Kind Water Co installs water softeners, reverse osmosis systems, and whole-home filtration in West Branch, Iowa. West Branch is one of the few towns around here drawing from two different aquifers at once — and its 2024 water quality report lists finished-water sodium at 110 ppm, the highest of any small system we surveyed in Eastern Iowa.
| Quick fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Utility | West Branch Water Works (PWSID 1694000), Cedar County |
| Water source | Groundwater from Wells #4, #5 and #6, drawing on two aquifers: the Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone and dolomite (rated low susceptibility) and the Silurian dolomite, which the 2024 report says was "determined to be susceptible to contamination" |
| Softened at the plant? | No softening is stated, and no hardness figure is published. The report attributes sodium to "erosion of natural deposits; added to water during treatment process" |
| One distinguishing fact | Sodium measured 110 ppm on 4/04/2022 — the highest in our small-system survey. Fluoride 0.86 ppm, nitrate 1.3 ppm (2024), barium 0.14 ppm |
Two aquifers, two very different risk profiles. The 2024 report describes the deep Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone and dolomite as low susceptibility — the good, well-protected Iowa standard — and then says of the shallower source: "This water supply obtains its water from the dolomite of the Silurian aquifer. The Silurian aquifer was determined to be susceptible to contamination." Both feed the same distribution system through Wells #4, #5 and #6.
That is not a warning, it is a design fact, and it is exactly the sort of thing worth knowing before you decide what to put on your own plumbing. Nitrate in the 2024 report measured 1.3 ppm against a 10 ppm limit — low — with fluoride at 0.86 ppm and barium at 0.14 ppm.
The number that stands out is sodium: 110 ppm, sampled 4/04/2022, which the report attributes both to erosion of natural deposits and to the treatment process. Sodium is not a regulated contaminant and no limit is printed beside it, but if anyone in your household watches sodium intake, that figure is why a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen tap comes up often here. RO is the standard method for reducing dissolved solids at a drinking tap — the NSF/ANSI 58 standard for RO systems requires at least 75% reduction of total dissolved solids to earn certification.
For the record, the 2024 report also discloses that in July 2024 the system failed to monitor for haloacetic acids and total trihalomethanes, and states that procedures have since been corrected. We mention it because it is in the city's own document and because a missed monitoring round is a paperwork event, not a contamination event.
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Between West Branch and the Johnson County line there are a lot of acreages on private wells, and no utility reports on those. The Iowa DNR recommends annual bacteria and nitrate testing, and Iowa's Private Well Grants program covers free county lab testing through your county environmental health office.
Shallow wells in this area are the ones to watch. Iowa State University extension materials note nitrate is odorless and tasteless and that reverse osmosis, distillation and anion exchange remove it; the CDC notes boiling does not remove chemical contaminants. See our nitrates page, well water guide, free well testing, or well water treatment.
Family-owned, founded 2021, headquartered in Marion — close enough to be here quickly, small enough that you deal with the same people. 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.
We test your water at your own sink, show you what is in it, and leave a written price the same visit. No obligation. Call or text 319-319-6566, email ryan@kindwaterco.com, or get an instant quote.
We serve Cedar County and the Iowa City corridor, including Tipton, Solon, Iowa City, Coralville, and West Liberty.
From Wells #4, #5 and #6, drawing on two aquifers. The 2024 water quality report describes both the Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone and dolomite, rated low susceptibility to surface contamination, and the Silurian dolomite, which the report says was determined to be susceptible to contamination. Both feed the same distribution system.
The 2024 report lists sodium at 110 ppm, sampled 4/04/2022, and attributes it to erosion of natural deposits and to the treatment process. Sodium is not a regulated contaminant, so no limit is printed beside it. Households watching sodium typically add a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen tap, which is $800 installed.
The city publishes no hardness figure and no softening step is stated in the report, so we will not quote a number. Deep Iowa groundwater is typically hard — the USGS calls anything above 180 mg/L very hard. Our free in-home test measures your actual water in about ten minutes.
The city's 2024 report discloses that in July 2024 the system failed to monitor for haloacetic acids and total trihalomethanes, and states procedures have since been corrected. A missed monitoring round means data was not collected on schedule; it is not a report of contamination. The full document is posted on westbranchiowa.org.
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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