Dallas County has no single water story, and that is the useful thing to know about it. Adel softens with reverse osmosis. Perry softens with lime at two plants. Waukee produces none of its own and buys treated water from the regional system. Granger runs its own wells and plant and does not soften at all. Four towns, four genuinely different waters — and then a rural county full of private wells with no treatment behind them at all.
So “what do I need in Dallas County?” has no county-wide answer. This page gives you the published record for each town we serve, what it points to, and what we install and repair here.
Kind Water Co installs water softeners, whole-home carbon filtration and reverse osmosis drinking-water systems across Dallas County, repairs and services equipment already installed — including brands we did not sell — and builds complete well systems on the acreages. Installation is carried out by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind, normally in a single visit.
Every job starts with a free in-home water test: hardness, iron and total dissolved solids measured at your own kitchen sink, written down, and left with you whether you buy anything or not. That matters more here than in a one-utility county, because your neighbour two towns over is drinking chemically different water. The first 50 miles of travel are free, then $1 a mile, quoted before you agree to anything.
To start, book the free in-home water test or build an instant quote.
Each town below has its own page with the full sourced record. Several — Clive, Grimes, Urbandale and West Des Moines — sit across the Polk County line and are covered in more depth on the Polk County hub.
| Town | Who supplies the water | Softened before it reaches you | Published hardness | What the record points to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adel | Adel Municipal Water Works, its own wells and plant | Yes — by reverse osmosis, with caustic soda pH adjustment and sand filtration | None for finished water; raw wells 350 to 440 mg/L before treatment | A municipal RO plant is unusual in Iowa; test before assuming you need a softener |
| Perry | Perry Municipal Water Works, two plants | Yes — lime softening, lime treatment and recarbonation | None published, and the Iowa DNR portal returns no result | Softened at the plant, but with no number to size from — a reading decides it |
| Waukee | City of Waukee, a Central Iowa Water Works founding member that buys its water | Yes, at the supplier's plant — the 2026 report names Waukee among the areas served by L.D. McMullen | 7.5 to 8.5 grains per gallon | The only measured finished range published in the metro; softened, and still hard |
| Granger | Granger Muni Water Supply, its own wells and plant | No — aeration, permanganate, pressure filtration and chlorination, no softening step | None published | Nothing softens this water before it arrives; softener and iron work |
| Clive (Polk/Dallas) | Clive Water Department, buying through Central Iowa Water Works | Yes, upstream | None; supplier's goal is under 150 mg/L, about 8.76 grains | Softened supply; reverse osmosis for drinking and cooking water |
| Grimes (Polk/Dallas) | City of Grimes Water Utility, also a CIWW production site | Yes — a lime plant and a reverse osmosis plant, blended | No numeric figure; the City warns a home softener could over-soften | Reverse osmosis is usually the whole job here |
| Urbandale (Polk/Dallas) | Urbandale Water Utility, which operates no wells or plants of its own | Yes, at the supplier's plant | None from Urbandale; supplier's target under 150 mg/L | The metro's highest trihalomethanes at 70 µg/L; carbon and RO |
| West Des Moines (Polk/Dallas) | West Des Moines Water Works, operator of the A.C. Ward plant | Yes — lime and soda ash, 370 mg/L down to 150 mg/L | 150 mg/L finished, which the utility calls “in the mid-range for hard” | Two supplies in one city; which one feeds your address changes the answer |
We also serve the smaller Dallas County communities — Dallas Center, Van Meter, Woodward, De Soto, Dexter, Redfield and Minburn among them — which do not yet have their own pages. The free in-home test reaches all of them, and the travel terms are the same.
Most Iowa utilities never print a hardness figure, because it is unregulated and not required in a Consumer Confidence Report. Waukee's official Water Quality page gives an average of 7.5 to 8.5 grains per gallon — a measured range, not a target. That makes it the most useful single number in the Des Moines metro, because it shows what lime-softened regional water actually arrives at, rather than what a utility aims for. It is also, plainly, still hard. See the Waukee page.
Granger runs its own wells and treatment plant, and EPA's treatment record lists forced-draft aeration, permanganate, pressure filtration, chlorination and a phosphate blend — with no softening objective anywhere in it. Permanganate and filtration in that combination is an iron and manganese sequence, which tells you what the source water carries. In Granger a softener is the likely recommendation, and it should be specified with the iron reading in hand rather than hardness alone. See the Granger page.
Outside the municipal service areas, Dallas County homes draw private wells with no plant, no softening and no annual report. Iron, hardness, sulfur, nitrate and bacteria are all yours to manage.
Private well testing in Iowa is funded through the Iowa DNR and administered by county environmental health offices, so contact Dallas County Environmental Health for what its programme covers and how to request a test. We are not going to print a programme detail for this county that we have not verified ourselves. Our guide to free well water testing in Iowa covers the steps, and the well water testing guide explains what each result means.
Our well water system is a dual-tank build at $3,450, or $3,800 with tank RO, plus UV disinfection at $700 and sediment pre-filtration at $500 when the readings call for them. On a well we fit a tank RO rather than a tankless unit, because high dissolved solids cost a tankless system its pressure. UV is a supplemental NSF/ANSI 55 Class B unit for water that has already tested safe; it is not the fix for a contaminated well.
Every price is all-in: equipment, installation, taxes and a lifetime parts warranty.
Service is priced the same way: a full diagnostic call is $199, a known-issue trip is $99 plus the part, and annual maintenance is $199 a year for a tank-RO home or $249 for a tankless-RO home. We work on equipment we did not sell — our water softener repair guide lists what to check before you call. Financing is 0%, and military and first responders take $100 off.
In a county where four towns are treated four different ways, a published figure from the next town over tells you very little. We come to your kitchen sink, measure hardness, iron and total dissolved solids, show you the numbers and leave a written quote, with no obligation. If the right answer is a softener, reverse osmosis, both or nothing, that is what you will hear. Request a quote or get an instant quote, call or text 319-319-6566, or email ryan@kindwaterco.com.
It depends entirely on the town, because four different utilities treat it four different ways. Waukee publishes an average of 7.5 to 8.5 grains per gallon after treatment. Adel softens by reverse osmosis. Perry softens with lime. Granger does not soften at all. There is no county-wide hardness figure, and we will not invent one.
In Granger, very likely, because nothing softens that water before it reaches the house. In Waukee, at 7.5 to 8.5 grains, most homes benefit. In Adel and Grimes, where the plant already softens by reverse osmosis, often not — and we will say so. The free in-home test settles it in about fifteen minutes.
EPA SDWIS lists reverse osmosis, caustic soda pH adjustment, gravity sand filtration, forced-draft aeration and orthophosphate on Adel's treatment record. Municipal RO is unusual in Iowa — most towns that soften use lime. The Iowa DNR portal holds three raw-well samples taken before treatment at 440, 360 and 350 mg/L, which is what the plant is starting from.
Private well testing in Iowa is funded through the Iowa DNR and administered by county environmental health offices. Contact Dallas County Environmental Health for what its programme covers and how to request a test. We have not verified the Dallas County programme details ourselves, so we are not going to print them.
A whole-home softener with carbon filtration is $2,500, or $2,850 with reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis alone is $800 tank or $900 tankless, and a well dual-tank system is $3,450, or $3,800 with a tank RO. Prices are all-in, with equipment, installation, taxes and warranty. Travel is free for the first 50 miles, then $1 a mile, quoted before you agree.
Every number on this page comes from a public record. Here is where to open each one yourself.
Whole-home water softening, filtration, and reverse-osmosis drinking water — professionally installed and built to last a lifetime.
Serving Marion, Cedar Rapids & surrounding Linn County communities
Kind Water Co is a d/b/a of Zero Cap Investments LLC · 2258 Bison St, Apt B, Marion, IA 52302
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