Hard water in Manitowoc, WI
Reported by Manitowoc Waterworks · January 2023
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Manitowoc has about 156 mg/L of hardness, which is 9.1 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as hard. The number comes from Manitowoc Waterworks, dated January 2023. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 85 to 156 mg/L.
Manitowoc sits 14 mg/L below the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 7 have softer water and 3 have harder. The range nearby runs from 67 mg/L in Neenah to 202 in Sheboygan.
What 156 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 156 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 × 9.1 gpg = 2,052 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 11 days.
EPA record for Manitowoc's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 34,500 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 Manitowoc water hard?
Yes. It measures about 156 mg/L (9.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Manitowoc in grains per gallon?
About 9.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 156 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.1.
What size water softener do I need in Manitowoc?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.1 gpg works out to about 2,052 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 11 days.
Has the Manitowoc water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for Manitowoc Waterworks since 2016.
Nearby cities
- Two Rivers136 mg/LHard
- Sheboygan202 mg/LVery hard
- De Pere194 mg/LVery hard
- Allouez136 mg/LHard
- Green Bay137 mg/LHard
- Little Chute87 mg/LModerately hard
- Kimberly73 mg/LModerately hard
- Appleton81 mg/LModerately hard
- Menasha166 mg/LHard
- Neenah67 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, January 11, 2023), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.