Hard water in Burnet, TX
Reported by River Oaks Water System · June 2022
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 4
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Burnet water measures 139 mg/L (8.1 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from River Oaks Water System, dated June 2022. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 139 to 297 mg/L.
At 139 mg/L, Burnet is 27 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 6 have harder. The range nearby runs from 94 mg/L in Steiner Ranch to 171 in Marble Falls.
What 139 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 139 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 × 8.1 gpg = 1,829 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 13 days.
EPA record for Burnet's water system
4 health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 300 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 4
- Monitoring or reporting
- 27
- Open now
- 2
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling | 1 | 2024 | 1 open |
| Nitrateoften from fertilizer or septic systems | 3 | 2019–2020 | Resolved |
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 Burnet water hard?
Yes. It measures about 139 mg/L (8.1 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Burnet in grains per gallon?
About 8.1 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 139 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.1.
What size water softener do I need in Burnet?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.1 gpg works out to about 1,829 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 13 days.
Has the Burnet water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 4 health-based violations for River Oaks Water System since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule, Nitrate. There were also 27 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Marble Falls171 mg/LHard
- Horseshoe Bay159 mg/LHard
- Liberty Hill150 mg/LHard
- Lampasas98 mg/LModerately hard
- Leander162 mg/LHard
- Cedar Park157 mg/LHard
- Lakeway106 mg/LModerately hard
- Copperas Cove95 mg/LModerately hard
- Georgetown148 mg/LHard
- Steiner Ranch94 mg/LModerately hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 16, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.