Hard water in Lisbon, WI
Reported by Sussex Village Hall & Water Utility · July 2025
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 44
- Softener for 3 people
- 32k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Lisbon carries roughly 332 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 19.4 grains per gallon. That is very hard water. The number comes from Sussex Village Hall & Water Utility, dated July 2025.
Lisbon sits 162 mg/L above the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 3 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 134 mg/L in Wauwatosa to 485 in Slinger.
What 332 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 332 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 × 19.4 gpg = 4,372 grains a day. A 32,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.
EPA record for Lisbon's water system
44 health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 11,750 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 44
- Monitoring or reporting
- 13
- Open now
- 1
TapWaterData ties Lisbon to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Lisbon, so check the utility printed on your water bill.
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combined radiumnaturally occurring radioactivity | 35 | 2016–2019 | Resolved |
| Gross alpha radioactivitynaturally occurring radioactivity | 5 | 2018–2019 | Resolved |
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 Lisbon water hard?
Yes. It measures about 332 mg/L (19.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Lisbon in grains per gallon?
About 19.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 332 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 19.4.
What size water softener do I need in Lisbon?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 19.4 gpg works out to about 4,372 grains a day. A 32,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.
Has the Lisbon water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 44 health-based violations for Sussex Village Hall & Water Utility since 2016, involving Combined radium, Gross alpha radioactivity. There were also 13 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Sussex332 mg/LVery hard
- Pewaukee382 mg/LVery hard
- Menomonee Falls174 mg/LHard
- Germantown422 mg/LVery hard
- Brookfield424 mg/LVery hard
- Waukesha326 mg/LVery hard
- Jackson352 mg/LVery hard
- Slinger485 mg/LVery hard
- Mequon440 mg/LVery hard
- Wauwatosa134 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 28, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.