Hard water in Sturgeon Bay, WI

Tap water hardness
332mg/L
19.4gpg
Very hard

Reported by Sturgeon Bay Waterworks · August 2022

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

Tap water in Sturgeon Bay has about 332 mg/L of hardness, which is 19.4 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as very hard. The number comes from Sturgeon Bay Waterworks, dated August 2022.

Sturgeon Bay on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+WI typical 170Kimberly: 73 mg/LKimberly 73Appleton: 81 mg/LAppleton 81Little Chute: 87 mg/LLittle Chute 87Allouez: 136 mg/LAllouez 136Two Rivers: 136 mg/LTwo Rivers 136Green Bay: 137 mg/LGreen Bay 137Manitowoc: 156 mg/LManitowoc 156Menasha: 166 mg/LMenasha 166De Pere: 194 mg/LDe Pere 194Suamico: 196 mg/LSuamico 196Sturgeon Bay 332mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+WI 170Allouez: 136 mg/LAllouez 136Two Rivers: 136 mg/LTwo Rivers 136Green Bay: 137 mg/LGreen Bay 137Manitowoc: 156 mg/LManitowoc 156De Pere: 194 mg/LDe Pere 194Suamico: 196 mg/LSuamico 196332 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Sturgeon Bay sits 162 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 73 mg/L in Kimberly to 196 in Suamico.

What 332 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 332 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 Sturgeon Bay

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 19.4 gpg = 4,370 grains a day. A 32,000-grain unit regenerates about every 7 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Sturgeon Bay's water system

Sturgeon Bay Waterworks · PWSID WI4150526

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 9,700 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 Sturgeon Bay water hard?

Yes. It measures about 332 mg/L (19.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.

What is the water hardness in Sturgeon Bay in grains per gallon?

About 19.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 332 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 19.4.

What size water softener do I need in Sturgeon Bay?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 19.4 gpg works out to about 4,370 grains a day. A 32,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 7 days.

Has the Sturgeon Bay water system had EPA violations?

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

Nearby cities

All 112 cities in Wisconsin

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, August 8, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.