Wake County's newest planned communities are some of the most thoughtfully designed residential developments in the Southeast. From the infrastructure to the amenities to the home designs, a great deal of planning goes into these neighborhoods. What rarely gets communicated to incoming residents, however, is anything substantive about the water quality they'll be living with for the next twenty or thirty years.
What New Neighborhoods Share
Whether you're moving into a community in Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, Apex, or Wake Forest, a few things are consistent across most new Wake County neighborhoods:
- Municipal water from a regional system --- typically including
Jordan Lake or Falls Lake as a source
- Moderate hardness levels from the mineral content of the water
supply
- Chloramine disinfection that affects taste and odor
- No whole-home water treatment provided by the builder unless
specifically purchased as an upgrade
The Builder\'s Perspective vs. Your Perspective
Builders in Wake County are required to connect homes to available water and sewer infrastructure and meet plumbing code. They're not responsible for the quality of the water once it enters the home, and water treatment is rarely standard. Some higher-end builders offer water softener installations as optional upgrades; most do not include them at all.
This means most new construction homebuyers are moving into homes that will immediately begin experiencing the effects of hard water on their new appliances, fixtures, and plumbing — without any protective treatment in place.
The First Year in a New Home
The first year in a new Wake County home is when hard water effects are least visible but most consequential. Scale is building inside your brand-new water heater's heating elements. Mineral deposits are beginning to accumulate on your new faucet aerators and showerhead screens. Your dishwasher is washing dishes with hard water that's etching your glassware.
None of this is dramatic in year one. By year three, the effects are clearly visible. By year seven, you may be dealing with appliance issues that a water softener would have prevented.
Planning Water Treatment in Your New Home
Many homeowners choose to schedule a water test within the first few weeks of moving in, establishing a baseline and making a treatment decision before any significant scale accumulation has occurred. This is the smartest timing.
New construction homes in Wake County are typically built with utility rooms or mechanical areas that accommodate water treatment equipment, and the plumbing configurations make installation straightforward in most cases.
Talking to Your Neighbors
In established Wake County neighborhoods, homeowners who've been there for five or ten years are often the most informed about local water quality — and many have already installed water treatment systems. If you're in a new community, some of your neighbors may have come from established neighborhoods and already have opinions on water quality based on experience.