The Village of Cary, Illinois, in McHenry County, is typical of many communities in the area. Cary needed to increase their well supply capacity to meet rapidly increasing demand due to population growth. Three years earlier, the Village had stopped routine operation of two deep aquifer wells due to the presence of barium in the water. Operation of one of the wells was begun once a water treatment plant for the removal of barium had been constructed in the building adjacent to the well. As the population continued to increase, the need for additional sources of water remained acute. The Village was faced with two alternatives: find a new well supply and construct a treatment facility to treat for either barium (present in the deep aquifers) or iron (present in the shallow aquifers); or construct a treatment facility at the existing well. However, a preliminary investigation indicated that the construction of a conventional barium removal treatment facility at the existing well site would necessitate acquiring adjacent property. The answer was a unique combination of water treatment processes which utilized the existing building. This not only reduced the projected construction cost, which allowed the Village to remodel an aging facility for the budgeted funds, but reduced the concerns of the residents in the area. This paper discusses the design, construction and operation of Cary's new gravity ion exchange softener.