Forty-four percent of Highlands Ranch homes were built in the 1990s, across Northridge, Southridge, Eastridge, and Westridge. Those houses are now 25 to 35 years old.
Hard water is the story here
Highlands Ranch Water says its water typically runs 11 to 13 grains per gallon, and its 2025 quarterly averages swung from 74 to 263 mg/L. Water that hard leaves scale in water heaters, tankless heat exchangers, faucet cartridges, and toilet fill valves. It's the main reason a tank water heater here can fail before the label says it should, and why a properly sized softener pays off for a family that plans to stay.
The good news: the district has no lead service lines, and customer service lines are copper.
Common Highlands Ranch calls
- Original or second water heaters failing from sediment
- New softeners, and repair of old ones that stopped regenerating
- Faucet and shower valve cartridges seized with scale
- Running toilets and worn fill valves
- Pinhole leaks and supply line failures
More on the water itself: How hard is the water in your Denver-area city?
Highlands Ranch plumbing at a glance
| Water provider | Highlands Ranch Water (Centennial Water & Sanitation District), mostly South Platte snowmelt treated at the Blake plant |
|---|---|
| Water hardness | Hard, and it changes with the season: 2025 quarterly averages ranged from 74 to 263 mg/L. The district says water typically measures 11 to 13 grains per gallon. |
| Homes | Median year built 1998, and 44% of homes were built in the 1990s. The first residents moved in in 1981. |
| Lead service lines | None in the district. Customer service lines are 3/4-inch type K copper. |
| Rebates | Toilet, smart controller, and irrigation rebates reopen Jan. 1, 2027; 2026 funding has run out |
Sources: Highlands Ranch Water quality indicators; Highlands Ranch Water hardness; Highlands Ranch Water 2026 report; Census ACS 2019–2023 via Point2Homes; Highlands Ranch Water rebates. Checked October 2026.
What we do in Highlands Ranch
- Drain cleaning and main sewer line clearing, including root cutting
- Water heater repair and replacement, tank and tankless
- Leak detection and repair, including slab leaks
- Frozen and burst pipe repair, same day for active leaks
- Backflow testing and repair, with the report for your water provider
- Sprinkler blowouts and spring startups
- Toilets, faucets, disposals, and shower valves
- Water softeners and whole-home filtration
Nearby
We also serve Littleton, Lone Tree, Centennial, Parker, and the rest of the Denver metro. See every city we serve →