Hard water in Baraboo, WI
Reported by Baraboo Waterworks · August 2022
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Baraboo carries roughly 240 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 14.0 grains per gallon. That is very hard water. The number comes from Baraboo Waterworks, dated August 2022.
At 240 mg/L, Baraboo is 70 mg/L above the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 2 have softer water and 8 have harder. The range nearby runs from 144 mg/L in Columbus to 420 in Monona.
What 240 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 240 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 × 14.0 gpg = 3,159 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.
EPA record for Baraboo's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 12,703 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 2
- 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 Baraboo water hard?
Yes. It measures about 240 mg/L (14.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Baraboo in grains per gallon?
About 14.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 240 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 14.0.
What size water softener do I need in Baraboo?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 14.0 gpg works out to about 3,159 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.
Has the Baraboo water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Baraboo Waterworks since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Reedsburg162 mg/LHard
- Waunakee282 mg/LVery hard
- DeForest280 mg/LVery hard
- Middleton337 mg/LVery hard
- Madison341 mg/LVery hard
- Sun Prairie337 mg/LVery hard
- Verona360 mg/LVery hard
- Monona420 mg/LVery hard
- Columbus144 mg/LHard
- Fitchburg270 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 15, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.