How hard is the water in Washington County, UT?
15.1 grains per gallon
A softener will pay its way here.
The median hardness measured in Washington County, UT is 258 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 15.1 gpg. That is very hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 367 samples at 107 sites between 1990 and 2023, 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 11.6 and 41.8 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 15.1 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 4.4 to 155.7 gpg
The softest single sample on record in Washington County was 75.2 mg/L and the hardest 2,665 mg/L, a 35-fold gap. The top quarter of sites read above 41.8 gpg and the bottom quarter below 11.6 gpg.
Wells 15.1 gpg, rivers and lakes 14.4 gpg
367 groundwater samples from 107 wells put the median at 258 mg/L. 2,296 surface samples from 106 sites put it at 247.2 mg/L. In Washington County the wells come out 0.7 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 329 lb of salt a year (9 bags of 40 lb, about $59), 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 $159 a year.
Sizing at 15.1 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 906 | 24,000 | 110 lb |
| 2 | 1,812 | 24,000 | 220 lb |
| 4 | 3,624 | 32,000 | 441 lb |
| 6 | 5,436 | 40,000 | 661 lb |
Washington County against the rest of Utah
Among the 29 Utah counties with data, Washington County is number 19 of 29 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 69% of counties.
Softest in Utah: Davis County at 9 gpg. Hardest: Emery County at 151.3 gpg. Closest to Washington County: Beaver County (14.9), Rich County (14.9), Iron County (15.4).