Upper Alton Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Upper Alton, Illinois, in Madison County — a major south Illinois Metro East community (Upper Alton is a significant neighborhood of Alton, Madison County — Alton is one of the most historically significant south Illinois cities on the Mississippi River; Alton was a major antebellum anti-slavery community (Elijah P. Lovejoy, one of the most important American abolitionists, was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton in 1837 while defending his printing press — Lovejoy became the first martyr of the abolitionist press in the United States); Alton is also famous as the site of the Lincoln–Douglas Debate of 1858 (the final and most famous of the seven Lincoln–Douglas debates took place in Alton, within walking distance of the Mississippi River)), home of the Alton Museum of History and Art and the Confederate Soldiers Cemetery, a diverse Madison County community with a significant African-American and working-class population, and a community rich with antebellum and Civil War history — draws its municipal water supply from the Mississippi River via the City of Alton Water Division. Water hardness in Upper Alton measures 109 mg/L — classified as moderately hard.

Upper Alton's moderate hardness reflects the south Illinois Madison County Mississippi River supply with effective treatment. The Mississippi River at Alton carries dissolved carbonates from upstream Ozark Plateau limestone and shale geology. City of Alton applies effective treatment, producing the moderate 109 mg/L.

At 109 mg/L, Upper Alton residents encounter moderate scale accumulation. Monthly cleaning is recommended. City of Alton Water Division consistently delivers water meeting all Illinois EPA and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.