How hard is the water in Washington County, IN?
8.9 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Washington County, IN is 153 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 8.9 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 140 samples at 16 sites between 1991 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 7.1 and 12 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: high (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 8.9 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 Washington 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 3.6 to 15.4 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Washington County was 62 mg/L and the hardest 263 mg/L, a 4-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 12 gpg and the bottom quarter below 7.1 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 195 lb of salt a year (5 bags of 40 lb, about $35), 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 $135 a year.
Sizing at 8.9 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 534 | 24,000 | 65 lb |
| 2 | 1,068 | 24,000 | 130 lb |
| 4 | 2,136 | 24,000 | 260 lb |
| 6 | 3,204 | 24,000 | 390 lb |
Washington County against the rest of Indiana
Among the 91 Indiana counties with data, Washington County is number 86 of 91 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 46% of counties.
Softest in Indiana: Brown County at 3.8 gpg. Hardest: Warrick County at 40.3 gpg. Closest to Washington County: Jefferson County (9.5), Scott County (9.6), Monroe County (9.7).