Hard water & scale
Spots on glassware, crust on fixtures, dry skin, and water heaters that die early. Scale is the most expensive water problem in the Quad Cities because it shortens the life of every appliance it touches.
How hard is my water?
Pure Water · Elevated Living
Pure Water.
Elevated Living.
Water treatment & plumbing in Prescott and Yavapai County, Arizona
Treatment designed around your water — plus careful residential plumbing from an owner-operated shop in Prescott. We test first, explain what the numbers actually mean, and recommend only what your home needs.
Free hardness, chlorine & TDS check with any estimate · No trip fee anywhere in Yavapai County
Prescott · Prescott Valley · Chino Valley · Sedona · Verde Valley
- Tested, then treatedNothing recommended before we measure your water.
- Owner-operatedNeil does the work. 32 years in the Arizona trade.
- Published flat ratesPrices on the website, before you call.
- Yavapai County onlyNo trip fee, rural roads and private wells welcome.
Common water problems
What Northern Arizona water does
What Northern Arizona water does
to a house
Hardness, chlorine taste and well-water chemistry are the three complaints we hear most. Each one has a different fix, and the only way to know which you have is to measure it.
Taste & odor
Chlorine on city water, sulfur or metallic notes on a well. Taste problems are usually the cheapest to solve — an under-sink reverse osmosis system handles drinking and cooking water for a flat $829.
Reverse osmosis, installedPrivate well chemistry
Arsenic, iron, manganese, nitrate and bacteria vary well to well in Yavapai County. The EPA limit for arsenic is 10 µg/L and some county wells are over it. A field meter cannot measure any of this.
Well water testingLeaks & plumbing repairs
Dripping faucets, running toilets, slab and hidden leaks, clogged drains, water heaters that stopped heating. Diagnosis quoted flat before anything starts.
Plumbing services
The numbers
What is actually in Northern Arizona water
Published figures for the Prescott area, with the source named for each one. These are starting points, not a substitute for testing your own tap or well.
| Measure | Typical figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness, City of Prescott | 4.3–7.6 gpg | The city’s own figure — 75–130 ppm, which it calls moderately hard. The top of that range crosses the 7 gpg the USGS calls hard; the bottom does not. |
| Hardness, Prescott Valley | 7.2 gpg | 123 mg/L on the main system; 9.6 gpg (165 mg/L) on the separate Mingus West system. Two houses a few miles apart, genuinely different water. |
| Hardness, private wells | 10–13.5 gpg | A different animal from city water. ADEQ sampled 58 wells across the Prescott Active Management Area and found 22 hard and 9 very hard, with a 95% confidence interval of 173–231 mg/L. Your well is not an average — it has to be measured. |
| Arsenic, City of Prescott supply | 2.6–10 ppb | Within the EPA limit of 10 ppb. The city reports compliance; this is a taste-and-appliance conversation, not a safety one. |
| Arsenic, some private wells | up to 952 µg/L | Arizona DHS sampled six private wells near Cornville in 2004; all six were over the limit, the highest at 952 µg/L — roughly 95×. Wells are not regulated and nobody tests them but you. |
| EPA limit, arsenic | 10 µg/L | The maximum contaminant level for public systems. A useful yardstick for a private well, which has no legal limit at all. |
Sources: City of Prescott annual water quality report; Town of Prescott Valley 2025 water quality report; Arizona Department of Health Services, Cornville arsenic health consultation; U.S. Geological Survey hardness scale; U.S. EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. Every figure here is reproduced from the linked report. Where a utility does not publish a hardness figure — and most do not — this site does not print one.
Water treatment
Treatment designed for your water, not a catalog
Every home's water is different, and two houses on the same street can test differently if one is on a well. CreekWell starts with measurement: a free field check for hardness, chlorine and total dissolved solids on any estimate, and a certified laboratory panel when the answer actually matters.
- Certified lab testing, $185. 53 parameters, sampled at your home.
- Under-sink reverse osmosis, from $829 installed. Faucet hole drilling included.
- Plain-English results. What each number means for your house, not a sales sheet.
- No scare tactics. Prescott and Prescott Valley publish compliant water-quality reports. We talk about hardness, taste and appliance life — not fear.
Plumbing services
Plumbing done with the same care
Thirty-two years in the Arizona trade, and the work gets left clean. Shutoffs labeled, penetrations sealed, the area swept. Flat rates are published so you know the number before the truck arrives.
- Drains and sewer clogs, $179 flat. Kitchen, bath and main lines.
- Faucets, toilets and shower valves. Repair or replace, your fixture or ours.
- Leak detection and repair. Burst pipes, slab leaks, the drip you can hear but can't find.
- Water heater service. Flush, anode, valves, repairs; tankless descaling from $250.
Published flat rates
The price is on the website
Bookable now, each under $1,000 including labor and materials. No trip fee anywhere in Yavapai County.
Premium water test
53 parameters, certified laboratory. Private wells and city water.
$185Flat rateUnder-sink reverse osmosis
4-stage system, installed, faucet hole drilling included.
$829 Installed · 5-stage $999Drain & sewer clearing
Kitchen, bath and main line clogs cleared.
$179Flat rateTankless descaling
Restores flow and protects the heat exchanger.
$250FromWhole-house treatment systems, water heater replacements, repipes and other work over $1,000 are priced on the pricing page for reference, but are not currently installed — see the note on licensing.
The list
Hold a place in the first round
New work restarts in early November, once the licenses are issued. Leave your name now and you are called in the order the list came in. No deposit, nothing owed, and you can say no when we call.
What happens next
- A confirmation appears on this page straight away — nothing to wait for in your inbox.
- Neil calls in list order once licensing clears, starting in early November.
- You get the published flat rate. Being on the list does not change the price either way.
Rather not wait for the call? 928-228-5770 is faster — it goes to Neil, not a call center.
How it works
Three steps, no surprises
Test and inspect
A free field check on any estimate — hardness, chlorine and TDS, read in front of you. A certified lab panel when the question needs a real answer.
Explain the options
What the numbers mean for your house, what each fix costs, and what happens if you do nothing. Written down, at a published price.
Do the work
Installed or repaired by the owner, not a subcontractor. Area left clean, shutoffs labeled, two-year warranty on workmanship.
Owner-operated
Local. Invested. Accountable.
CreekWell is Neil Staiger — 32 years in the Arizona plumbing trade, now working Yavapai County only. When you call, you get the person who will be doing the work, and who answers for it afterward.
Manufacturer-certified by Moen, Kohler, Navien, Rinnai, Charger Water Treatment Products and B&R Industries.
More about Neil
Service status — September 2026
Rebranding, and adding licenses
Aqua Cat Plumbing & Water Treatment is now CreekWell Plumbing & Water Treatment. Same owner, same phone number.
We are adding Arizona contractor licenses, and we are not booking new work until that is done — a few weeks. Jobs already on the schedule are not affected.
For new work, hold a place in the first round or call or text 928-228-5770. Bookings go in the order they come in, at the prices published on this site. No deposit.
Straight answers
Questions we get asked
Can you come out right now?
Not for new work. We are rebranding and adding Arizona contractor licenses, and we are not booking new jobs for a few weeks. Jobs already on the schedule are not affected.
Leave your name on the list or call or text 928-228-5770. Bookings go in the order they come in, at the prices published on this site, with no deposit.
How much does a water test cost in Prescott?
A certified laboratory water test covering 53 parameters is $185, flat rate.
That covers sample collection at your home, the lab analysis, and a walk-through of what the results mean. A free basic field check — hardness, chlorine and total dissolved solids, read on the spot — comes with any estimate at no charge. The field check is a screen, not a safety test: only the lab panel measures arsenic, bacteria, nitrate and metals.
Is Prescott water hard?
Yes — most water in the Prescott area is hard enough to leave scale on fixtures and inside appliances.
Hardness varies by source and by neighborhood, and private wells vary far more than city water does. Hardness on the Mingus West system in Prescott Valley is a third higher than on the main town system. That is why we measure your specific water before recommending anything.
What does an under-sink reverse osmosis system cost installed?
A 4-stage under-sink reverse osmosis system is $829 installed. A 5-stage system with alkaline remineralization is $999.
Both prices are flat and include the system, the installation, and drilling the faucet hole if your counter needs one. There is no trip fee anywhere in Yavapai County.
Do you test private well water in Yavapai County?
Yes. Private wells are the reason the lab panel exists.
Wells in Yavapai County can carry arsenic, iron, manganese, nitrate and bacteria in combinations that vary from one well to the next. The EPA maximum contaminant level for arsenic is 10 micrograms per liter, and some wells in the county exceed it. Nobody can tell you what is in your well without testing it — and a handheld field meter cannot measure arsenic at all.
What areas does CreekWell serve?
Yavapai County only — and there is no trip fee anywhere in it.
Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Paulden, Dewey-Humboldt, Mayer, Spring Valley, Williamson Valley, Skull Valley, Kirkland, Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, Cottonwood, Cornville, Clarkdale, Jerome, Camp Verde, Rimrock and Lake Montezuma. Rural roads and private wells are welcome.
Is CreekWell a licensed contractor?
No. CreekWell is not a licensed contractor.
Work is performed under Arizona's handyman exemption, A.R.S. § 32-1121(A)(14), which limits any single project to less than $1,000 including labor and materials, and excludes work requiring a building permit as well as all natural gas and propane work. That is why the services above are priced the way they are, and why larger installations are listed for reference only.
Neil Staiger has 32 years of Arizona plumbing experience and holds current manufacturer certifications from Moen, Kohler, Navien, Rinnai and Charger Water Treatment Products. Additional Arizona contractor licenses are in progress.
How hard is the water where I live?
Moderately. The City of Prescott publishes 75–130 ppm, which it states is 4.3 to 7.6 grains per gallon. Prescott Valley publishes 123 mg/L, about 7.2 gpg, and 9.6 on its Mingus West system.
The USGS calls anything over 7 grains per gallon hard, so Prescott straddles that line and Prescott Valley sits just over it. Private wells are the different story: ADEQ's sampling across the Prescott Active Management Area put most wells between about 10 and 13.5 grains, with some far higher. But those are basin averages — your own tap can sit either side of them, and a private well can be somewhere else entirely. The free field check on any estimate gives you your actual number in a few minutes.
Do you install whole-house softeners and filtration?
Not right now. Whole-house systems are priced on the pricing page for reference, but they are not currently installed.
A whole-house install almost always runs past $1,000 once labor and materials are counted, and often needs a permit — both of which put it outside what an unlicensed person may legally take on in Arizona. Point-of-use work, service and repairs are unaffected. See the licensing note.
Is there a warranty?
Two years on workmanship, plus whatever the manufacturer covers on the equipment.
Because the same person who installed it comes back, warranty work does not involve explaining the job to somebody new.
Proudly serving
Yavapai County, and only Yavapai County
Staying local is how the same person answers the phone and shows up at the door. No trip fee anywhere on this list.
The list
Hold a place in the first round of appointments
New work is not being booked for a few weeks while we rebrand and add contractor licenses. Jobs already scheduled are not affected.