Water Softeners in Orillia: Lake Water and the West Orillia Well

Orillia water: lake water that is still very hard, and a well that is harder

Lake water is supposed to be soft. Orillia's is not. The City's 2025 Annual Drinking Water System and Summary Report sampled treated water from the Water Filtration Plant, which blends Lake Couchiching water with Wells 1 and 2, at 182 mg/L on June 2, 2025. That is about 10.6 grains per gallon, just over the 180 very hard line on Health Canada's scale.

The West Orillia Well is another story. Same day, treated water from that well sampled at 390 mg/L, about 22.8 grains per gallon. That is the hardest official figure anywhere in our service area. It is also higher in chloride: 137 mg/L, against 83.4 at the plant.

These are single samples, not yearly averages, and we say so. But both numbers are very hard, and you already know it from the kettle and the shower head. A water softener fixes it. We read your hardness at the tap before install and again after, so you see exactly where you started and where you ended up.

• Softeners sized for 182 to 390 mg/L
• West side sizing for the hardest water we see
• Baseline reading tells us which supply you are on
• After reading proves it
• Fixed written price
• Canadian-made systems, built down the road in Barrie

Lake Couchiching water, just over the line

Most of the city is served from the Water Filtration Plant. Lake Couchiching water is drawn through an intake about 374 m from shore, treated, and blended with Wells 1 and 2 near the shore. The June 2, 2025 sample of that treated water was 182 mg/L.

At 182 mg/L, about 10.6 grains, scale is real but sizing stays sensible. We size for your household and bathrooms, quote it in writing, and set the softener from the baseline reading we take at your kitchen tap. Then we read the same tap after. You see both numbers.

The West Orillia Well: the hardest number we work with

If you are on the west side, the June 2025 sample of treated water from the West Orillia Well was 390 mg/L. About 22.8 grains per gallon. That is more than double the very hard line. Water that hard scales a tankless heater fast, and a softener sized for the plant water would run out of capacity too soon.

So the baseline reading matters more here than anywhere. It tells us which supply you are actually on, and we program to that. For drinking water, the higher chloride is a taste issue, not a safety one. A reverse osmosis tap at the kitchen sink handles it. Outside the city on a private well? Start with in-depth well water testing, then our well water treatment page shows the design.