener ban turned up.

Cited chemistry for RochesterA chart of numbers printed on the utility report, each labeled with its unit. Missing numbers are left off.Hardness (Hemlock)91 mg/LHardness (Ontario)123 mg/L (range 120–130)Free chlorine0.94 mg/L (range 0.13–1.90)TTHMs43 µg/L (range 16–79); max LRAA 50HAA527 µg/L (range 6–42); max LRAA 34WQR
Cited numbers from the utility report. Length follows the printed value against a labeled scale — not a health ranking. If the report has no number, it is not on the chart.
  1. Hardness (Hemlock)91 mg/L
  2. Hardness (Ontario)123 mg/L (range 120–130)
  3. Free chlorine0.94 mg/L (range 0.13–1.90)
  4. TTHMs43 µg/L (range 16–79); max LRAA 50
  5. HAA527 µg/L (range 6–42); max LRAA 34

Best match for Rochester

Salt-based water softener

No district prohibition on a brine drain turned up in the current file.

Two tall mineral tanks and a black brine tank of a salt-based water softener, plumbed with copper pipe in a garage.
Salt-based softener: two mineral tanks and a brine tank.

A salt-based softener is the thing that actually removes hardness. Size it from your grains and how much water you use, not bathroom count. It needs a drain.

Shop salt-based softeners

Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission. That does not change the match, and it is not a medical claim.

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Other options that still fit

  • Salt-free conditioner

    A salt-free conditioner changes how scale sticks. It does not soften. Soap and spots stay closer to untreated. No brine line.

    Shop salt-free conditioners

  • Whole-house carbon for chlorine

    That is chlorine. A whole-house carbon filter with an NSF/ANSI 42 chlorine claim is the usual match. A softener will not take chlorine out.

    Shop whole-house carbon

  • Under-sink reverse osmosis

    The under-sink RO we actually run is Cloud RO — NSF/ANSI 58, kitchen tap, not a whole-house tank. Check the exact listing if PFAS is why you are shopping. Shop Amazon first for under-sink RO, or buy Cloud direct. Waterdrop is a tankless option if you want that path. A certifier-listed pitcher is the cheap first step. Nobody is paying for a medical claim.

    Shop under-sink reverse osmosisBuy Cloud RO directShop Waterdrop reverse osmosisShop PFAS-listed pitchers

  • Test the tap first

    A homeowner kit is a start. It is not a state-certified lab. Use a certified lab when the decision is expensive.

    Shop water test kits

On the report

Water utility
City of Rochester Water Bureau
Hardness
Total hardness Hemlock average 91 mg/L. Ontario average 123 mg/L (range 120–130). Two labeled source columns on the 2025 entry-point table, not a blend we invented. — City of Rochester 2025 Water Quality Report
Disinfectant
Chlorine at entry point 0.96 mg/L (range 0.56–1.23). Free chlorine in the distribution system 0.94 mg/L (range 0.13–1.90). MRDL 4. Required treatment chemical. Narrative says the water is disinfected with chlorine. — City of Rochester 2025 Water Quality Report
Brine / salt to the sewer
No district prohibition found in current research. Searched Rochester Water Bureau and City of Rochester sewer pages and codes for a residential self-regenerating softener or brine-drain ban like LACSD Measure S. None turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain.

Also around here

Extra context besides the utility report and the chart above — geology, an unregulated table, or a published study. Not a second set of printed tap numbers.

  • MicroplasticsWHO’s 2019 review examined studies that found microplastic particles in treated tap and bottled water in many places. That is a published-occurrence finding, not a number from this city’s water-quality report, and we do not invent a particles-per-liter count for the tap.Microplastics in drinking-water — World Health Organization
  • PFASThe 2025 report prints a UCMR5 table. Rochester Water Works Hemlock samples are labeled ALL NOT DETECTED on that extract. Open the report for the full labeled grid. This file does not invent a ppt average.2025 Water Quality Report — City of Rochester Water Bureau

Rochester drinking water is treated from Hemlock and Ontario sources and delivered by the City of Rochester Water Bureau. No City of Rochester residential softener ban like LACSD Measure S turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion.

The 2025 entry-point table prints total hardness as two labeled columns — Hemlock 91 mg/L and Ontario 123 mg/L (range 120–130). We do not invent a blend.

Free chlorine in the distribution system 0.94 mg/L (range 0.13–1.90). TTHMs 43 µg/L (range 16–79), max LRAA 50. HAA5 27 µg/L (range 6–42), max LRAA 34. Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.

Sources

  1. 2025 Water Quality Report — City of Rochester Water Bureau. Accessed 2026-09-09.

Updated September 9, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.