Water Treatment in Houston, TX
Cleaner, better-tasting water for your Houston home — the city runs on mostly surface water that is only moderately hard (about 6.4 grains per gallon on average), yet its disinfection byproducts and arsenic sit above EWG’s health guidelines. We measure your exact tap and build the right system around it. Upfront pricing, free in-home water test.
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Houston’s Water: Softer Than You’d Think, With a DBP Story
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Mostly surface water, moderately hard. City of Houston water is 86.5% surface water — drawn from Lake Conroe, Lake Houston and Lake Livingston — with the rest deep aquifer groundwater. That makes it moderately hard, averaging about 6.4 grains per gallon (range ~2.5–8.0), not the “very hard” many Houstonians assume. You still feel scale over time, just less than the groundwater suburbs.
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Disinfection byproducts lead the list. Chlorinating all that surface water raises disinfection byproducts (TTHMs and haloacetic acids) — the dominant contaminant family here — along with arsenic (2.06 ppb; federal legal limit 10 ppb) and radium (0.85 pCi/L; legal limit 5 pCi/L), each above the levels EWG considers healthy but within federal legal limits.
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Good news on PFAS. Houston’s main system was tested for PFOA and PFOS 94 times and came back non-detect every time — confirmed clean. So here the job is reducing disinfection byproducts and arsenic at the tap, not chasing a PFAS problem.
What Treated Water Means for Your Houston Home
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Fewer disinfection byproducts & chlorine taste. Whole-home carbon filtration reduces the TTHMs, haloacetic acids and chlorine flavor that come with Houston’s chlorinated surface water — noticeably better water at every tap.
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Cleaner drinking water & ice. Reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink reduces arsenic and the other EWG-flagged contaminants, for better-tasting coffee, tea and ice.
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Softer water, protected appliances. Even at moderate hardness, a properly sized softener spares your water heater, dishwasher and fixtures from scale — and leaves skin, hair and laundry softer.
Cleaner water for your home, at an honest, upfront price.
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Water Treatment in Houston — Common Questions
How hard is Houston’s water?
Houston’s municipal water is moderately hard — averaging about 6.4 grains per gallon (roughly 110 mg/L), with a range near 2.5 to 8.0. Because it is mostly treated surface water, it is softer than the hard Gulf Coast groundwater in many suburbs. We confirm your exact number during the free in-home water test.
Does Houston tap water have PFAS?
No detectable PFAS. Houston’s main system tested for PFOA and PFOS 94 times across 2023–2024 and every result was non-detect — confirmed clean. The contaminants worth reducing here are disinfection byproducts and arsenic, both above EWG’s health guidelines but within federal legal limits.
Is Houston water safe to drink?
The City of Houston meets every federal legal limit. Several contaminants — disinfection byproducts, arsenic and radium — sit above the stricter, non-enforceable levels EWG considers healthy, which is why many homeowners choose to reduce their exposure with filtration and reverse osmosis.
What will I notice after installing a system?
Less chlorine taste and fewer disinfection byproducts at every tap, cleaner-tasting drinking water and ice with arsenic reduced, and softer water that protects your appliances — all at an honest, upfront price.
Your Local Houston Water Team
Velen Home installs water softeners, whole-home filtration and reverse-osmosis systems across the City of Houston — book your free in-home water test for honest, upfront pricing.