Water Softener in Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale's water at a glance

Scottsdale Water blends Colorado River water from the Central Arizona Project, Salt and Verde river water from Salt River Project, groundwater from city wells and recycled water. It disinfects with chlorine, not chloramine. The city's hardness fact sheet breaks the city into three bands:

• South of Indian School Road: about 22 to 25 grains per gallon
• Indian School Road to Chaparral Road: about 20 to 22 grains
• North of Chaparral Road: about 16 to 18 grains

The annual water quality report can show different figures from the fact sheet, so a test at your own tap is the best basis for setting the valve.

What to do now

1. Find your band using the cross streets above, then test hardness at the kitchen faucet.
2. Look for an existing softener loop in the garage or near the water heater.
3. Check whether the house drains to city sewer; some Scottsdale areas are not on municipal sewer and use a private onsite wastewater system, which changes where brine should go.
4. Decide whether outdoor spigots and irrigation should stay on hard water.
5. Have the plumber pull the city's Minimum Plumbing Permit, which covers softener plumbing without plan review, through the SPUR portal.

Symptoms and likely causes

Cost factors

At 20 grains and above, south Scottsdale homes need more resin or more frequent regeneration than homes in the north, and that changes both equipment size and salt use. Other drivers are the location of the main, the distance to a drain, whether the line runs to sewer or to an onsite system, any carbon or reverse osmosis add-on, and permit handling. Ask the plumber to explain how they sized the unit for your band.

Scottsdale's median home dates to about 1990, so many garages already have a loop, but older houses in the south often need one added. Salt is the ongoing expense, and at the city's higher bands it adds up; a metered valve that regenerates only after a set volume keeps that in check.