Elkhart makes its own water, and it doesn't soften it. The town pumps from city wells in a buried sand and gravel aquifer, retired its old treatment plant in June 2025, and treats at a new plant whose federal record lists aeration, sodium bisulfite, polyphosphate and chlorine, with no softening step. The state's hardness samples from those wells run from 346 to 480 mg/L, roughly 20 to 28 grains per gallon. In the Des Moines metro, that makes Elkhart the clearest case for a whole-home softener we've written up.
| Elkhart at a glance | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| Who supplies the water | Elkhart Water Supply, PWSID IA7730012, 882 people served (EPA SDWIS). The town itself has grown to an estimated 1,079 residents (Census 2024) |
| Where it comes from | City wells in a buried sand and gravel aquifer. The Iowa DNR Source Water Tracker lists Well #2 at 280 feet and Well #3 (1992) at 264 feet as active, and SDWIS adds Well #4, drilled in 2023 |
| Softened at the plant | No. SDWIS lists aeration, sodium bisulfite, polyphosphate and chlorination at Treatment Plant #2. Treatment Plant #1 was retired on 6 June 2025 |
| Published hardness | No finished-water figure is published. Iowa DNR well samples: 346 mg/L (new Well #4, 19 October 2023); 480 and 380 mg/L (samples labeled Well 2 and Well 3, 7 July 2020) |
Elkhart's old Treatment Plant #1 is listed in EPA's records with chlorination, pressure filtration and a phosphate inhibitor. It was retired on 6 June 2025. The plant that replaced it, Treatment Plant #2, lists aeration, sodium bisulfite as a reducing agent, a polyphosphate inhibitor and chlorination. A February 2023 bid notice for the city's water treatment plant expansion also listed a biological contactor and filter system in its scope.
That is a real investment for a town this size, and it shows. What none of those steps is designed to do is remove calcium and magnesium, the minerals that make water hard. Polyphosphate helps keep minerals in solution and protects pipes; it doesn't take them out. So there's no step in the plant that would bring the well numbers down before the water reaches your house. Your own free test will give you your number, but the starting point is clear.
The U.S. Geological Survey calls 121 to 180 mg/L hard and anything above 180 mg/L very hard. Every hardness sample on file for Elkhart's wells is well past that line: 346 mg/L from the new Well #4 and 480 and 380 mg/L from the samples labeled Well 2 and Well 3. At 17.1 mg/L to the grain, that's about 20 to 28 grains per gallon (our conversion). These are samples from the wells, not readings from a kitchen tap, which is exactly why we measure at the sink.
In daily life, water in that range shows up fast. It leaves white crust on faucets and showerheads, spots on dishes and glass, a film in the tub and scale inside the water heater. Soap and shampoo don't lather well, and towels come out of the wash stiff. None of it is dangerous, just hard on the house and the people cleaning it.
At these levels sizing matters more than usual. A softener that is too small for 20-plus grains regenerates constantly and uses more salt, so we size to your measured hardness and your household. Larger families may be better served by the XL.
The state record also shows sodium in Elkhart's treated water: eleven of twelve routine samples from 2002 to 2022 measured between 77.5 and 108 mg/L, and the new Well #4 sampled 83.9 mg/L (Iowa DNR). Families who want a lower-mineral glass at the kitchen sink usually pair the softener with reverse osmosis, certified to NSF/ANSI 58 for total dissolved solids.
Elkhart's population estimate rose from 881 in the 2020 base to 1,079 in 2024, about 22 percent in four years (U.S. Census Bureau). If you bought one of the newer homes in town, the water heater and fixtures are new too. Protecting them from the first year is the whole point of testing early.
Every price is all-in: equipment, installation, taxes and warranty. Installs are done by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind.
Annual service is $199 a year for a tank-RO home and $249 for a tankless-RO home. Travel is simple: the first 50 miles are free, then $1 a mile, and we quote it before you agree. You can also start with an instant quote.
Acreages outside town draw from private wells, with no plant and no annual report between the ground and the faucet. Polk County's Environmental Health Services offers free drinking-well water testing to private well users in the county, in conjunction with the Iowa DNR, covering coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrate, arsenic and manganese. Our guide to free well water testing in Iowa walks through the steps.
A bacteria result needs professional follow-up from the county or a certified well contractor before you rely on the water. Once a well has tested safe, our well water systems take on hardness, iron and sediment. A dual-tank well system is $3,450, or $3,800 with a tank RO, with a sediment filter at $500 and supplemental UV (NSF/ANSI 55 Class B) at $700. On a well we fit a tank RO rather than a tankless one.
We are licensed and insured. Our softeners are built from NSF/ANSI 44 certified components, and our reverse osmosis systems are certified to NSF/ANSI 58 for total dissolved solids. Installation is by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule, and stand behind. Our prices are published and all-in, and every recommendation starts from your own reading.
We come to your home, measure hardness, iron and total dissolved solids at your kitchen sink, put your number next to the state's well samples, and leave a written quote with no obligation. Request a quote or get an instant quote.
Alleman · Ankeny · Altoona · Polk City · Des Moines · All of Polk County
No. EPA SDWIS lists aeration, sodium bisulfite, polyphosphate and chlorination at Elkhart's Treatment Plant #2, with no softening step. The old Treatment Plant #1 was retired on 6 June 2025. Polyphosphate helps keep minerals in solution but doesn't remove them.
No finished-water hardness figure is published. Iowa DNR samples from the city's wells measured 346 mg/L from the new Well #4 on 19 October 2023, and 480 and 380 mg/L from samples labeled Well 2 and Well 3 on 7 July 2020. That's roughly 20 to 28 grains per gallon, well above the 180 mg/L line the U.S. Geological Survey calls very hard.
City wells in a buried sand and gravel aquifer. The Iowa DNR Source Water Tracker lists Well #2 at 280 feet and Well #3, drilled in 1992, at 264 feet as active, and EPA SDWIS adds Well #4, drilled in 2023. The system serves 882 people.
Most Elkhart homes will want one, because the plant doesn't soften and the well samples sit far above the very hard line. Our free in-home test measures hardness, iron and total dissolved solids at your sink, confirms your own number and sets the size of the unit.
A whole-home softener with carbon filtration is $2,500 all-in, or $2,850 with reverse osmosis, including equipment, installation, taxes and warranty. The XL with reverse osmosis is $3,150 for larger households. 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
.webp)
