Water Softeners & Filtration in Lithonia, GA

Does Lithonia water need a softener?

No published figure says so either way. Lithonia, the small granite-quarrying town known as the City of Granite, has no water utility of its own; DeKalb County Watershed Management handles water mains and service. Drinking water comes from the Chattahoochee River and is treated at DeKalb's Scott Candler plant. DeKalb's report doesn't state hardness, so a test at your kitchen tap is the only real basis for a softener. If it reads low, skip it.

What should I check before buying a filter?

Your service line. DeKalb publishes a Service Line Inventory where customers can check their line's material, and its water quality report advises extra flushing for homes with lead or galvanized service lines. Lithonia has older residential streets around its Main Street core, so look it up. If the line is old, a drinking-water filter certified for lead is a sensible interim step, and replacement is the lasting one. DeKalb is responsible for the line from the main in the street to the meter; the property owner is responsible from the meter to the house, which is also where any whole-house treatment would go.

Who issues the plumbing permit?

Unlike neighboring Stonecrest, the City of Lithonia lists plumbing as its own trade permit type, alongside building, electrical and mechanical, issued by the Building and Permitting Division at City Hall, 6920 Main Street. Inside city limits, a treatment install that ties into the main is plumbing work, so ask the plumber whether it needs a permit.

One local note

Water main breaks in Lithonia are DeKalb's to fix; its 24-hour emergency repair line is 770-270-6243. If your water turns brown right after street work, run the cold tap and wait before blaming the plumbing or buying a filter.

For ongoing problems, the plumber will usually check three things in order: the hardness reading, the age and condition of the water heater, and the material of the line from the meter. In Lithonia's older houses near Main Street, the line is often the answer. In newer homes, a carbon cartridge for taste is frequently all that's needed.