How hard is the water in Nome Census Area, AK?
5.1 grains per gallon
Optional: a softener helps, but plenty of homes skip it.
The median hardness measured in Nome Census Area, AK is 87 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 5.1 gpg. That is moderately hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 16 samples at 7 sites between 2004 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 2.5 and 6.2 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 5.1 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 Nome Census Area 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 0.1 to 9.7 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Nome Census Area was 1.8 mg/L and the hardest 166.5 mg/L, a 93-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 6.2 gpg and the bottom quarter below 2.5 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 111 lb of salt a year (3 bags of 40 lb, about $20), 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 $120 a year.
Sizing at 5.1 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 306 | 24,000 | 37 lb |
| 2 | 612 | 24,000 | 74 lb |
| 4 | 1,224 | 24,000 | 149 lb |
| 6 | 1,836 | 24,000 | 223 lb |
Nome Census Area against the rest of Alaska
Among the 22 Alaska counties with data, Nome Census Area is number 11 of 22 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 31% of counties.
Softest in Alaska: Petersburg Borough at 0.3 gpg. Hardest: Southeast Fairbanks Census Area at 16.3 gpg. Closest to Nome Census Area: Haines Borough (5.2), Bethel Census Area (4.8), Northwest Arctic Borough (5.9).