Hard water in Robinson, IL
Reported by Robinson-Palestine Water Commission · February 2025
- IL typical
- 139 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 32k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Robinson water measures 264 mg/L (15.4 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Robinson-Palestine Water Commission, dated February 2025.
Robinson sits 125 mg/L above the typical Illinois figure of 139. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 47 mg/L in Marion to 310 in Danville.
What 264 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 264 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 × 15.4 gpg = 3,474 grains a day. A 32,000-grain unit regenerates about every 9 days.
EPA record for Robinson's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 11,331 people from groundwater.
- 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 Robinson water hard?
Yes. It measures about 264 mg/L (15.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Robinson in grains per gallon?
About 15.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 264 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 15.4.
What size water softener do I need in Robinson?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 15.4 gpg works out to about 3,474 grains a day. A 32,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 9 days.
Has the Robinson water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Robinson-Palestine Water Commission since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Effingham108 mg/LModerately hard
- Mattoon108 mg/LModerately hard
- Savoy84 mg/LModerately hard
- Danville310 mg/LVery hard
- Urbana84 mg/LModerately hard
- Mount Zion103 mg/LModerately hard
- Champaign85 mg/LModerately hard
- Decatur261 mg/LVery hard
- Taylorville142 mg/LHard
- Marion47 mg/LSoft
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, February 4, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.