Hard water in Fox Point, WI
Reported by North Shore Water Commission · July 2025
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Fox Point has about 133 mg/L of hardness, which is 7.8 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as hard. The number comes from North Shore Water Commission, dated July 2025.
At 133 mg/L, Fox Point is 37 mg/L below 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 129 mg/L in Whitefish Bay to 440 in Mequon.
What 133 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 133 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 × 7.8 gpg = 1,746 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Fox Point's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 6,808 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 0
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists Fox Point Waterworks as the system serving Fox Point. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Fox Point.
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 Fox Point water hard?
Yes. It measures about 133 mg/L (7.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Fox Point in grains per gallon?
About 7.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 133 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 7.8.
What size water softener do I need in Fox Point?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 7.8 gpg works out to about 1,746 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Fox Point water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Fox Point Waterworks since 2016.
Nearby cities
- Glendale134 mg/LHard
- Whitefish Bay129 mg/LHard
- Shorewood130 mg/LHard
- Mequon440 mg/LVery hard
- Milwaukee135 mg/LHard
- Wauwatosa134 mg/LHard
- Cedarburg400 mg/LVery hard
- Menomonee Falls174 mg/LHard
- Grafton370 mg/LVery hard
- West Allis135 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 14, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.