Hard water in Burlington, WI
Reported by Burlington Waterworks · February 2025
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Burlington has about 248 mg/L of hardness, which is 14.5 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as very hard. The number comes from Burlington Waterworks, dated February 2025.
Burlington sits 78 mg/L above the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 88 mg/L in Elkhorn to 360 in Delavan.
What 248 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 248 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 × 14.5 gpg = 3,262 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.
EPA record for Burlington's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 11,043 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 Burlington water hard?
Yes. It measures about 248 mg/L (14.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Burlington in grains per gallon?
About 14.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 248 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 14.5.
What size water softener do I need in Burlington?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 14.5 gpg works out to about 3,262 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.
Has the Burlington water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Burlington Waterworks since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Union Grove313 mg/LVery hard
- Elkhorn88 mg/LModerately hard
- Muskego276 mg/LVery hard
- Bristol270 mg/LVery hard
- Delavan360 mg/LVery hard
- Sturtevant136 mg/LHard
- Franklin210 mg/LVery hard
- Mount Pleasant136 mg/LHard
- Kenosha140 mg/LHard
- Caledonia300 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, February 6, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.