Sioux County's six public water systems don't agree with each other. Rock Valley's wells test around 30 grains per gallon, Sioux Center cut its hardness from about 43 grains to 23 by blending in regional water, and Hull and Hawarden have never had a hardness figure published at all. Here is what our Sioux County town pages found in the public record, side by side.
Each row comes from our page for that community, which cites the EPA, Iowa DNR or utility record behind every number.
| Community | Where the water comes from | What our page reports on hardness and treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Sioux Center | Local alluvial wells blended with Lewis & Clark Regional water (IA8486053) | 23 grains, stated by the city in April 2023, down from about 43 before the blend. No softening record |
| Orange City | Shallow alluvial wells at 30–69 ft and Dakota sandstone wells at 420–594 ft (IA8474097) | 20.2 grains (346 mg/L) at SW Well #4 in October 2023, the only result on record. Iron and manganese removal; no softening |
| Hull | All purchased: Rock Valley Rural Water District plus Lewis & Clark, blended in town (IA8444063) | No hardness result ever published. Lewis & Clark reports 8.5–9.5 grains; the district's raw wells test 24–56 grains and it removes no hardness |
| Hawarden | Eight alluvial wells in the Big Sioux River floodplain, 32.5–44 ft (IA8434040) | None published. Old calcium results work out to 19.0–21.5 grains of calcium hardness alone, a floor. Iron and manganese sequestered, not removed |
| Rock Valley | Alluvial wells along the Rock River, 48–81 ft (IA8482096) | 29.4–31.4 grains (502–537.2 mg/L) at three wells sampled 2023–2025. No softening record |
| Southern Sioux County Rural Water (Ireton, Maurice, Craig, Brunsville) | One plant at Ireton fed by four Dakota wells and two buried sand-and-gravel wells (IA8400733) | 16.1 and 19.4 grains, raw, at two of six active wells; no finished-water figure. Iron and manganese plant; no softening |
The U.S. Geological Survey calls water above 180 mg/L, about 10.5 grains, very hard. Every figure published for a Sioux County well is past that line.
The federal treatment records for all six systems describe disinfection, fluoride, corrosion control and iron and manganese work, not softening. Aeration, permanganate and filtration at Orange City and Ireton catch iron and manganese while calcium and magnesium pass straight through. Hawarden and Rock Valley dose a polyphosphate that holds minerals in solution rather than removing them, and that hardness still scales a water heater once heated.
The only softening in the chain happens outside the county, at Lewis & Clark's plant near Vermillion, South Dakota, which supplies part of Sioux Center's blend and part of Hull's water. That blend is why Sioux Center's number fell, and why the city asked residents in 2023 to turn their softeners down to 25 grains.
Half these systems can't give you a finished-water hardness number. Hull's blend has never been measured, Hawarden's calcium floor leaves out magnesium, and the Southern Sioux County system publishes raw figures for two of six wells. Orange City mixes deep and shallow wells in proportions nobody publishes.
Sodium varies too, and it matters because an ion-exchange softener adds a little: about 11 mg/L on the Southern Sioux County system, 13 to 21 mg/L in Rock Valley, 22 to 28 mg/L in Hawarden, and 70.35 mg/L at Sioux Center's blended entry point. A reading at your own sink settles what no table can.
Homes outside all six systems are on private wells that no utility treats or samples. Our town pages note that rural wells near Orange City deliver the iron and manganese the city plant would remove, and that farmland wells carry a nitrate question a city customer never faces.
For bacteria and nitrate, start with a certified lab. The Iowa DNR recommends testing a private well every year, and Iowa's Private Well Grants program covers county lab testing at no cost through your county environmental health office. Then we can talk hardness, iron and equipment. See how Iowa's well testing program works.
Every price includes equipment, installation by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule and stand behind, taxes, and a lifetime parts warranty. We are licensed and insured.
Already own a softener? Sometimes the right job is a repair or a reset, especially in Sioux Center, where a pre-2023 setting is programmed for roughly twice today's hardness. A diagnostic visit is $199, and annual maintenance is $199 a year with tank RO or $249 with tankless. We offer 0% financing, and $100 off for military and first responders.
Prices don't change by town. Travel is free for the first 50 miles, then $1 a mile, and it's on your written quote before you agree to anything. The test is free: we measure hardness, iron and total dissolved solids at your kitchen sink, then leave the readings and a written price with no obligation. Request your free water test, get an instant quote, or call or text 319-319-6566.
Town pages: Sioux Center, Orange City, Hull, Hawarden, Rock Valley and Southern Sioux County Rural Water. Nearby: Sheldon, Le Mars and Rock Rapids, plus our Iowa water hardness by city table.
It depends on the system. Rock Valley's wells tested 29.4 to 31.4 grains per gallon in 2023–2025, Sioux Center stated 23 grains in April 2023, and an Orange City well tested 20.2 grains in October 2023. Hull and Hawarden have no published figure, and Southern Sioux County Rural Water publishes only raw well results of 16.1 and 19.4 grains.
No. None of the six systems carries a softening record in EPA SDWIS. The only softening in the supply chain is at Lewis & Clark's plant near Vermillion, South Dakota, which supplies part of Sioux Center's blend and part of Hull's water.
The city recommended it. Its 27 April 2023 notice asked customers to adjust softeners down to 25 grains of hardness. A unit programmed before the Lewis & Clark blend is set for roughly twice today's hardness, which wastes salt. We reset and repair existing softeners; a diagnostic visit is $199.
Start with your county environmental health office. The Iowa DNR recommends testing a private well every year, and Iowa's Private Well Grants program covers county lab testing at no cost, which is the test for bacteria and nitrate. Our in-home test covers hardness, iron and total dissolved solids, at no charge.
A softener is $2,500, or $2,850 with reverse osmosis; RO alone is $800 tank or $900 tankless; a private-well dual-tank system is $3,450, or $3,800 with tank RO. Each is all-in with licensed installation, taxes and a lifetime parts warranty. Travel is free for the first 50 miles, then $1 a mile, quoted first.
Every number on this page comes from a public record, cited in full on the town page it came from. 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)
