Hard water in Donna, TX
Reported by City of Donna · June 2022
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Donna water measures 216 mg/L (12.6 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from City of Donna, dated June 2022. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 216 to 306 mg/L.
At 216 mg/L, Donna is 104 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. None of the 10 nearest cities we track has harder water. The range nearby runs from 161 mg/L in Olivarez to 210 in Pharr.
What 216 mg/L means at home
Scale forms fast here. Kettles and coffee makers need regular descaling, and showerheads clog unless you clean them.
Tank water heaters collect mineral sediment that insulates the water from the burner, so flushing the tank matters more than usual.
Dishes and glass shower doors spot easily. Soap scum and a dull film on hair or laundry are common complaints.
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 216 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 × 12.6 gpg = 2,842 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 8 days.
EPA record for Donna's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 18,720 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 3
- Open now
- 1
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 Donna water hard?
Yes. It measures about 216 mg/L (12.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Donna in grains per gallon?
About 12.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 216 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 12.6.
What size water softener do I need in Donna?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 12.6 gpg works out to about 2,842 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 8 days.
Has the Donna water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Donna since 2016. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Weslaco164 mg/LHard
- Alamo166 mg/LHard
- Olivarez161 mg/LHard
- Mila Doce161 mg/LHard
- Progreso173 mg/LHard
- San Juan162 mg/LHard
- Mercedes166 mg/LHard
- Murillo161 mg/LHard
- Pharr210 mg/LVery hard
- Elsa161 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 21, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.