Hard water in Salida, CO

Tap water hardness
143mg/L
8.4gpg
Hard

Reported by Salida City of · January 2025

CO typical
97 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Salida water measures 143 mg/L (8.4 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Salida City of, dated January 2025.

Salida on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+CO typical 97Colorado Springs: 36 mg/LColorado Springs 36Cimarron Hills: 36 mg/LCimarron Hills 36Stratmoor: 50 mg/LStratmoor 50Cañon City: 132 mg/LCañon City 132Pueblo: 139 mg/LPueblo 139Aspen: 168 mg/LAspen 168Pueblo West: 169 mg/LPueblo West 169Fort Carson: 335 mg/LFort Carson 335Security-Widefield: 335 mg/LSecurity-Widefield 335Fountain: 335 mg/LFountain 335Salida 143mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+CO 97Colorado Springs: 36 mg/LColorado S. 36Stratmoor: 50 mg/LStratmoor 50Cañon City: 132 mg/LCañon City 132Aspen: 168 mg/LAspen 168Pueblo West: 169 mg/LPueblo West 169Fort Carson: 335 mg/LFort Carson 335143 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 143 mg/L, Salida is 46 mg/L above the typical Colorado figure of 97. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 36 mg/L in Colorado Springs to 335 in Fort Carson.

What 143 mg/L means at home

Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.

Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.

Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.

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 143 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.

Softener size for Salida

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 8.4 gpg = 1,881 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 12 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Salida's water system

Salida City of · PWSID CO0108700

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 5,666 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
43
Open now
0

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 Salida water hard?

Yes. It measures about 143 mg/L (8.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.

What is the water hardness in Salida in grains per gallon?

About 8.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 143 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.4.

What size water softener do I need in Salida?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.4 gpg works out to about 1,881 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 12 days.

Has the Salida water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Salida City of since 2016. There were also 43 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 64 cities in Colorado

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, January 23, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.