How hard is the water in Monroe County, WI?
9.1 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Monroe County, WI is 155 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 9.1 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 5 samples at 5 sites between 1991 and 2004, 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 9.1 and 12.3 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: medium (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 9.1 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 Monroe 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.
From 8.6 to 13.1 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Monroe County was 148 mg/L and the hardest 225 mg/L, a 2-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 12.3 gpg and the bottom quarter below 9.1 gpg.
Wells 9.1 gpg, rivers and lakes 11.1 gpg
5 groundwater samples from 5 wells put the median at 155 mg/L. 13 surface samples from 8 sites put it at 190 mg/L. In Monroe County the rivers and lakes come out 2.0 gpg harder. Here the surface water reads harder than the wells, which often points to streams fed by limestone springs or irrigation return flow. 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 198 lb of salt a year (5 bags of 40 lb, about $36), 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 $136 a year.
Sizing at 9.1 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 546 | 24,000 | 66 lb |
| 2 | 1,092 | 24,000 | 133 lb |
| 4 | 2,184 | 24,000 | 266 lb |
| 6 | 3,276 | 24,000 | 399 lb |
Monroe County against the rest of Wisconsin
Among the 72 Wisconsin counties with data, Monroe County is number 43 of 72 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 47% of counties.
Softest in Wisconsin: Vilas County at 1.4 gpg. Hardest: Calumet County at 28.4 gpg. Closest to Monroe County: Wood County (8.2), Menominee County (7.9), Buffalo County (10.5).