Hard water in West Des Moines, IA
Reported by West Des Moines Water Works · July 2025
- IA typical
- 183 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
West Des Moines water measures 135 mg/L (7.9 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from West Des Moines Water Works, dated July 2025.
At 135 mg/L, West Des Moines is 48 mg/L below the typical Iowa figure of 183. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 68 mg/L in Clive to 302 in Waukee.
What 135 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 135 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 × 7.9 gpg = 1,775 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for West Des Moines's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 73,959 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 0
- 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 West Des Moines water hard?
Yes. It measures about 135 mg/L (7.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in West Des Moines in grains per gallon?
About 7.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 135 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.9.
What size water softener do I need in West Des Moines?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.9 gpg works out to about 1,775 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the West Des Moines water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for West Des Moines Water Works since 2016.
Nearby cities
- Clive68 mg/LModerately hard
- Waukee302 mg/LVery hard
- Urbandale99 mg/LModerately hard
- Norwalk132 mg/LHard
- Des Moines296 mg/LVery hard
- Johnston126 mg/LHard
- Ankeny120 mg/LModerately hard
- Polk City151 mg/LHard
- Altoona296 mg/LVery hard
- Ames150 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 29, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.