New Berlin, WI water hardness
How hard is New Berlin’s water?
That depends on whether the house is on the city system or a private well. City water is Lake Michigan supply purchased from Milwaukee Water Works, about 8 grains per gallon. Private wells draw the groundwater the city pumped before July 2009, which the utility published at 18 to 32 grains.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmSource: New Berlin Water Utility; Milwaukee Water Works published hardness
City water: Milwaukee’s lake supply
Since July 2009 the New Berlin Water Utility has bought every gallon it delivers from Milwaukee Water Works, and it treats none of it. Milwaukee lists the hardness of that Lake Michigan water at 137 milligrams per liter, with readings between 112 and 142.
Divided by 17.1, the 137 comes to about 8 grains per gallon, and the two ends of Milwaukee’s range work out to roughly 7 and 8. New Berlin’s own literature rounds it to 8 to 10.
Hard and very hard: placing both New Berlin figures
On the USGS scale, 121 to 180 milligrams per liter counts as hard and anything higher, from 10.5 grains up, as very hard. City water, at 137, falls inside the hard band and short of the very hard line.
The groundwater figure belongs to another class. Even 18 grains, the bottom of the utility’s old range, is well past 10.5, and 32 is roughly three times it.
Who the 8 grain figure leaves out
A house on a private well never received the lake water. It draws from the aquifer the city’s own wells used before 2009, and the utility’s published figure for that groundwater, 18 to 32 grains, is a guide to the aquifer rather than a reading of any one well.
Hardness is not the only line a well report may carry. Iron often turns up in the same water, and it belongs on the quote call as well.
Finding the figure for your house
On city water, Milwaukee’s published figure and New Berlin’s own literature are the ones to use, and the utility’s annual water quality report is the place to look for anything newer.
On a well, the figure comes from your lab report. If it is printed in milligrams per liter, dividing that figure by 17.1 gives grains. Not having a report yet is no barrier to a quote.
How the number shapes a New Berlin quote
On city water, the number mostly informs whether softening is worth it to you at all, and the utility’s view is that city customers should no longer need a softener. On a well, the number and how many people live in the house set the size of the system.
Either way, the plumber tests your tap’s hardness before touching a pipe, sets the softener from that result, then keeps retesting at the tap until zero shows.
Common questions
Why are there two New Berlin hardness figures?
Because New Berlin has two supplies. About 8 grains describes the lake water on the city system today; 18 to 32 grains is the utility’s figure for the groundwater it pumped before July 2009, which private wells still draw.
Is New Berlin city water soft?
No. At about 8 grains it falls in the USGS hard band, though well short of very hard. The utility still takes the view that city customers should no longer need a softener.
More for New Berlin homes
- Water softener installation in New Berlin, WI
- Water softener replacement in New Berlin, WI
- Well water softeners in New Berlin, WI
- New Berlin water guides
- About New Berlin Softener Co.
- Water softener quotes in New Berlin, WI
- New Berlin city water and the softener question
- Setting a softener for New Berlin water
- Lake water or a well: what your New Berlin house runs on
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