A water softener for Oconomowoc's very hard well water
Oconomowoc lies outside the Great Lakes basin, and every gallon in the city system comes from seven of its own wells feeding four entry points. The utility's current report averages 375 milligrams per liter of hardness, up from 317 in the report before it. One phone call gets you a quote on a whole-home softener for that water, and a licensed Wisconsin plumbing contractor puts it in.
Call (262) 599-6261Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm
What is included
- Whole-home softener plus brine tank, sized from Oconomowoc's numbers and your household
- Kitchen-sink RO faucet for drinking water, bundled with the softener
- A Wisconsin-licensed plumbing contractor handles the installation
- A hardness test on arrival, and a final one at your tap that has to show zero
- One price, settled on the phone
- No salesperson needs to see your basement
- Quote calls answered weekdays, 7am to 5pm
Oconomowoc water hardness
Source: City of Oconomowoc Water Utility annual water quality reports (current and prior)
No lake water is headed for Oconomowoc
Waukesha's move to Lake Michigan water took a decade of applications under the Great Lakes Compact, sign-off from all eight Great Lakes states and a pipeline to carry the water back. Oconomowoc has filed for nothing of the kind and has no lake connection to build from.
That means whatever softener goes into an Oconomowoc basement will be working on groundwater from the city's own wells. Sizing it for the water you have now is not a short-term choice, because the supply under it is not on track to change.
The city's average went from 317 to 375
The report before the current one put Oconomowoc's average hardness at 317 milligrams per liter, inside a range of 290 to 370, which is about 18.5 grains per gallon. The current report lists an average of 375 inside a range of 320 to 420, roughly 19 to 25 grains.
Well water does not hold still, and here it moved upward between reports. A softener set from the older figure was set from a number the utility no longer publishes.
The USGS draws its very-hard line at 180 milligrams per liter, 10.5 grains, and every figure in both Oconomowoc reports sits well past it.
Seven wells, four entry points, one range
Oconomowoc's report gives a range of 320 to 420 rather than one number, and the water reaches homes through four separate entry points. Your tap is one point somewhere inside that range, and the report cannot tell you which.
So nobody sets your softener from the citywide average. Your house's water gets measured before the plumber starts, and the softened water gets measured again at a faucet afterward, as often as needed, until hardness shows zero.
Lac La Belle, Summit and homes past the city mains
An Oconomowoc mailing address does not always mean city water. Lac La Belle, which took in the former Town of Oconomowoc, and Summit add about 14,400 people around the city, and plenty of those households pump their own well water.
The city's 375 says nothing about a private well. If your house gets no city water bill, the number that counts is your own well's, and the well water page covers what to bring to the call.
What you tell us, and what you get back
We ask a few things: your street address, or word that a private well supplies the house; the number of people under your roof; the spot where the water line enters; and whether there is an existing softener at that spot. Well owners, keep any lab report within reach.
From those answers we size the system and name one price before you hang up, with no follow-up visit to sell you anything. Say yes, and the installation, RO drinking faucet and all, is handled by a Wisconsin-licensed plumbing contractor.
Common questions
Is Oconomowoc going to switch to Lake Michigan water?
Nothing in public view points that way. The city is outside the Great Lakes basin, has made no application for lake water and has no pipe to tie into. A softener bought for an Oconomowoc home should be sized for city well water.
What is Oconomowoc's hardness in grains per gallon?
Divide milligrams per liter by 17.1. The current range of 320 to 420 works out to roughly 19 to 25 grains, and the earlier average of 317 to about 18.5. On the USGS scale, very hard starts at 10.5.
My softener was set years ago. Is the setting still right?
That depends on the number behind it. A setting based on the earlier report's 317 average sits below the 375 the city publishes now. A new system is set from a fresh reading taken in your house, and the plumber's last check at the faucet has to show zero hardness before the work is called finished.
Do you serve Lac La Belle and Summit?
Yes. Both are part of the Oconomowoc area this site covers, and plenty of homes there draw from private wells rather than city mains. Say which you have when you call.
Can I get the drinking-water faucet without a softener?
No. In Oconomowoc, as everywhere we quote, the RO faucet comes bundled with a whole-home softener. It is never a stand-alone job.
Who actually does the installation?
A Wisconsin plumbing contractor holding a state license. The softener's drain line ends at an air gap over a drain, and Wis. Stat. ch. 145 makes that hookup plumbing. Our side stops at sizing, supplying and scheduling.