Hard water in East Moline, IL
Reported by East Moline · May 2023
- IL typical
- 139 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
East Moline water measures 192 mg/L (11.2 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from East Moline, dated May 2023.
At 192 mg/L, East Moline is 53 mg/L above the typical Illinois figure of 139. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 54 mg/L in Kewanee to 401 in Canton.
What 192 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 192 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 × 11.2 gpg = 2,527 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 9 days.
EPA record for East Moline's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 21,374 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 5
- 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 East Moline water hard?
Yes. It measures about 192 mg/L (11.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in East Moline in grains per gallon?
About 11.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 192 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 11.2.
What size water softener do I need in East Moline?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 11.2 gpg works out to about 2,527 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 9 days.
Has the East Moline water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for East Moline since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Silvis212 mg/LVery hard
- Moline110 mg/LModerately hard
- Kewanee54 mg/LSoft
- Galesburg331 mg/LVery hard
- Sterling172 mg/LHard
- Monmouth175 mg/LHard
- Freeport350 mg/LVery hard
- Peoria272 mg/LVery hard
- Canton401 mg/LVery hard
- Bartonville283 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, May 7, 2023), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.