If the concern is hardness or scale
The official Richmond sources cited here do not establish a current, citywide hardness value for every property. The city’s groundwater-plus-surface-water context makes guessing especially unhelpful. Measure hardness at the building and state the sample point and units.
Then use the water softener guide to structure a comparison. Ask how the exact model was sized, what usage and peak flow were assumed, which fixtures are included, where regeneration discharges, what maintenance is required, and how the result will be checked. Do not size from a postal address or from an unverified internet value.
If the objective applies throughout the building
For taste, odor, sediment, or a documented disinfectant objective across many fixtures, consider the whole-house filtration guide after the serving system is confirmed. The request should name the condition rather than ask for a generic “Richmond whole-house filter.”
Compare exact models, flow conditions, pressure implications, component sequence, replacement basis, and exclusions. If the observation is isolated to one fixture or to hot water, premise-plumbing investigation may be more relevant than immediate whole-building equipment.
If the goal is at the drinking-water faucet
A point-of-use objective should identify the exact faucet and intended uses. When the concern involves a named substance, use current official context and determine whether a property-level sample is needed. Then review reverse-osmosis planning with the exact model, storage arrangement, drain connection, feed-water assumptions, replacement intervals, and stated purpose in view.
Do not infer that reverse osmosis is required merely because Richmond publishes PFAS information. The city’s monitoring page establishes a sampling program, not a product selection. The same proof gate applies to every other technology.