These are the questions people ask about water treatment in Phoenix, answered from the City of Phoenix water quality report, EPA, the USGS and the NSF/ANSI standards. If yours is not here, use the contact page.
Water Treatment Phoenix is an independent referral service, not an installer, plumber or water utility. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local water treatment pro who can contact you and prepare a quote.
Hard water and the city’s figures
Phoenix’s hardness figure comes from the City of Phoenix 2025 water quality report: 172 to 302 ppm, or 10 to 17.6 grains per gallon. It applies to City of Phoenix Water Services customers. The Phoenix hard water guide and the water quality guide explain the report.
Choosing a system
Every system starts with what you want removed. A softener treats hardness; a filter treats a taste, an odor or a named contaminant; reverse osmosis lowers dissolved solids at one tap. Look for the NSF/ANSI standard that matches.
Questions people ask
Is Water Treatment Phoenix a water treatment company?
Water Treatment Phoenix is an independent referral service, not an installer, plumber or water utility. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local water treatment pro who can contact you and prepare a quote. The site does not sell, install, test or service equipment.
What does asking cost?
Nothing. The form is free, and you are never obliged to hire anyone or buy anything.
Who can contact me?
An independent water treatment pro in the Valley, to whom the site’s operator passes your request. That pro can contact you by phone to talk about your water.
How hard is Phoenix water?
The City of Phoenix 2025 water quality report gives total hardness of 172 to 302 ppm, or 10 to 17.6 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale, over 180 mg/L is very hard.
Is the water in Phoenix hard or soft?
Hard. The low end of the city’s range is hard on the USGS scale and most of the range is very hard.
Where does Phoenix water come from?
In 2025, about 97 to 99% came from the Salt, Verde and Colorado rivers, and about 2% from about 20 city wells, per the city’s report.
Is Arizona tap water safe to drink?
This site gives no verdict on anyone’s tap water. Read your provider’s annual water quality report, which lists what it measures against the standards that apply, and ask your doctor about health questions.
Is hard water or softened water better for your health?
No health claim can be made for either here. The City of Phoenix report says taste, odor and hardness are not regulated under drinking water health standards. A salt-based softener adds sodium; if you watch your sodium, ask your doctor.
Do I need a softener, a filter or reverse osmosis?
A softener for scale and soap, a filter for a taste, odor or named contaminant, and reverse osmosis for drinking water with fewer dissolved solids. See water softeners, filtration and reverse osmosis.
What standard should a softener meet?
NSF/ANSI 44, the standard for residential softeners that use a regenerable cation exchange resin.
What standard should a reverse osmosis system meet?
NSF/ANSI 58, the standard for reverse osmosis drinking water treatment systems.
What standard should a filter meet?
It depends on what it is for: NSF/ANSI 42 for aesthetic effects such as chlorine, taste and odor; 53 for health effects such as lead; 401 for incidental contaminants.
Does a softener need a permit in Phoenix?
The City of Phoenix quick reference (revised 2/2020) lists installing or replacing a water softener among remodeling projects that may require a permit. Confirm the current rule with the city or the installer.
Can I install a water softener myself?
It means cutting into the main water line and setting up a drain, and Phoenix lists softener installs among projects that may require a permit. Check the permit rule first. See softener installation.
Should a water softener be serviced?
Follow the maker’s schedule, keep salt in the brine tank and test the kitchen tap for hardness now and then. See softener repair and service.
How much water does reverse osmosis waste?
EPA says a typical point-of-use RO system generates five gallons or more of reject water per gallon treated; WaterSense labeled systems send 2.3 gallons or less to the drain.
How long do water filters last?
Follow the maker’s schedule for each filter, cartridge or membrane.
What about salt-free softeners?
They are a different technology from ion exchange. Ask what the unit is certified for. See the salt-free softener guide.
I live in Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale or Peoria. Do the Phoenix figures apply?
Only if City of Phoenix Water Services is your provider. Otherwise read your own provider’s report. See areas.
What happens to my details?
They are stored on this site, emailed to its operator and passed to an independent water treatment pro. See the privacy policy.
Ask a local pro