Hard water in Marshfield, WI
Reported by Marshfield Utilities · June 2023
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 1
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Marshfield water measures 249 mg/L (14.6 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Marshfield Utilities, dated June 2023.
At 249 mg/L, Marshfield is 79 mg/L above the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 32 mg/L in Wausau to 260 in Plover.
What 249 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 249 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 × 14.6 gpg = 3,276 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.
EPA record for Marshfield's water system
1 health-based violation since 2016
Serves about 18,815 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 1
- Monitoring or reporting
- 0
- Open now
- 0
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling | 1 | 2020 | 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 Marshfield water hard?
Yes. It measures about 249 mg/L (14.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Marshfield in grains per gallon?
About 14.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 249 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 14.6.
What size water softener do I need in Marshfield?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 14.6 gpg works out to about 3,276 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.
Has the Marshfield water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 1 health-based violation for Marshfield Utilities since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule.
Nearby cities
- Wisconsin Rapids62 mg/LModerately hard
- Rib Mountain90 mg/LModerately hard
- Kronenwetter150 mg/LHard
- Rothschild157 mg/LHard
- Stevens Point173 mg/LHard
- Wausau32 mg/LSoft
- Plover260 mg/LVery hard
- Weston136 mg/LHard
- Merrill116 mg/LModerately hard
- Chippewa Falls49 mg/LSoft
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 21, 2023), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.