Salt Lake City sits about 10 miles south of the AMPAC factory in Woods Cross. Tap water here meets federal health standards. The trouble is hardness, and the spread is wide: the city’s own treated surface water is moderately hard to very hard, while its groundwater wells run far above that. Below are the figures each Salt Lake County utility publishes, and what they mean for a home, a restaurant, a lab or a production line.
What is in Salt Lake City tap water?
| Provider | Hardness (grains/gal) | Hardness (mg/L) | TDS (mg/L) | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City Public Utilities | 8.0 - 12.4 treated surface water; up to 33.4 from wells | 136 - 212; up to 571 | 214 - 292 typical, up to 796 | 2026 |
| Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District | 10.7 average | 182.4 average, 381 highest | 281 average, 652 highest | 2025 |
| West Jordan City | 10.7 average | 182.7 average, 602 highest | 281 average, 960 highest | 2026 |
The USGS calls water above 180 mg/L “very hard”. Salt Lake City’s surface water sits around that line, and the well water is nearly three times over it. TDS stays under the EPA’s 500 mg/L secondary guideline for most of the supply, but the highest readings go well past it. Sandy and Draper publish reports without a hardness or TDS figure, so for those addresses a tap test or a call to the utility is the quickest answer.
These are system-wide figures from each utility’s own annual water quality report. A specific street can differ from the average, so test your tap before you size anything. Hardness is unregulated, so a utility that does not publish a number is not breaking a rule. 1 grain per gallon is 17.1 mg/L.
What this means for your equipment
A Salt Lake City tap can swing between 8 and 33 grains depending on which source is feeding it that month. That is the reason to size treatment for the harder end, not the average.
- Homes: a softener protects the water heater and fixtures, and a reverse osmosis unit at the kitchen tap handles drinking water. RO vs water softener explains which job each does, and residential RO systems covers the tap units.
- Restaurants and cafes: scale kills espresso machines, ice makers and dishwashers. See water treatment for restaurants.
- Breweries: mineral content changes beer, so brewers usually strip the water and rebuild it. See water treatment for craft breweries.
- Labs, light manufacturing and boiler feed: commercial RO systems and industrial RO systems, sized with pretreatment for hard feed water.
Hard water scales RO membranes, so above roughly 10 grains per gallon softening or antiscalant dosing goes in ahead of the membrane. Replacement elements are on the membrane elements page.
Installation and service for Salt Lake City
AMPAC builds its reverse osmosis systems at 2262 S 1200 W, Suite #103, Woods Cross, UT 84087, about 10 miles away. AMPAC installs and services systems on site anywhere in Utah. The people who assemble a system are the ones you talk to about it. For parts and equipment you would rather collect, pick them up at the Woods Cross facility. Everything else ships.
- Call (385) 530-1026 to arrange an installation, a service visit or a pickup time
- Request a quote and include your address, daily water use and, if you have one, a recent water test
- Size a system first with the RO system calculators
Frequently asked questions
How hard is Salt Lake City water?
Salt Lake City Public Utilities reports 8.0 to 12.4 grains per gallon for treated surface water, which is moderately hard to very hard. Its groundwater wells run as high as 33.4 grains. Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District reports an average of 10.7 grains.
Why does the hardness range from 8 to 33 grains?
The city blends surface water with groundwater from wells, and the wells carry far more dissolved calcium and magnesium. Which source reaches your tap changes through the year, so test your own water more than once.
Do I need a softener before a commercial RO system in Salt Lake City?
Usually yes. Water above about 10 grains per gallon scales RO membranes, and much of the Salt Lake supply is at or above that. Softening or an antiscalant ahead of the membrane protects it. The right choice depends on your feed analysis and recovery rate.
Can AMPAC install a system in Salt Lake City?
Yes. AMPAC installs and services systems on site anywhere in Utah, and the Woods Cross facility is about 10 miles north of downtown Salt Lake City.
More on Utah water
- Water treatment in Utah: the statewide guide, with wells, drought and parts
- Utah water hardness and TDS by city: every provider with a source link
- How to test your home water quality