Questions about home construction in the Mid-West

[MJ1986]

Originally Posted by rjl78

The question usually amounts to, does the soap not suds up like it should, do the dishes have water spots. Does the laundry take more detergent than normal to get cleaned?

As far as purchase versus rent... I have had to replace my softner as of right now, the cost of owning it not counting the cost of salt is about $3/month. The softner still functions so hopefully it runs for anouther 10 years and keep the cost even lower. Rent without salt runs about $12 a month.

Good point! Why hard/soft water would be included in the water quality report!

[rjl78]

Originally Posted by MJ1986

Good point! Why hard/soft water would be included in the water quality report!

If you want hard water welcome to Pierre. Holy junk the water is terrible here. A softner is about a necessity, and I Sioux Falls to a lessor extent. I believe water in Sioux Falls is drafted from a well. Ground water usually chalked full of minerals that make water "hard"

[golfgal]

When we lived in SF a story and half was pretty much a living room, dining area kitchen and 2 small bedrooms separated by a small bath on the main floor and either one large open room upstairs or 2 smaller bedrooms. The living space (common space) in a 1.5 story is very minimal. You would have more space in a split level or a ranch/rambler style home.

We did have a 1.5 story in another town that was quite roomy though. One of the bedrooms was opened up for a family room and we also had a dining room off the living room. The bedrooms were very good sized, 14x16 being the smallest one. The house itself was 3300 sq feet, so about double what a typical 1.5 story house runs.

As for the water softener, after living in an area with very hard water I find it difficult not to have one now. You use a lot less soap, shampoo, etc. and you don't get water spots with a softener. Rental typically runs about 15-20/month or so. We used to have our salt delivered (no one does that around here now) and that was typically $12/month-they billed it quarterly though.

Sump pumps in some areas are an absolute necessity. One house we had would have had about 2 feet of water in the basement without one running all the time. If you can find a house that doesn't need one, all the better. If you do have a house that has one that runs it is very good idea to buy a second pump, preassemble the pump and have it standing by. Having a battery back up is also a good idea.

[MJ1986]

Originally Posted by rjl78

If you want hard water welcome to Pierre. Holy junk the water is terrible here. A softner is about a necessity, and I Sioux Falls to a lessor extent. I believe water in Sioux Falls is drafted from a well. Ground water usually chalked full of minerals that make water "hard"

Drafted from a well? I think it comes from the Big Sioux River, Skunk Creek, and another source... And I believe with the Lewis & Clark Water Project, water is taken from the Missouri River as well...

[rjl78]

Originally Posted by MJ1986

Drafted from a well? I think it comes from the Big Sioux River, Skunk Creek, and another source... And I believe with the Lewis & Clark Water Project, water is taken from the Missouri River as well...

Sioux Falls is not hooked up to the Lewis and Clark System yet. Its coming. There are a few wells scattered though out the county too.

siouxfalls.org: Source Water Assessment

The city currently utilizes the Big Sioux River, the Big Sioux Aquifer, the Middle Skunk Creek Aquifer, the Split Rock Creek Aquifer, and the Lower Skunk Creek Aquifer to provide water for the City. Based on the findings of this report, these sources are moderately susceptible to contamination. The City continually monitors its source waters for contamination and has a long history of providing safe drinking water to our customers. You may view a copy of the report at the offices of the SDDENR in Pierre or at the Sioux Falls Water Purification Plant.

[debey]

here's an interesting article, for S&G.........
Brookings Register

[Chris19]

Originally Posted by rjl78

If you want hard water welcome to Pierre. Holy junk the water is terrible here. A softner is about a necessity, and I Sioux Falls to a lessor extent. I believe water in Sioux Falls is drafted from a well. Ground water usually chalked full of minerals that make water "hard"

When I lived in Pierre a few years back, I can remember the water being not the greatest and notice that a number of sidewalks and areas of houses that have the gardenhoses or near grass that has been watered have rust left over. I have also heard of people who have problems with washing clothes. I noticed Pierre's water the most with trying to keep the bathroom clean and washing dishes.

Other communities that have hard water issues include Lennox and Vermillion. Water in both places have a bad taste and the hard water is an issue more so when doing laundry. Lennox had terrible water until new wells were dug in the mid-1990s. It will be hooked up on the Lewis and Clark water system in a few years, which will help.

[Chris19]

I would agree with the ground water having a lot of minerals. Water quality is not the best in cities in Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa and what does not help in SE SD along with Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa is the farm chemicals eventually seeping into the ground water over time.

[no8fann]

We have just been up in the northern hills area for about a month, and compared to the water where we came from, the stuff from the tap is GREAT! I can run the shower for more than two days without having to get the limeaway or IronOut and scrub it down! This may be hard to you guys, but it's very mild to me! I think it depends on where you have been and what you are used to, but I can even drink the stuff out of the tap here, and I haven't done that in years!

[rjl78]

Most of the water in and around the hills is pretty good. Most of that water is drafted from the Madison Aquifer. The black hills is a major recharge zone for that formation and the water doesn't have that much time to get hard. The further east the harder the water in the Madison gets.

Chris the water in Pierre/Fort Pierre is drafted from shallow wells, 100 feet at the deepest and formation is mainly sandy along the river and is chalked full of minerals.