Hard water in Fountain, CO
Reported by Widefield WSD · May 2025
- CO typical
- 97 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 32k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Fountain carries roughly 335 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 19.6 grains per gallon. That is very hard water. The number comes from Widefield WSD, dated May 2025.
At 335 mg/L, Fountain is 238 mg/L above the typical Colorado figure of 97. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 36 mg/L in Cimarron Hills to 335 in Fort Carson.
What 335 mg/L means at home
Scale forms fast here. Kettles and coffee makers need regular descaling, and showerheads clog unless you clean them.
Tank water heaters collect mineral sediment that insulates the water from the burner, so flushing the tank matters more than usual.
Dishes and glass shower doors spot easily. Soap scum and a dull film on hair or laundry are common complaints.
Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.
What to do about it
At 335 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.
Ion-exchange water softener
The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.
Salt-free conditioner
No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.
Reverse osmosis or carbon filter
Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 19.6 gpg = 4,408 grains a day. A 32,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.
EPA record for Fountain's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 25,130 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 7
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists Fountain City of as the system serving Fountain. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Fountain.
Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.
Questions
Is Fountain water hard?
Yes. It measures about 335 mg/L (19.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Fountain in grains per gallon?
About 19.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 335 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 19.6.
What size water softener do I need in Fountain?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 19.6 gpg works out to about 4,408 grains a day. A 32,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.
Has the Fountain water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Fountain City of since 2016. There were also 7 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Fort Carson335 mg/LVery hard
- Security-Widefield335 mg/LVery hard
- Stratmoor50 mg/LSoft
- Cimarron Hills36 mg/LSoft
- Colorado Springs36 mg/LSoft
- Pueblo West169 mg/LHard
- Pueblo139 mg/LHard
- Cañon City132 mg/LHard
- Meridian96 mg/LModerately hard
- Dove Valley96 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, May 6, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.