How hard is the water in Morgan County, UT?
17.9 grains per gallon
A softener will pay its way here.
The median hardness measured in Morgan County, UT is 306 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 17.9 gpg. That is very hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 49 samples at 49 sites between 1990 and 2015, 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 16.2 and 19.2 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: high (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 17.9 gpg a softener pays its way here. Before you buy, check the quoted unit's grain capacity against the sizing table below, and ask whether it regenerates on demand, which uses less salt than a timer. Call your utility for its own report if you are on city water.
More on sizing a softener for your household.
From 9.4 to 36.0 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Morgan County was 161.6 mg/L and the hardest 616.4 mg/L, a 4-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 19.2 gpg and the bottom quarter below 16.2 gpg.
Wells 17.9 gpg, rivers and lakes 15.2 gpg
49 groundwater samples from 49 wells put the median at 306.4 mg/L. 992 surface samples from 46 sites put it at 260 mg/L. In Morgan County the wells come out 2.7 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 391 lb of salt a year (10 bags of 40 lb, about $70), 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 $170 a year.
Sizing at 17.9 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,074 | 24,000 | 131 lb |
| 2 | 2,148 | 24,000 | 261 lb |
| 4 | 4,296 | 32,000 | 523 lb |
| 6 | 6,444 | 48,000 | 784 lb |
Morgan County against the rest of Utah
Among the 29 Utah counties with data, Morgan County is number 12 of 29 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 78% of counties.
Softest in Utah: Davis County at 9 gpg. Hardest: Emery County at 151.3 gpg. Closest to Morgan County: Grand County (17.5), Millard County (18.3), Sanpete County (18.9).