How hard is the water in Pendleton County, WV?
7.3 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Pendleton County, WV is 125 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 7.3 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 6 samples at 6 sites between 1994 and 1995, 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 4.6 and 15.2 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 7.3 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 Pendleton 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 2.5 to 26.9 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Pendleton County was 43.6 mg/L and the hardest 461 mg/L, an 11-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 15.2 gpg and the bottom quarter below 4.6 gpg. So even here some sites draw water soft enough to need nothing at all.
Wells 7.3 gpg, rivers and lakes 5.2 gpg
6 groundwater samples from 6 wells put the median at 125 mg/L. 34 surface samples from 9 sites put it at 89.7 mg/L. In Pendleton County the wells come out 2.1 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 159 lb of salt a year (4 bags of 40 lb, about $29), 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 $129 a year.
Sizing at 7.3 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 438 | 24,000 | 53 lb |
| 2 | 876 | 24,000 | 107 lb |
| 4 | 1,752 | 24,000 | 213 lb |
| 6 | 2,628 | 24,000 | 320 lb |
Pendleton County against the rest of West Virginia
Among the 54 West Virginia counties with data, Pendleton County is number 19 of 54 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 40% of counties.
Softest in West Virginia: Calhoun County at 0.3 gpg. Hardest: Jefferson County at 20.4 gpg. Closest to Pendleton County: Mingo County (7.3), Lincoln County (7.2), Pocahontas County (7.4).