Hard water in Terre Haute, IN
Reported by Fci & FPC - Terre Haute · October 2024
- IN typical
- 178 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Terre Haute carries roughly 221 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 12.9 grains per gallon. That is very hard water. The number comes from Fci & FPC - Terre Haute, dated October 2024.
At 221 mg/L, Terre Haute is 43 mg/L above the typical Indiana figure of 178. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 42 mg/L in Bloomington to 272 in Lebanon.
What 221 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 221 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 × 12.9 gpg = 2,907 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 8 days.
EPA record for Terre Haute's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 1,390 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 6
- 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 Terre Haute water hard?
Yes. It measures about 221 mg/L (12.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Terre Haute in grains per gallon?
About 12.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 221 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 12.9.
What size water softener do I need in Terre Haute?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 12.9 gpg works out to about 2,907 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 8 days.
Has the Terre Haute water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Fci & FPC - Terre Haute since 2016. There were also 6 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Bloomington42 mg/LSoft
- Danville178 mg/LHard
- Mooresville178 mg/LHard
- Plainfield178 mg/LHard
- Avon178 mg/LHard
- Brownsburg181 mg/LVery hard
- Lebanon272 mg/LVery hard
- Whitestown178 mg/LHard
- Speedway178 mg/LHard
- Zionsville178 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 23, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.