How hard is the water in Charlevoix County, MI?
8.8 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Charlevoix County, MI is 150 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 8.8 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 11 samples at 11 sites between 2003 and 2010, drawn from every sampling site in the county, wells and surface water together.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 7.3 and 9.6 gpg. The whole middle of that range gives the same answer, so a test of your own tap is unlikely to change it. Confidence in the county figure: medium (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 8.8 gpg a softener is worth getting, mainly to protect the water heater and cut soap use. Get at least two quotes, ask each installer what grain capacity they are fitting, and check it against the sizing table below.
More on sizing a softener for your household.
From 5.8 to 10.5 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Charlevoix County was 100 mg/L and the hardest 180 mg/L, a 2-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 9.6 gpg and the bottom quarter below 7.3 gpg.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 24,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 191 lb of salt a year (5 bags of 40 lb, about $34), 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 $134 a year.
Sizing at 8.8 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 528 | 24,000 | 64 lb |
| 2 | 1,056 | 24,000 | 128 lb |
| 4 | 2,112 | 24,000 | 257 lb |
| 6 | 3,168 | 24,000 | 385 lb |
Charlevoix County against the rest of Michigan
Among the 82 Michigan counties with data, Charlevoix County is number 47 of 82 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 46% of counties.
Softest in Michigan: Luce County at 1.9 gpg. Hardest: Wayne County at 47.4 gpg. Closest to Charlevoix County: Benzie County (8.8), Montmorency County (8.8), Van Buren County (8.8).