Hard water in Stevens Point, WI

Tap water hardness
173mg/L
10.1gpg
Hard

Reported by Stevens Point Waterworks · January 2025

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

Stevens Point water measures 173 mg/L (10.1 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Stevens Point Waterworks, dated January 2025.

Stevens Point on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WI typical 170Wausau: 32 mg/LWausau 32Wisconsin Rapids: 62 mg/LWisconsin Rapids 62Rib Mountain: 90 mg/LRib Mountain 90Merrill: 116 mg/LMerrill 116Weston: 136 mg/LWeston 136Kronenwetter: 150 mg/LKronenwetter 150Rothschild: 157 mg/LRothschild 157Marshfield: 249 mg/LMarshfield 249Plover: 260 mg/LPlover 260New London: 279 mg/LNew London 279Stevens Point 173mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WI 170Wisconsin Rapids: 62 mg/LWisconsin. 62Rib Mountain: 90 mg/LRib Mounta. 90Weston: 136 mg/LWeston 136Kronenwetter: 150 mg/LKronenwett. 150Rothschild: 157 mg/LRothschild 157Plover: 260 mg/LPlover 260173 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 173 mg/L, Stevens Point is close to the typical Wisconsin figure of 170 mg/L. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 7 have softer water and 3 have harder. The range nearby runs from 32 mg/L in Wausau to 279 in New London.

What 173 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 173 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 Stevens Point

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 10.1 gpg = 2,277 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Stevens Point's water system

Stevens Point Waterworks · PWSID WI7500141

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 26,717 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 Stevens Point water hard?

Yes. It measures about 173 mg/L (10.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.

What is the water hardness in Stevens Point in grains per gallon?

About 10.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 173 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 10.1.

What size water softener do I need in Stevens Point?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 10.1 gpg works out to about 2,277 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.

Has the Stevens Point water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Stevens Point Waterworks 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 28, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.