Indiana

Water Quality in the State of Indiana

Located in the Great Lakes region, Indiana has a population of 6.7 million people, with the most populous city being Indianapolis. The state has a deep history with motorsports, hosting the first long-distance auto race in the year 1911, and is well known today for the annual Indi 500 races. Indiana has an abundance of waterways, with more than 35,000 miles of rivers, 100,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs, and Great Lake, bordering the upper east side.

Indiana's primary surface water sources are provided to industry, agriculture, and energy as a crucial part of operations. Residents subsequentially depend on groundwater for their potable water usage. 

Water Hardness by City

Indiana has very hard water. The average water hardness for the state is 262 PPM. Indianapolis, the largest municipality in Indiana, has a water hardness level of 274 PPM. Some of the hardest water in the state comes from South Bend with 370 PPM, and Lafayette with 331 PPM. The hardest location in Indiana we found was Wabash and Sommerset with a water hardness of 560 PPM.

For more information on the water hardness in specific cities, please see the table below.

City Water Hardness Data

Batesville

47005

322 PPM (mg/L) or 19 gpg
Bloomington
47401 | 47403 | 47404 | 47405 | 47406 | 47408   
339 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Carmel

46032 | 46033 

137 PPM (mg/L) or 8 gpg

Chesterton

46304

311 PPM (mg/L) or 18 gpg

Clay City

47841

307 PPM (mg/L) or 18 gpg

Columbus

47201 | 47203

303.5 PPM (mg/L) or 18 gpg

Elkhart

46514 | 46516 | 46517 

342 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Evansville

47708 | 47710 | 47711 | 47712 | 47713 | 47714 | 47715 | 47720 | 47725

124 PPM (mg/L) or 7 gpg

Fairland

46126

305 PPM (mg/L) or 18 gpg

Fishers

46038 | 46037

305 PPM (mg/L) or 18 gpg

Ferdinand

47532

350 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Fort Wayne

46802 | 46803 | 46804 | 46805 | 46806 | 46807 | 46808 | 46809 | 46814 | 46815 | 46816 | 46818 | 46819 | 46825 | 46835 | 46845 

129 PPM (mg/L) or 7.5 gpg

Gary

46402 | 46403 | 46404 | 46406 | 46407 | 46408 | 46409

144 PPM (mg/L) or 8 gpg

Georgetown

47122

326 PPM (mg/L) or 19 gpg

Greenwood

46141 | 46142

342 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Indianapolis

46201 | 46202 | 46203 | 46204 | 46205 | 46208 | 46214 | 46216 | 46217 | 46218 | 46219 | 46220 | 46221 | 46222 | 46224 | 46225 | 46226 | 46227 | 46228 | 46229 | 46231 | 46234 | 46235 | 46236 | 46237 | 46239 | 46240 | 46241 | 46250 | 46254 | 46256 | 46259 | 46260 | 46268 | 46278 | 46280 | 46290 

274 PPM (mg/L) or 16 gpg

Kokomo

46901 | 46902

440 PPM (mg/L) or 26 gpg

Lafayette

47901 | 47904 | 47905 | 47909 

331 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Mecca

47860

403 PPM (mg/L) or 23 gpg

Mishawaka

46544 | 46545 

325 PPM (mg/L) or 19 gpg

Muncie

47302 | 47303 | 47304 | 47305 | 47306 

345 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Nobelsville

46060 | 46062

400 PPM (mg/L) or 23 gpg

Peru

46970

349 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Plymouth

45653

342 PPM (mg/L) or 20 gpg

Somerset

46984 

560 PPM (mg/L) or 23 gpg

South Bend

46601 | 46613 | 46614 | 46615 | 46616 | 46617 | 46619 | 46628 | 46635 | 46637 

370 PPM (mg/L) or 22 gpg

Terra Haute

47802 | 47803 | 47804 | 47805 | 47807 | 47809

367 PPM (mg/L) or 21 gpg

Wabash

55063

560 PPM (mg/L) or 23 gpg

Warren

46792

275 PPM (mg/L) or 16 gpg

Washington

47501

275 PPM (mg/L) or 16 gpg

Whiteland

46184

275 PPM (mg/L) or 16 gpg
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PPM = Parts Per Million

mg/L = Milligrams Per Liter

gpg = Grains Per Gallon

Advanced Manufacturing and Water Hardness

Indiana has been the leading steel producer in the United States for more than four decades. They produce more than twice the second steel-producing state in the US (Ohio), contributing to more than a fourth of the nation's steel. Steel requires a great deal of water during processing.

With water hardness levels as high as 560 PPM in some Indiana cities, steel manufacturing equipment can rapidly clog up with hard-scale deposits and necessitate costly facility-wide shutdowns for maintenance and repairs. Oftentimes, chemical treatment can be inconsistent and facility managers are required to look outside of their regular chemical regimen for a more permanent and dependable solution to protect their equipment and maximize process run time.

Solutions to your Water Quality Problems

Fixing your water quality issues in the state of Indiana will depend on your specific water source. It is best to test your potable water supply in order to get a better understanding of your water quality. Testing is relatively cheap. The test results will allow you to understand if your potable water has issues that need to be addressed. Common solutions to water contamination problems may include a water filtration system, a reverse osmosis system, or other whole-home water treatment solutions.

A problem that almost all Indiana residents will have to deal with is hard water. One old-fashioned, inefficient, expensive, and unhealthy method to treat hard water is with a salt-based water softener. Most people don’t realize that if you’re using a water softener you are basically removing calcium and magnesium from your drinking water and adding salt to your diet. In addition, many states are banning the use of salt-based water softeners. 

Alternative water treatment solutions such as “water conditioners” have been gaining popularity in recent years because they are cheap to operate and the best eco-friendly solution for hard water. Hydropath technology, which powers the HydroFLOW water conditioners is by far the most efficient and cost-effective eco-friendly solution to deal with hard water problems. To learn more about how HydroFLOW solves the problems created by hard water, please check out our technology page. You might want to read this blog that explains the difference between water conditioners and water softeners: Water Conditioner vs. Water Softener Blog.

For more information, please contact Critical Environmental Solutions