Why Germantown's water is three times as hard as the lake suburbs
Twenty minutes east of Germantown, the suburbs drink lake water. Germantown drinks groundwater from six village wells, and the Village's published average, 24 grains, comes to three times the hardness of those suburbs.
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The gap begins with the source. The lake-water suburbs to the east are supplied from a lake; the Village of Germantown pumps every gallon it delivers from six municipal wells, and all six draw groundwater.
Hardness is the calcium and magnesium a supply carries in solution. By the published figures, Germantown's wells deliver three times as much of it as the lake water east of the village.
Where 24 grains ranks
The Village states its hardness as 24 grains per gallon, the combined average of all six wells, sampled on October 6, 2018. Among published municipal figures in southeastern Wisconsin, that ranks with the hardest.
The USGS scale says the same thing in its own terms. Past 180 milligrams per liter, or 10.5 grains, water counts as very hard, and Germantown's average is more than twice that.
Why the gap is not closing
Some communities in the region have changed water supplies over the years. Germantown is not one of them: its system has no lake water in it and no plan to add any.
So the difference between the village and the suburbs to the east is a lasting feature of where each gets its water, not something to wait out.
What the difference means in a house
The minerals that make water hard are the ones that dry into spots and film on glass and fixtures, and that build scale inside water heaters. Germantown's water carries them at three times the lake suburbs' level.
None of that makes softening mandatory. It does mean that a household used to lake water is now on water the USGS calls very hard, which is worth knowing before deciding anything.
Where your own water fits
The comparison covers the village mains. A private well near Germantown sits outside both the Village's average and this comparison, and only its own lab sheet says where it falls.
If you decide to soften, the quote is one phone call and one price, and the plumber retests at your faucet until it shows zero.
Common questions
Is Germantown's water really three times as hard as the lake suburbs?
By the published figures, yes. The Village's six-well average is 24 grains, three times the hardness of the lake-water suburbs twenty minutes east.
Do private wells near Germantown compare the same way?
Not necessarily. The comparison is between the Village's published average and the lake suburbs. A private well has a hardness of its own, which only its lab sheet or a faucet test shows.
More for Germantown homes
- Water softener installation in Germantown, WI
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- Germantown, WI water hardness
- Germantown water guides
- About Germantown Water Softener Co.
- Water softener quotes in Germantown, WI
- How to read Germantown's six-well hardness average
- Germantown softener settings, from 24 grains to your faucet
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