Utah

Water Quality in the State of Utah

Water quality in Utah is governed by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Utah gets the majority of its water from the Valley-Fill, Cache Valley, and Cedar Valley Aquifers. Watersheds supplying Utah residents drinking water are City Creek, Parleys, Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Water in Utah is considered to be very hard. People across the state must deal with hard water daily. The state average is right around 298 PPM.

Utah Water Hardness by City

The largest city and state capital, Salt Lake City, has the lowest water hardness with 158 PPM. Close to the State average, the city of St. George water hardness is 342 PPM. The hardest water can be found in cities like Blanding, with 598 PPM and Ephraim, with 517 PPM.

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

What is the water hardness in my area?

PPM = Parts Per Million

mg/L = Milligrams Per Liter

gpg = Grains Per Gallon

Manufacturing and Water Hardness

Utah has been moving up the ranks as a leading state for manufacturing, bringing in more than 20 billion per year. Utah's top manufacturing industries are computer and electronic products, aerospace technology, and metal manufacturing. Product processing in most manufacturing plants requires water. Cooling towers and HVAC are imperative to keeping operations running smoothly. Water hardness levels can be as high as 1,000 PPM; with water hardness levels this high, manufacturing equipment can deteriorate at a rapid pace and experience efficiency loss. Mining is also a significant contributor to Utah's growing economy. The mining sector in Utah consumes significant amounts of water that can be as hard as 15,000 PPM. 

Solutions to your Water Quality Problems

Fixing your water quality issues in the state of Utah 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 Utah residents will have to deal with is hard water. Salt Lake City being the most populous city has a water hardness of 158 PPM making finding a solution for the majority of the residents very important. 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 Tech-Flow