Hard water in River Falls, WI
Reported by River Falls Waterworks · October 2025
- WI typical
- 170 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 1
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
River Falls water measures 180 mg/L (10.5 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from River Falls Waterworks, dated October 2025.
At 180 mg/L, River Falls is close to the typical Wisconsin figure of 170 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 49 mg/L in Chippewa Falls to 337 in Onalaska.
What 180 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 180 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 × 10.5 gpg = 2,369 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for River Falls's water system
1 health-based violation since 2016
Serves about 16,000 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 1
- Monitoring or reporting
- 1
- Open now
- 1
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling | 1 | 2024 | 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 River Falls water hard?
Yes. It measures about 180 mg/L (10.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in River Falls in grains per gallon?
About 10.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 180 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 10.5.
What size water softener do I need in River Falls?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 10.5 gpg works out to about 2,369 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the River Falls water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 1 health-based violation for River Falls Waterworks since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Hudson210 mg/LVery hard
- New Richmond194 mg/LVery hard
- Menomonie150 mg/LHard
- Eau Claire101 mg/LModerately hard
- Altoona102 mg/LModerately hard
- Lake Hallie61 mg/LModerately hard
- Rice Lake96 mg/LModerately hard
- Chippewa Falls49 mg/LSoft
- Holmen319 mg/LVery hard
- Onalaska337 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 22, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.