Hard water in New London, WI

Tap water hardness
279mg/L
16.3gpg
Very hard

Reported by New London Waterworks · August 2022

WI typical
170 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
32k grain
Data
Utility report

New London water measures 279 mg/L (16.3 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from New London Waterworks, dated August 2022.

New London on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WI typical 170Neenah: 67 mg/LNeenah 67Kimberly: 73 mg/LKimberly 73Appleton: 81 mg/LAppleton 81Little Chute: 87 mg/LLittle Chute 87Oshkosh: 145 mg/LOshkosh 145Greenville: 152 mg/LGreenville 152Fox Crossing: 166 mg/LFox Crossing 166Menasha: 166 mg/LMenasha 166De Pere: 194 mg/LDe Pere 194Berlin: 204 mg/LBerlin 204New London 279mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WI 170Neenah: 67 mg/LNeenah 67Kimberly: 73 mg/LKimberly 73Appleton: 81 mg/LAppleton 81Greenville: 152 mg/LGreenville 152Fox Crossing: 166 mg/LFox Crossi. 166Menasha: 166 mg/LMenasha 166279 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

New London sits 109 mg/L above the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 67 mg/L in Neenah to 204 in Berlin.

What 279 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 279 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.

Softener size for New London

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 16.3 gpg = 3,672 grains a day. A 32,000-grain unit regenerates about every 8 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for New London's water system

New London Waterworks · PWSID WI4690398

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 7,187 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
1
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 New London water hard?

Yes. It measures about 279 mg/L (16.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.

What is the water hardness in New London in grains per gallon?

About 16.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 279 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 16.3.

What size water softener do I need in New London?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 16.3 gpg works out to about 3,672 grains a day. A 32,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 8 days.

Has the New London water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for New London Waterworks since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 112 cities in Wisconsin

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 15, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.