"Hardness" means a characteristic of water which represents the total concentration of polyvalent cations (e.g., calcium, magnesium) expressed as calcium carbonate in mg/l. Hardness may be calculate for most waters by adding together the values obtained from multiplying the concentrations of calcium by 2.497 and magnesium by 4.116 to obtain the equivalent calcium carbonate concentration.
117 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 1, § 029