Hard water in Taylorville, IL
Reported by Taylorville · June 2022
- IL typical
- 139 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Taylorville carries roughly 142 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 8.3 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Taylorville, dated June 2022. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 94 to 142 mg/L.
At 142 mg/L, Taylorville is close to the typical Illinois figure of 139 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 103 mg/L in Mount Zion to 261 in Decatur.
What 142 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 142 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 × 8.3 gpg = 1,868 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 12 days.
EPA record for Taylorville's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 12,806 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 4
- Open now
- 3
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 Taylorville water hard?
Yes. It measures about 142 mg/L (8.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Taylorville in grains per gallon?
About 8.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 142 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.3.
What size water softener do I need in Taylorville?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.3 gpg works out to about 1,868 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 12 days.
Has the Taylorville water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Taylorville since 2016. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Springfield120 mg/LModerately hard
- Mount Zion103 mg/LModerately hard
- Decatur261 mg/LVery hard
- Lincoln222 mg/LVery hard
- Effingham108 mg/LModerately hard
- Mattoon108 mg/LModerately hard
- Jerseyville108 mg/LModerately hard
- East Alton190 mg/LVery hard
- Wood River128 mg/LHard
- Alton190 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 1, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.