Story County has two water stories. In Ames, the city lime-softens its well water at a plant and posts the result every month: treated water averaged 153 mg/L of hardness in August 2026, about 8.9 grains per gallon, down from 413 mg/L in the well water coming in. Out in the countryside, homes draw from private wells or small-town systems that treat water very differently, and several don't soften at all. This page lays the county out town by town, using only what the public record shows.
Figures come from the utility, EPA SDWIS or the Iowa DNR Drinking Water Portal. Where a town has no hardness figure on record, we say so rather than estimating.
| Community | Source | Softened at the plant? | Hardness on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ames | 22 municipal wells (City of Ames 2025 water quality report) | Yes, lime softening | 153 mg/L treated, August 2026 monthly average; 413 mg/L in the raw well water |
| Nevada | Alluvial wells 87–91 ft; its 2,630–3,342 ft Cambrian-Ordovician wells are plugged or on standby | Yes, lime softening plus granular activated carbon | 363 mg/L raw (Well #8, a single 2008 sample) |
| Huxley | Alluvial wells 74–98 ft | Yes, ion exchange and reverse osmosis | 326–359 mg/L raw (2021); 352 mg/L at Well #7 (2022) |
| Story City | Mississippian bedrock wells, 261–286 ft | Yes, reverse osmosis and membrane filtration | 120 mg/L finished (a single 2021 sample) |
| Gilbert | Buried sand-and-gravel wells, 133–157 ft | Yes, cation ion exchange | 320–340 mg/L raw (2015) |
| Slater | Own wells, 180–223 ft, plus water bought through Xenia Rural Water from Boone | Yes, ion exchange | None on record |
| Cambridge | Alluvial wells, 80–117 ft | No: aeration, permanganate and pressure filtration | 401 mg/L raw (Well #3, a single 2004 sample) |
| Maxwell | Buried sand-and-gravel wells, 79–126 ft | No: aeration and gravity filtration | None on record |
| Roland | One active Mississippian well, 245 ft, plus a standby well | No: aeration, filtration and phosphate sequestration | None on record |
| Colo and Zearing | Bought from Iowa Regional Utilities Association; the towns' own wells are plugged or on standby | No local treatment records | None on record |
For scale, the U.S. Geological Survey calls water from 121 to 180 mg/L "hard" and anything above 180 mg/L "very hard". One grain per gallon is 17.1 mg/L. A raw-well number is what comes out of the ground, not what reaches the tap in a town that softens.
The City of Ames posts a monthly water quality summary. In August 2026, treated water leaving the plant averaged 153 mg/L of hardness, with daily readings from 123 to 188 mg/L, while the well water coming in averaged 413 mg/L. The current plant came online on 27 July 2017 with 15 million gallons a day of finished capacity. The idea goes back a long way: City Manager John Ames laid out the benefits of softening the city's water in a report to the council dated 2 March 1931.
At 153 mg/L, Ames water is softened but still sits in the USGS "hard" band, so scale builds slowly rather than quickly. Ames reported 32 mg/L of sodium in its treated water from one sample taken on 4 April 2024 (City of Ames 2025 water quality report). Whether a home softener is worth it there is a judgment call for each house; our Ames page has more detail.
Outside the town systems, Story County homes run on private wells that no utility tests or treats. Story County takes part in the state's Grants to Counties program, and Story County residents on a private well are eligible for free well water testing for coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and manganese. The county strongly recommends testing every year.
The same grant reimburses up to $1,000 for a well renovation, up to $500 for plugging a well and up to $300 for plugging an eligible cistern. The money becomes available every 1 July and is paid out in the order requests arrive until it runs out, so earlier in the summer is better. Story County Environmental Health takes requests at 515-382-7240.
That county test is the right first step for bacteria and nitrate. Our free in-home test is a different tool: it measures hardness, iron and total dissolved solids, and it does not test for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic or manganese. Start with our free well water testing guide, nitrates in Iowa water or well water treatment.
Nevada changed aquifers. Its deep wells reached 2,630 to 3,342 feet into Cambrian-Ordovician rock; those are now plugged or, in one case, on standby, and the city draws from alluvial wells 87 to 91 feet deep. The plant lime-softens and runs granular activated carbon (EPA SDWIS). The only hardness figure on record is 363 mg/L from Well #8 in March 2008, a raw sample taken before treatment. Finished sodium measured 22 mg/L on 8 July 2025.
Huxley runs both ion exchange and reverse osmosis on raw water that tested 326 to 359 mg/L in 2021. Finished sodium measured 19.3 mg/L on 23 July 2026, down from 126 to 149 mg/L in 2021 to 2023. The town is growing fast, too: Census estimates put it at 4,737 people in 2024, up 11.6% from 4,245 in 2020.
Story City draws from Mississippian bedrock wells 261 to 286 feet deep. It softens by reverse osmosis and membrane filtration; its older ion exchange plant was retired on 20 February 2015. It also has a rare finished-water hardness reading: 120 mg/L, about 7.0 grains per gallon, from a single sample at the plant lab sink on 3 May 2021.
Gilbert softens with cation ion exchange on buried sand-and-gravel wells 133 to 157 feet deep, where raw water tested 320 to 340 mg/L in 2015. The distribution record is interesting: samples ran 312 to 324 mg/L in July 2005, then 134 to 219 mg/L from December 2005 to June 2006, which fits softening starting around then. That timing is our reading of the record; the city publishes no start date. Ion exchange trades hardness for sodium, and Gilbert's sodium measured 87 mg/L on 20 May 2026.
Slater draws from its own wells 180 to 223 feet deep and also buys water through Xenia Rural Water, whose Boone system buys from Boone Water Works; our Boone page covers that plant. Slater softens by ion exchange. Against the federal nitrite limit of 1 mg/L as nitrogen, Slater recorded 1.37 mg/L in the October to December 2022 compliance period; a Tier 1 public notice followed, and the system returned to compliance on 11 April 2023 (EPA SDWIS).
Cambridge does not soften. Its plant aerates, adds permanganate and runs pressure filtration on alluvial wells 80 to 117 feet deep. The one hardness figure on record is 401 mg/L, about 23.5 grains per gallon, from a raw sample at Well #3 on 9 November 2004. The sample is more than 20 years old; the well is still active, and the plant lists no softening step.
Maxwell doesn't soften either: aeration and gravity filtration only, on buried sand-and-gravel wells 79 to 126 feet deep. One of them, Well #1, is a century-old well that is still in service. No hardness figure is on record, so the free in-home test is the number.
Roland runs one active Mississippian well 245 feet deep, with a second on standby, and treats with cascade aeration, filtration and phosphate sequestration, with no softening. Colo and Zearing no longer use their own wells; both buy water from the Iowa Regional Utilities Association, and federal records don't say which of that supplier's sources feeds each town. None of the three has a hardness figure on record.
All prices are all-in: equipment, installation, taxes and a lifetime parts warranty. Installs are done by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule and stand behind.
Maintenance is $199 a year, or $249 with a tankless RO. Military and first responders get $100 off. Travel is free for the first 50 miles, then $1 a mile, and we quote it before you book. See Iowa water hardness by city for the statewide picture.
City pages with local water data: Ames, Nevada, Huxley. We also serve Story City, Gilbert, Slater, Cambridge, Maxwell, Roland, Colo and Zearing, plus every acreage in between.
We test at your own kitchen sink, show you the numbers for hardness, iron and total dissolved solids, and leave a written price the same visit, with no obligation. Call or text 319-319-6566, email ryan@kindwaterco.com, get an instant quote or request a quote.
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It depends on the town. Ames lime-softens, and its treated water averaged 153 mg/L of hardness, about 8.9 grains per gallon, in August 2026. Story City's one finished sample read 120 mg/L in 2021. Cambridge does not soften, and its only sample on record, a raw well reading from 2004, was 401 mg/L. Private wells vary from one acreage to the next.
Ames and Nevada use lime softening, and Nevada adds granular activated carbon. Huxley uses ion exchange and reverse osmosis, Story City reverse osmosis and membrane filtration, and Gilbert and Slater ion exchange. Cambridge, Maxwell and Roland have no softening step in EPA SDWIS records.
Yes. Story County residents on a private well are eligible for free testing for coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and manganese through Story County Environmental Health (515-382-7240). The same grant reimburses up to $1,000 for a well renovation, $500 for plugging a well and $300 for plugging a cistern, from 1 July each year until the money runs out.
It depends on the town and the house. In Cambridge, Maxwell or Roland, where the plant does not soften, a softener is a common choice. In Ames, treated water at 153 mg/L is softened but still hard on the USGS scale, so it is a judgment call. On a private well, test first; our free in-home test measures hardness, iron and total dissolved solids.
A Kind Water Co softener is $2,500 all-in, $2,850 with reverse osmosis and $3,150 for the XL with RO. Reverse osmosis alone is $800 tank or $900 tankless, and a well dual-tank system is $3,450. Prices include installation by licensed local plumbing professionals we vet, schedule and stand behind, taxes and a lifetime parts warranty. Travel is free for the first 50 miles, then $1 a mile.
Every number on this page comes from a public record. Here is where to open each one yourself.
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