Before you buy a softener, a filter or a reverse osmosis unit, find out what is in your water. For a home on city water, much of the answer is already published. For a home on a private well, testing is the owner’s job. This page explains water testing in Omaha for both, and what to do with the results.
Water Softener Omaha is an independent referral service, not an installer, plumber or laboratory. When you send the form, your details are passed to an independent local water treatment pro, who can contact you and quote the work. Asking is free and you never have to buy.
City water: start with what M.U.D. publishes
If your bill comes from the Metropolitan Utilities District, your water comes from the Missouri and Platte rivers and the Dakota sandstone aquifer, treated at one of M.U.D.’s three plants. M.U.D. says it lime-softens the water to about 170 mg/L of hardness, the same as 10 grains per gallon, and calls that soft enough for all home uses. It also says the water deposits small amounts of tan calcium carbonate on pipes and fixtures.
That is your hardness starting point, and for a softener quote it may be all you need. M.U.D. also publishes water quality information on its website; read it for anything beyond hardness. If your bill comes from a different provider, ask that provider for its annual water quality report and note the year of the report you are reading.
Why test city water at all?
- To confirm the hardness at your own tap before a softener is set.
- To check that an existing softener is still working: test the water after it and compare.
- To look into something you notice at home, such as a metallic taste or staining.
- To check a filter or reverse osmosis unit is doing what it was bought for.
Testing hardness at home
Hardness test strips are sold for home use and read in grains per gallon or mg/L. Use them to compare: the softened tap against a tap that skips the softener, or your tap against M.U.D.’s figure. Hardness is measured as calcium carbonate. M.U.D. gives both units, 170 mg/L and 10 grains per gallon, which works out to about 17 mg/L for each grain. The U.S. Geological Survey’s general scale grades 0 to 60 mg/L soft, 61 to 120 moderately hard, 121 to 180 hard and over 180 very hard. The Omaha water hardness guide goes further into the figures.
Laboratory tests
For anything beyond hardness, use a laboratory. The EPA’s advice for private well owners is to only use laboratories that are certified to do drinking water testing, and the CDC says to use a state-certified laboratory. The same rule is a sound one for any home test you plan to act on. Ask the lab what the test covers, how to take the sample, and how the results are reported.
When you read a result, the EPA’s secondary standards help with the taste and appearance items. They are guidelines the EPA does not enforce, for things such as iron (0.3 mg/L: rusty color, metallic taste, reddish or orange staining), manganese (0.05 mg/L: black staining, bitter metallic taste), chloride (250 mg/L: salty taste), total dissolved solids (500 mg/L) and pH (6.5 to 8.5). Hardness has no figure in that table.
Private wells around Omaha
A private well is a different matter. The EPA says private well owners are responsible for delivering safe drinking water to their households, and that private wells are not regulated by the federal government under the Safe Drinking Water Act, nor by most state governments. It notes that more than 23 million households rely on private wells, and that a USGS study of 2,100 private wells found about one in five had at least one contaminant above a human-health benchmark.
What to test, and when
| Source | What it advises |
|---|---|
| EPA | Test annually for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH. Test right away if there are known problems in the area, if conditions near the well change, or if you replace or repair any part of the well. |
| CDC | Test at least once each year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH; more often after problems nearby, after work on the well, or if the taste, color or smell changes. |
| Nebraska DWEE | Sample annually, in the spring, for bacteria and nitrates. |
The EPA adds that the local health department may provide private well testing for free; ask yours. Nebraska’s Department of Water, Energy and Environment notes that it does not have regulatory authority to monitor and test private drinking water wells, and the EPA says private well owners are responsible for their own water.
If a well test comes back positive
Nebraska DWEE: if coliform bacteria are found, water can be boiled for one minute in the short term, and a certified well contractor should inspect the well as soon as possible. If nitrates are high, do not boil the water: boiling concentrates nitrates.
Have a test result and want to talk about treatment? Send the form and a local pro can contact you.
From test result to treatment
A test is only useful if it leads to the right equipment. The order of questions is simple: what did the test find, which of those things do you want reduced, and which system is certified to reduce them? Texas’s environmental agency, in its general buyer advice, says to select a unit certified by NSF, Underwriters Laboratories or the Water Quality Association to remove the contaminant of concern.
- Hardness: a softener certified to NSF/ANSI 44. See water softener installation in Omaha.
- Chlorine taste and odor: a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 42.
- Health-related contaminants such as lead: a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53, or reverse osmosis certified to NSF/ANSI 58. See reverse osmosis system in Omaha.
- Bacteria in a well: have a certified well contractor inspect the well first, as Nebraska DWEE advises; UV units are covered by NSF/ANSI 55.
- Iron or manganese staining: ask the pro which treatment the result calls for.
The page on water treatment in Omaha sets out each system and its standard side by side.
Testing before a softener quote
If a softener is what you have in mind, the pro sizing it needs one number above all: your hardness in grains per gallon. On M.U.D. water that starts at the utility’s own figure of about 10. On a well or another system, test first and have the result ready when you send the form. Mention anything else the test showed, such as iron, because it can change what equipment is quoted. Then ask the pro to test the tap again on the visit and to show you the reading, so the softener is set from a number you have both seen.
Taking a good sample
Follow the lab’s instructions exactly: the bottle, how long to run the tap, whether to sample before or after any treatment, and how quickly to return it. Note which tap you used and whether the water passed through a softener or filter. For a well, record the date, so next year’s test can be compared like for like. If you are testing to check equipment, take two samples, one before the equipment and one after.
What this site does and does not do
This site does not test water, recommend a laboratory or interpret results. It passes requests to an independent local water treatment pro, who can talk through your results and quote treatment. Nothing here is a health claim: water utilities commonly say hard water does not pose a health risk, and for anything about your own health, ask your doctor.
Questions people ask
How do I find out how hard my Omaha water is?
For M.U.D. water, M.U.D. gives about 170 mg/L, the same as 10 grains per gallon. To check your own tap, use a hardness test strip. On another system, ask that provider for its annual water quality report.
How often should I test my well?
The EPA and the CDC say at least once a year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH; Nebraska DWEE recommends sampling annually in the spring for bacteria and nitrates.
Where can I get my water tested?
Use a laboratory certified to do drinking water testing, as the EPA and the CDC advise. The EPA says your local health department may provide private well testing for free.
Should I boil my well water?
Only for bacteria, and only in the short term: Nebraska DWEE says water can be boiled for one minute if coliform is found, with a certified well contractor inspecting the well. Never boil for high nitrates; boiling concentrates them.
Does this site test water?
No. Water Softener Omaha does not test water. It passes your request to an independent local water treatment pro, who can contact you and talk through your results.
Who is this site?
Water Softener Omaha is an independent referral service, not an installer or plumber. When you send the form, your details are passed to an independent local water treatment pro, who can contact you and quote the work.
