How hard is the water in Bolivar County, MS?
5.3 grains per gallon
Optional: a softener helps, but plenty of homes skip it.
The median hardness measured in Bolivar County, MS is 90 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 5.3 gpg. That is moderately hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 37 samples at 11 sites between 1996 and 2019, drawn from groundwater wells, which is what most taps and private wells in the county draw on.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 0.8 and 17.9 gpg. That spread crosses a decision line, so some homes here land on a different answer. A $10 test strip on your own tap settles it. Confidence in the county figure: high (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 5.3 gpg this is your call. Look for white film on glasses and crust on the shower head: if you see little of either, you can live without one. If you do want one, a 24,000-grain unit is enough, so ask for that size rather than a bigger one. Because Bolivar County straddles a decision line, check your own tap with a $10 test strip before you spend anything.
More on when a softener is not worth it.
From 0.0 to 25.4 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Bolivar County was 0.8 mg/L and the hardest 434 mg/L, a 543-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 17.9 gpg and the bottom quarter below 0.8 gpg.
Wells 5.3 gpg, rivers and lakes 4.6 gpg
37 groundwater samples from 11 wells put the median at 90.4 mg/L. 152 surface samples from 7 sites put it at 77.9 mg/L. In Bolivar County the wells come out 0.7 gpg harder. Groundwater sits in contact with rock for years and picks up calcium and magnesium as it goes, so wells usually read harder. The two sources are close, so the county figure should hold whichever one your tap is on.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 24,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 115 lb of salt a year (3 bags of 40 lb, about $21), and roughly 2,346 gallons of regeneration water. Installed, most units run $1,000 to $4,500; spread over 15 years with salt, that is about $121 a year.
Sizing at 5.3 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 318 | 24,000 | 39 lb |
| 2 | 636 | 24,000 | 77 lb |
| 4 | 1,272 | 24,000 | 155 lb |
| 6 | 1,908 | 24,000 | 232 lb |
Bolivar County against the rest of Mississippi
Among the 78 Mississippi counties with data, Bolivar County is number 15 of 78 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 32% of counties.
Softest in Mississippi: Issaquena County at 0.1 gpg. Hardest: Franklin County at 60.5 gpg. Closest to Bolivar County: Clay County (5.4), Tunica County (5), Lee County (5).