How hard is the water in Rib Mountain, WI?

Tap water hardness
90mg/L
5.3gpg
Moderately hardReports range 76–90

Reported by Rib Mountain Sanitary Dist · January 2025

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

Tap water in Rib Mountain has about 90 mg/L of hardness, which is 5.3 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as moderately hard. The number comes from Rib Mountain Sanitary Dist, dated January 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 76 to 90 mg/L.

Rib Mountain on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WI typical 170Wausau: 32 mg/LWausau 32Wisconsin Rapids: 62 mg/LWisconsin Rapids 62Rhinelander: 76 mg/LRhinelander 76Merrill: 116 mg/LMerrill 116Weston: 136 mg/LWeston 136Kronenwetter: 150 mg/LKronenwetter 150Rothschild: 157 mg/LRothschild 157Stevens Point: 173 mg/LStevens Point 173Marshfield: 249 mg/LMarshfield 249Plover: 260 mg/LPlover 260Rib Mountain 90mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WI 170Wausau: 32 mg/LWausau 32Merrill: 116 mg/LMerrill 116Weston: 136 mg/LWeston 136Kronenwetter: 150 mg/LKronenwett. 150Rothschild: 157 mg/LRothschild 157Stevens Point: 173 mg/LStevens Po. 17390 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Rib Mountain sits 80 mg/L below the typical Wisconsin figure of 170. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 3 have softer water and 7 have harder. The range nearby runs from 32 mg/L in Wausau to 260 in Plover.

What 90 mg/L means at home

You may see faint white spots on glasses and shower doors after the water dries.

Scale builds up slowly. A kettle or coffee maker needs descaling now and then, maybe every few months.

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

Optional. Plenty of households at this level live with it and descale the kettle now and then.

Water softener

Worth a look if spots on glass bother you, or if your tankless water heater manual asks for softer water.

Carbon filter

Improves taste and removes chlorine. It leaves calcium and magnesium in place.

Softener size for Rib Mountain

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 5.3 gpg = 1,188 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 20 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Rib Mountain's water system

Rib Mountain Water Utility · PWSID WI7370660

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 6,398 people from groundwater.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
2
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 Rib Mountain water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 90 mg/L (5.3 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Rib Mountain in grains per gallon?

About 5.3 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 90 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 5.3.

What size water softener do I need in Rib Mountain?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 5.3 gpg works out to about 1,188 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 20 days.

Has the Rib Mountain water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Rib Mountain Water Utility since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 112 cities in Wisconsin

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, January 24, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.