Huntley Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Huntley, Illinois, in McHenry County — a major northeast Illinois Chicago exurban growing community (Huntley is a significant McHenry County village — one of the most rapidly growing Chicago exurban communities in the early 21st century; Huntley was a small rural McHenry County village for most of its history before experiencing explosive residential development beginning in the 1990s and 2000s; Huntley is known for the Del Webb Sun City Huntley retirement community (Del Webb Sun City Huntley — one of the largest active adult retirement communities in the Chicago metropolitan area; the massive planned retirement community brought a significant influx of retirees from Chicago and its suburbs to the McHenry County Huntley area; the development transformed Huntley from a small farm town to a major suburban community virtually overnight)); Huntley is part of the broader McHenry County exurban Chicago growth corridor along IL-47 and US-20 — a corridor of rapid residential expansion in the far northwest Chicago suburbs that drew families seeking lower housing costs and larger lots while remaining within commuting distance of Chicago, a diverse McHenry County community with a primarily retired, working-class, and suburban family population — draws its municipal water supply via the Huntley Water Division. Water hardness in Huntley measures 278 mg/L — classified as very hard.

Huntley's very hard supply reflects the northeast Illinois McHenry County Fox River dolomite carbonate's extremely calcareous character. The Fox River watershed at Huntley draws from Silurian calcareous Niagaran Dolomite with no softening, producing the very hard 278 mg/L.

At 278 mg/L, Huntley residents face significant hard water challenges. Regular water softeners and descaling are strongly recommended. Huntley Water Division consistently delivers water meeting all Illinois EPA and federal EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.