Hard water in Bourbonnais, IL
Reported by Aqua Illinois-Kankakee · August 2024
- IL typical
- 139 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 1
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Bourbonnais carries roughly 138 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 8.1 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Aqua Illinois-Kankakee, dated August 2024.
At 138 mg/L, Bourbonnais is close to the typical Illinois figure of 139 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 7 have harder. The range nearby runs from 98 mg/L in Coal City to 558 in Monee.
What 138 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 138 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 × 8.1 gpg = 1,816 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Bourbonnais's water system
1 health-based violation since 2016
Serves about 80,000 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 1
- Monitoring or reporting
- 5
- Open now
- 0
TapWaterData ties Bourbonnais to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Bourbonnais, so check the utility printed on your water bill.
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Water Treatment Rulefiltration and disinfection | 1 | 2024 | Resolved |
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 Bourbonnais water hard?
Yes. It measures about 138 mg/L (8.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Bourbonnais in grains per gallon?
About 8.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 138 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.1.
What size water softener do I need in Bourbonnais?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.1 gpg works out to about 1,816 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Bourbonnais water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 1 health-based violation for Aqua Illinois-Kankakee since 2016, involving Surface Water Treatment Rule. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Bradley138 mg/LHard
- Manteno138 mg/LHard
- Kankakee140 mg/LHard
- Manhattan372 mg/LVery hard
- Monee558 mg/LVery hard
- Richton Park206 mg/LVery hard
- Coal City98 mg/LModerately hard
- Crete524 mg/LVery hard
- Frankfort287 mg/LVery hard
- Park Forest163 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 4, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.