Hard water in Buda, TX
Reported by Goforth SUD · June 2022
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Buda water measures 136 mg/L (8.0 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Goforth SUD, dated June 2022. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 136 to 253 mg/L.
At 136 mg/L, Buda is 24 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 4 have harder. The range nearby runs from 63 mg/L in Shady Hollow to 212 in San Marcos.
What 136 mg/L means at home
Expect white crust on faucets and showerheads, plus spots on dishes that come out of the dishwasher.
Kettles collect scale quickly. Water heaters build up sediment at the bottom of the tank, which makes them work harder over time.
Soap and detergent need a little more to lather, and soap scum shows up in the tub.
Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.
What to do about it
At 136 mg/L most of the trouble is scale, and only a few things deal with it.
Ion-exchange water softener
The standard whole-house fix. It swaps calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium and needs salt plus a drain. Size it with the calculator below.
Salt-free conditioner
No salt and no drain line. It changes how minerals form scale instead of removing them, so water still tests hard.
Reverse osmosis or carbon filter
Under-sink reverse osmosis removes minerals from drinking water only. Plain carbon filters improve taste but do not soften.
3 people × 75 gallons a day × 8.0 gpg = 1,793 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Buda's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 13,830 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 5
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists City of Buda as the system serving Buda. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Buda.
Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.
Questions
Is Buda water hard?
Yes. It measures about 136 mg/L (8.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Buda in grains per gallon?
About 8.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 136 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.0.
What size water softener do I need in Buda?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.0 gpg works out to about 1,793 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Buda water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Buda since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Kyle113 mg/LModerately hard
- Shady Hollow63 mg/LModerately hard
- Belterra143 mg/LHard
- San Marcos212 mg/LVery hard
- Austin68 mg/LModerately hard
- Dripping Springs148 mg/LHard
- Bee Cave110 mg/LModerately hard
- Hornsby Bend165 mg/LHard
- Steiner Ranch94 mg/LModerately hard
- Lakeway106 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 28, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.