Kind Water Co installs water softeners, reverse osmosis systems, and whole-home filtration in Ely, Iowa. Ely owns two wells drilled into the Silurian aquifer, and the city's own engineering documents describe well houses that handle metering and chemical addition only — no softening — which means Silurian hardness arrives at your tap untouched.
| Quick fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Utility | Ely Water Supply (PWSID IA5728018), City of Ely, Linn County — serving 2,328 people per Iowa DNR |
| Water source | Two city wells: Well 1 on Rowley Street beside City Hall, drilled 415 feet into the Silurian aquifer in 1971, and Well 2 on Hillcrest Street, drilled 344 feet into the Silurian/Ordovician in 1990. Iowa DNR's Source Water Tracker confirms both active |
| Softened at the plant? | No. The city's own documents describe well houses handling metering and chemical addition only — there is no municipal softening step, so the aquifer's hardness reaches your house |
| One distinguishing fact | Growth is forcing a third well. A preliminary engineering report identified the need, and the city planned to fund Well #3 with ARPA money and the Iowa Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, targeting service no later than June 30, 2026 — the first new Ely well since 1991 |
Ely runs one of the most straightforward water systems in Linn County, and its own request-for-qualifications document lays it out in detail most cities never publish. Well 1 went in beside City Hall on Rowley Street in 1971, 415 feet down into the Silurian aquifer. Well 2 followed on Hillcrest Street in 1990, at 344 feet into the Silurian/Ordovician. Iowa DNR's Source Water Tracker lists both as active, serving 2,328 people on groundwater.
The detail that matters for your house is what those well houses do — and do not do. The city describes them as handling metering and chemical addition, which means disinfection and stabilization, not softening. Whatever the Silurian dolomite puts into the water, your plumbing gets.
Ely publishes no hardness figure and we will not invent one. What we can tell you is the neighborhood context from cities that do publish: Center Point, on comparable Linn County groundwater, publishes 17 grains per gallon; Hiawatha publishes 14 to 20 grains per gallon in its 2025 report. Those are their numbers, not Ely's — the only figure that governs what you should buy is the one measured at your kitchen sink, which we do free.
The growth story is worth knowing too. Ely has outgrown a two-well system, and the city moved to fund a third well through ARPA dollars and the state revolving fund, with a target of getting Well #3 into service no later than June 30, 2026. A new well can shift the blend a system delivers, which is another reason to test rather than assume.
It is not a safety problem. It is spotted glasses, film on the shower door, soap that will not lather, stiff towels, and scale building up inside the water heater and every fixture until appliances quit early. Softened water usually means less soap, less scrubbing, and equipment that lasts. See the published numbers we could verify on our Iowa hardness by city page.
All-in pricing — equipment, install by a licensed plumbing professional, taxes, lifetime parts warranty.
0% financing; $100 off for military and first responders. Full pricing on our cost page.
Between Ely, Shueyville and the Johnson County line, plenty of acreages run on their own wells. Nobody publishes a report for those. The Iowa DNR recommends annual testing for bacteria and nitrate, and Iowa's Private Well Grants program covers free county lab testing through your county environmental health office.
Read our well water guide, free well testing page, or well water treatment — and see the Linn County water overview for how the whole county's water fits together.
We are fifteen minutes up the road in Marion — family-owned, founded 2021. Licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule and stand behind do the installs; insured and bonded. Lifetime parts warranty, five years on media, one year on labor, and a price that does not move.
Ten minutes at your sink, your own numbers, a written price before we leave. No obligation. Call or text 319-319-6566, email ryan@kindwaterco.com, or get an instant quote.
We serve all of Linn County, including Cedar Rapids, Marion, Fairfax, North Liberty, and Mount Vernon.
No. The city's own engineering documents describe well houses that handle metering and chemical addition only — there is no municipal softening step. That means the hardness in the Silurian aquifer reaches your tap. Ely publishes no hardness figure, so the number that matters is the one measured at your own sink.
Two city wells. Well 1, on Rowley Street next to City Hall, was drilled 415 feet into the Silurian aquifer in 1971. Well 2, on Hillcrest Street, was drilled 344 feet into the Silurian/Ordovician in 1990. Iowa DNR's Source Water Tracker lists both active, serving 2,328 people on groundwater.
The city identified the need in a preliminary engineering report and planned to fund Well #3 through ARPA money and the Iowa Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, targeting service no later than June 30, 2026 — the first new Ely well since 1991. A new well can shift a system's blend, which is a good reason to test rather than assume.
$2,500 all-in for a standard softener, $2,850 with reverse osmosis, $2,800 for the XL, $3,450 for a well dual-tank system. Every price includes equipment, install by a licensed plumbing professional, taxes and a lifetime parts warranty. 0% financing is available; military and first responders take $100 off.
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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