RED WING, MN – October 13, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –
Culligan of Red Wing has published the findings of 1,496 in-home water tests and service checks performed at 1,327 homes in 37 cities across southeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The summary, posted to the company’s website on October 1, 2026, draws on technician field records from May 2025 through August 2026 and covers water hardness, total dissolved solids, nitrate, iron, and odor.
The defining result was hardness. According to the company, 99 percent of the homes tested had water above 10.5 grains per gallon, the level the United States Geological Survey classifies as very hard, and the regional median was 19 grains per gallon. Hardness comes mainly from dissolved calcium and magnesium and is a household maintenance matter rather than a federal drinking-water health standard, the company notes, showing up as scale on fixtures, mineral buildup in appliances, and heavier soap use.
“Nearly every appointment begins with the same question: Is the water here really as hard as people claim? Now, we can provide our own data rather than relying on assumptions. Our findings show that 19 grains is the average hardness level we observe, which isn’t the worst-case scenario,” said Justin Bohl, owner of Culligan of Red Wing.
Total dissolved solids varied far more from one community to the next. The regional median tap reading was 340 parts per million, and 12 percent of homes tested above 500 parts per million, the Environmental Protection Agency’s secondary guideline, which concerns taste, deposits, and staining rather than health. In Red Wing, 29 percent of tested homes were above that mark, while Ellsworth, Wisconsin, recorded a median of 396 parts per million with 11 percent above it. A high reading does not by itself mean a home needs reverse osmosis, the company notes, because the right response depends on which dissolved substances are present.
Nitrate was handled most cautiously. The regional median field reading was 2 parts per million, and 19 percent of readings came in at 10 parts per million or higher, the figure the EPA sets as its limit for nitrate measured as nitrogen. Several western Wisconsin communities, including Bay City, Beldenville, Maiden Rock and Hager City, showed elevated rates, as did Goodhue, Kellogg and Hastings in Minnesota. Because the field form records nitrate in parts per million without stating whether it is measured as nitrogen, the company does not treat those readings as regulatory exceedances.
An in-home water test is a screening measurement taken during a service call, the company stresses, and any reading that raises concern should be confirmed by a certified laboratory before a health conclusion is drawn. It also relays Minnesota Department of Health guidance that private well owners test for nitrate every year and cautions that boiling does not remove nitrate and can concentrate it.
Iron and odor findings came from a narrower group. Among 135 locations with a raw iron entry, 49 percent were recorded at 2 parts per million or higher, and odor was noted at 38 percent of 136 locations with an odor entry. Because those entries mostly come from homes already using iron-treatment equipment, the company says they describe that customer subset rather than the wider area.
The summary is explicit about what the dataset is not. The records come from service customers rather than a random sample of households, so they may over-represent homes with known water problems, and a city label reflects the service address, not whether a home draws from a municipal supply or a private well. Each location counts once, using its latest reading, so repeat visits do not over-weight a household, and medians are used so that one unusual entry does not skew a city’s picture. Red Wing, with 381 locations, Cannon Falls with 176, Lake City with 144, and Ellsworth with 133 supplied the deepest counts.
“The pattern is strong, but it is still a regional pattern. Two houses on the same road can test very differently depending on the well, the plumbing, and what was installed years ago. Test at the tap, then match treatment to the result,” Bohl said.
Culligan of Red Wing has provided water treatment to homes and businesses in southeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin since 1936. Justin Bohl, who began working at the Red Wing location during high school, purchased the business in October 2016, and the company added residential plumbing services in 2021. Its services include water softeners, whole-home filtration, reverse osmosis drinking water systems, bottled and bottleless water coolers, salt and water delivery, equipment service and repair, and in-home and laboratory water testing for Red Wing, Lake City, Cannon Falls, Zumbrota, Wabasha, Goodhue, Prescott, Ellsworth, Pepin, and the surrounding communities of Goodhue, Wabasha, Pepin, and Pierce counties.
###
For more information about Culligan of Red Wing, contact the company here:
Culligan of Red Wing
Justin Bohl
(651) 243-4938
customerservice@culliganredwing.com
4909 Moundview Dr, Red Wing, MN 55066
Media gallery
