Hard water in Lakemoor, IL
Reported by Northern Illinois Utilities, Inc. · April 2024
- IL typical
- 139 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Lakemoor water measures 223 mg/L (13.0 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Northern Illinois Utilities, Inc., dated April 2024.
At 223 mg/L, Lakemoor is 84 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 134 mg/L in Hawthorn Woods to 573 in Lake Barrington.
What 223 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 223 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 × 13.0 gpg = 2,934 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 8 days.
EPA record for Lakemoor's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 2,720 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 5
- Open now
- 1
EPA lists Lakemoor as the system serving Lakemoor. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Lakemoor.
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 Lakemoor water hard?
Yes. It measures about 223 mg/L (13.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Lakemoor in grains per gallon?
About 13.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 223 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 13.0.
What size water softener do I need in Lakemoor?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 13.0 gpg works out to about 2,934 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 8 days.
Has the Lakemoor water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Lakemoor since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Volo146 mg/LHard
- Johnsburg353 mg/LVery hard
- McHenry384 mg/LVery hard
- Wauconda146 mg/LHard
- Wonder Lake292 mg/LVery hard
- Lake Villa205 mg/LVery hard
- Grayslake250 mg/LVery hard
- Lake Barrington573 mg/LVery hard
- Cary378 mg/LVery hard
- Hawthorn Woods134 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 3, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.