How hard is the water in Garfield County, NE?
10.5 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Garfield County, NE is 180 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 10.5 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 2 samples at 2 sites between 2002 and 2004, drawn from every sampling site in the county, wells and surface water together.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 9.5 and 11.5 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: low (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 10.5 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. Because Garfield County straddles a decision line, check your own tap with a $10 test strip before you spend anything.
More on sizing a softener for your household.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 24,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 229 lb of salt a year (6 bags of 40 lb, about $41), 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 $141 a year.
Sizing at 10.5 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 630 | 24,000 | 77 lb |
| 2 | 1,260 | 24,000 | 153 lb |
| 4 | 2,520 | 24,000 | 307 lb |
| 6 | 3,780 | 32,000 | 460 lb |
Garfield County against the rest of Nebraska
Among the 89 Nebraska counties with data, Garfield County is number 65 of 89 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 53% of counties.
Softest in Nebraska: Blaine County at 2.1 gpg. Hardest: Cedar County at 36.5 gpg. Closest to Garfield County: Jefferson County (10.6), Hayes County (10.4), Custer County (10.9).