Your city water supplier is not required to provide you with soft water. Many municipalities reduce the amount of hardness to some degree. But according to the U.S. Geological Survey, 85 percent of cities are still supplied with hard water. Your city is required to provide you with water test results that show water hardness; just call the number on your water bill. Many people that use city water choose to soften it to save money on soaps and cleaners, protect their plumbing systems from scale buildup, protect their water-using appliances from hard water scale, provide better water for bathing, healthier skin and hair and eliminate hard water spots, among other things.