A water softener is effective in removing hard water minerals, dissolved iron & manganese in the many private wells supplying homes in Boxford. Although the EPA has set no limits on the allowable amount of hardness in water, these minerals (magnesium & calcium) can have very negative impacts on your home’s water quality. The EPA maximum allowable levels for iron as a secondary contaminant is .3 parts per million. The EPA maximum allowable level for manganese as a secondary contaminant is .05 parts per million. These are very small amounts, but their affects can create quite an impact. Water Softening is the recommended solution if you have elevated levels of hard water minerals, iron or manganese in your well water.

High Efficiency Water Softener
THE AFFECTS OF IRON, MANGANESE & HARD WATER
Hard water affects include corrosion and scaling inside pipes, major staining throughout the home’s showers, bathtubs, and sinks and destruction of hot water heaters way ahead of their useful life (scale build-up inside hot water heaters can insulate the temperature sensor inside the tank causing them to work much harder to bring the temperature up to the set level). Iron and manganese in water can create rusty or black/brown staining and corrosion in the home as well.

Hard Water Scale
WHAT WILL A WATER SOFTENER REMOVE?
A water softener is effective in removing dissolved forms of iron & manganese and hard water minerals. To remove particulate iron or manganese, a cartridge filter with proper micron rating will be effective. Depending on the specific situation, this could require a series of filters with different size micron ratings to handle heavier levels in the water. Selecting the appropriate micron rating and style of filter can be determined by a water treatment professional based on water test results and other symptoms. For more information on Iron and Manganese in water, see articles in Water Technology Magazine at the following link: http://publications.

Dissolved Iron Staining
OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT BOXFORD PRIVATE WELLS
The majority of the dwellings in the Town of Boxford, Massachusetts, rely on private wells as their source of potable water. Such wells, including wells for irrigation and agricultural use, are not regulated under State Code, 310 CMR 22.00, and are under authority of the Board of Health. For this reason, the Board of Health for the Town of Boxford, acting under MGL c. 111, § 31, as amended, and with reference to MGL c. 40, § 54, in the interest of and for the protection of public health, established and adopted the following rules and regulations concerning private well water supplies in the Town of Boxford. See link at http://ecode360.com/.