Hard water in Reedsburg, WI

Tap water hardness
162mg/L
9.5gpg
Hard

Reported by Reedsburg Waterworks · August 2022

WI typical
170 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Tap water in Reedsburg has about 162 mg/L of hardness, which is 9.5 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as hard. The number comes from Reedsburg Waterworks, dated August 2022.

Reedsburg on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WI typical 170Baraboo: 240 mg/LBaraboo 240Fitchburg: 270 mg/LFitchburg 270DeForest: 280 mg/LDeForest 280Waunakee: 282 mg/LWaunakee 282Middleton: 337 mg/LMiddleton 337Sun Prairie: 337 mg/LSun Prairie 337Madison: 341 mg/LMadison 341Cottage Grove: 347 mg/LCottage Grove 347Verona: 360 mg/LVerona 360Monona: 420 mg/LMonona 420Reedsburg 162mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WI 170Baraboo: 240 mg/LBaraboo 240DeForest: 280 mg/LDeForest 280Waunakee: 282 mg/LWaunakee 282Middleton: 337 mg/LMiddleton 337Madison: 341 mg/LMadison 341Verona: 360 mg/LVerona 360162 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

At 162 mg/L, Reedsburg is close to the typical Wisconsin figure of 170 mg/L. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has softer water. The range nearby runs from 240 mg/L in Baraboo to 420 in Monona.

What 162 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 162 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 Reedsburg

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 9.5 gpg = 2,131 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 11 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Reedsburg's water system

Reedsburg Waterworks · PWSID WI1570102

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 9,984 people from groundwater.

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 Reedsburg water hard?

Yes. It measures about 162 mg/L (9.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.

What is the water hardness in Reedsburg in grains per gallon?

About 9.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 162 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.5.

What size water softener do I need in Reedsburg?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.5 gpg works out to about 2,131 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 11 days.

Has the Reedsburg water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Reedsburg Waterworks since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 112 cities in Wisconsin

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 16, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.