Well water hardness in Rio Grande County, Colorado
7 gpg hard
Private wells in Rio Grande County typically give hard water: the median well sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey has 7 gpg (120 mg/L as CaCO₃).
Wells differ a lot, even next door: one in ten sampled wells had less than 43 mg/L and one in ten more than 170 mg/L. The figure comes from 41 wells and 50 samples taken between 1981 and 2014 (half of them by 1981).
Most samples are older than ten years. Groundwater hardness comes from the rock the well is drilled into and changes slowly, but your own well can be quite different, so treat this as a regional indication and test your water.
What this hardness means for a well household
- Fast scale on taps, shower screens and kettle; white spots on glassware.
- Water heater: efficiency loss and element failures within years if unprotected.
- Dry skin and dull hair after showering are common.
- Softener recommended; jug or reverse osmosis for drinking.
How to test your well in Colorado
Hardness is only one part of a well test. Federal health agencies advise every private well owner to test regularly:
- Test a private well every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH; test more often if young children, older adults or a pregnant or nursing person live in the home. (US EPA, Protect Your Home's Water)
- Test at least once a year and ask the local health department which other germs or chemicals matter where you live. (CDC, Guidelines for Testing Well Water)
- Test every well for coliform bacteria and nitrate each year, and again after a change in taste, color or smell; lead and other chemicals depend on plumbing and nearby land use. (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, When to Test Your Well (brochure))
Use a certified laboratory: CDPHE list of EPA-certified private laboratories (as linked by Boulder County Public Health).
Colorado has no requirement to test a private well except when it is first drilled or the pump is changed (CDPHE brochure).
What a test costs (CSU Extension, Routt County, Soil and Water Testing)
| Coliform bacteria, presence/absence | $30 |
| Nitrate-nitrogen | $14 |
| Lead only | $26 |
| Drinking water suitability test | $55 |
| 13-parameter drinking water test | $94 |
Prices as printed by the lab (2026-10-29); check the current fee before you send a sample. CSU Extension, Routt County, Soil and Water Testing
If no local lab suits you, mail-in kits from certified labs test a wider panel at home; they cost more than a state or county lab.
Treating hard well water
Most households with hard well water install an ion-exchange softener. Test iron and manganese first: above about 0.3 mg/L iron a softener alone is not enough and an iron filter goes in front of it.
Nearby counties
FAQ
How hard is well water in Rio Grande County, Colorado?
The median well sampled by the USGS in Rio Grande County has 7 gpg (120 mg/L as CaCO₃), which is hard. One in ten wells had less than 43 mg/L and one in ten more than 170 mg/L.
Is my own well the same?
Not necessarily. Hardness depends on the rock layer your well draws from and on its depth, so neighbouring wells can differ by a factor of two or more. Only a test of your own water tells you.
How often should I test my well in Colorado?
Every year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, total dissolved solids and pH (EPA and CDC advice), and after floods, repairs or a change in taste or smell. Hardness, iron and manganese once, and again before you buy a softener.
Do I need a water softener for my well?
Recommended if you have a water heater, boiler or tankless unit: it saves repairs and detergent.
Where does this figure come from?
From 50 samples of 41 wells measured by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1981 and 2014, retrieved from the Water Quality Portal. We publish a county only when at least 10 wells were sampled.
Source and method
Computed by Water Hardness Atlas from USGS National Water Information System samples (characteristic "Hardness, Ca, Mg", sites of type well, samples since 1980), retrieved 2026-10-29 through the Water Quality Portal. For each well we take the median of its samples, then the median of all wells in the county; wells above 1,000 mg/L (oil, gas or mine brines) are left out. USGS data are in the U.S. public domain. Water Quality Portal query
Well water hardness in Colorado → · Colorado: tap water by city →