Hard water in Hawthorn Woods, IL
Reported by Lake County PW- Hawthorn Woods · August 2022
- IL typical
- 139 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Hawthorn Woods carries roughly 134 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 7.8 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Lake County PW- Hawthorn Woods, dated August 2022.
Hawthorn Woods sits close to the typical Illinois figure of 139 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 1 has softer water and 9 have harder. The range nearby runs from 84 mg/L in Lake Zurich to 573 in Lake Barrington.
What 134 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 134 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 × 7.8 gpg = 1,764 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Hawthorn Woods's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 675 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 1
- Open now
- 1
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 Hawthorn Woods water hard?
Yes. It measures about 134 mg/L (7.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Hawthorn Woods in grains per gallon?
About 7.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 134 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.8.
What size water softener do I need in Hawthorn Woods?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.8 gpg works out to about 1,764 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Hawthorn Woods water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Lake County PW- Hawthorn Woods since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Lake Zurich84 mg/LModerately hard
- Mundelein250 mg/LVery hard
- Wauconda146 mg/LHard
- Vernon Hills250 mg/LVery hard
- Lake Barrington573 mg/LVery hard
- Libertyville250 mg/LVery hard
- Buffalo Grove154 mg/LHard
- Grayslake250 mg/LVery hard
- Volo146 mg/LHard
- Lincolnshire380 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 5, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.