Affinity Water has announced that they will not be reinstating partial water softening in Saffron Walden, following customer consultation and a review into options for treatment.
The cost of reinstating partial softening - through new equipment or an entirely new plant in future - would be a multi-million pound project.
After extensive research, the water company also found that there is currently no new equipment available on the market that meets the necessary water quality regulations.
Saffron Walden was the only area to receive partially softened water for household consumption across Affinity Water’s customer base in southeast England, where the water is naturally hard.
Affinity Water's director of asset strategy and capital delivery, Steve Plumb, said: "We are very sorry that we will not be able to reinstate partially softened water for Saffron Walden.
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"If we were to reinstate partial water softening in Saffron Walden, other Affinity Water customers across our area would be subsidising an additional service they don’t receive themselves.
"We would like to assure Saffron Walden residents that even though the water is 'harder' than they were previously used to, it’s still of the same high quality we have been providing across the region for well over 100 years."
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