Water Softener in Littleton, CO

Who supplies water to my Littleton home?

The City of Littleton says all city residents are served by Denver Water; the city's Public Works Department does not provide water at all. The catch is the mailing address. Littleton ZIP codes such as 80120 through 80123, 80127 and 80128 reach into unincorporated communities like Columbine, Ken Caryl and Highlands Ranch, and those areas are served by other districts. If your address is outside city limits, your water may come from somewhere else, with different hardness. Your water bill shows the provider.

For homes inside the city, Denver Water's annual water quality report is the document to read. It lists hardness, disinfectant and source information for the whole system. Look up the hardness figure there, then compare it with what you see on your fixtures. A plumber can also test at your kitchen tap in a few minutes.

Is a softener the right fix for what I am seeing?

Ask what the complaint actually is. White crust and cloudy glass suggest minerals, and a softener addresses those directly. A disinfectant taste is a different matter that calls for carbon filtration. Sediment in faucet screens can come from an older water heater. Littleton grew quickly in the 1950s and 1960s and is mostly detached homes and apartments, so plenty of houses carry original or second-generation plumbing where buildup in old pipes and fixtures can look like a water-supply problem. A plumber who looks at the heater, the fixtures and the water together will point you in the right direction.

What is involved in installing one?

A softener goes on the main line after the shutoff, with a bypass so you can service it and a drain line with an air gap. Most plumbers route irrigation and hose bibs ahead of the unit. Littleton requires permits to install, alter, repair or replace any plumbing system within city jurisdiction, and homeowners doing their own single-discipline work sign a Homeowner Affidavit. A plumber will normally handle the permit through the Permit Center.

One more Littleton detail

Sewer here is a city service even though water is not. Wastewater is treated at South Platte Renew, which Littleton and Englewood own together, so regeneration water from a softener ends up there.