Hard water in Farmers Branch, TX
Reported by City of Farmers Branch · April 2025
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Farmers Branch carries roughly 168 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 9.8 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from City of Farmers Branch, dated April 2025.
At 168 mg/L, Farmers Branch is 56 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 11 mg/L in The Colony to 150 in Richardson.
What 168 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 168 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 × 9.8 gpg = 2,210 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for Farmers Branch's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 40,246 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 3
- Open now
- 0
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 Farmers Branch water hard?
Yes. It measures about 168 mg/L (9.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Farmers Branch in grains per gallon?
About 9.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 168 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.8.
What size water softener do I need in Farmers Branch?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.8 gpg works out to about 2,210 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the Farmers Branch water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Farmers Branch since 2016. There were also 3 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Carrollton136 mg/LHard
- Coppell143 mg/LHard
- Irving81 mg/LModerately hard
- University Park88 mg/LModerately hard
- Lewisville90 mg/LModerately hard
- Richardson150 mg/LHard
- The Colony11 mg/LSoft
- Dallas112 mg/LModerately hard
- Plano150 mg/LHard
- Grapevine53 mg/LSoft
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, April 15, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.