Hard water in Fort Stockton, TX
Reported by City of Fort Stockton · June 2022
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 1
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Fort Stockton water measures 188 mg/L (11.0 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from City of Fort Stockton, dated June 2022. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 149 to 188 mg/L.
Fort Stockton sits 76 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 5 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 58 mg/L in Brownfield to 381 in Odessa.
What 188 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 188 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 × 11.0 gpg = 2,477 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 9 days.
EPA record for Fort Stockton's water system
1 health-based violation since 2016
Serves about 8,142 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 1
- Monitoring or reporting
- 6
- Open now
- 0
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rulecorrosion control and lead sampling | 1 | 2024 | 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 Fort Stockton water hard?
Yes. It measures about 188 mg/L (11.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Fort Stockton in grains per gallon?
About 11.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 188 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 11.0.
What size water softener do I need in Fort Stockton?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 11.0 gpg works out to about 2,477 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 9 days.
Has the Fort Stockton water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 1 health-based violation for City of Fort Stockton since 2016, involving Lead and Copper Rule. There were also 6 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Monahans88 mg/LModerately hard
- West Odessa329 mg/LVery hard
- Odessa381 mg/LVery hard
- Midland380 mg/LVery hard
- Andrews114 mg/LModerately hard
- Seminole222 mg/LVery hard
- Lamesa185 mg/LVery hard
- San Angelo346 mg/LVery hard
- Brownfield58 mg/LSoft
- Snyder101 mg/LModerately hard
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.