Well water in Grafton, public and private
Grafton's public water comes from wells: six active deep ones, all in the Niagara dolomite. If your house has a private well instead, the Village's report does not cover it, and the starting figure has to come from your own well.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmHow the rock makes the hardness
The Village explains it simply: as groundwater moves through the dolomite, it dissolves calcium and magnesium, and those dissolved minerals are the hardness.
The process is the same at every village well, which is why the report can give one figure for the system, about 22 grains, and why the Village can call the whole supply very hard.
Private wells around Grafton
Homes outside the village system, in the Town of Grafton or farther out, may run on private wells. Nobody publishes those figures, so the figure has to come from a lab, or from the plumber's own reading on the day.
Iron sometimes rides along with the hardness in a private well. Any iron number on your lab report is worth reading to us along with the rest.
Comparing your well with the Village's 22 grains
Whether your report gives hardness in parts per million or milligrams per liter, dividing by 17.1 turns it into grains. The Village's own 377 converts to about 22 that way, so you can set your well beside the public supply directly.
Your own reading might land above it, below it or close to it; the softener is sized from yours, not the Village's.
What a softener does and does not do for well water
In the softener, the resin gives up sodium as it holds on to hardness; switch the brine tank over to potassium chloride and it gives up potassium instead. That exchange is all it does.
Two things a softener was never designed for are bacteria and nitrate. For private wells, Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources recommends a bacteria test every year, at the least.
Common questions
Where does a softener go in a well house?
Where the line from the well comes into the house, as long as the drain line has a drain to reach and the control valve has power; the same rule applies on village water.
Do private wells near Grafton use the Village's number?
No. The Village's 22 grains describes its own six wells. A private well has to be measured on its own, by a lab or by the plumber before the work.
Can I read the Village's report myself?
Yes. The Village publishes its 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report, and its Water Treatment page describes the water as very hard.