Hard water in Galveston, TX

Tap water hardness
164mg/L
9.6gpg
Hard

Reported by City of Galveston · October 2025

TX typical
112 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

The water in Galveston carries roughly 164 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 9.6 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from City of Galveston, dated October 2025.

Galveston on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+TX typical 112Webster: 42 mg/LWebster 42Nassau Bay: 67 mg/LNassau Bay 67Friendswood: 69 mg/LFriendswood 69Bacliff: 94 mg/LBacliff 94Santa Fe: 100 mg/LSanta Fe 100League City: 114 mg/LLeague City 114Hitchcock: 145 mg/LHitchcock 145Dickinson: 171 mg/LDickinson 171Texas City: 200 mg/LTexas City 200La Marque: 202 mg/LLa Marque 202Galveston 164mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+TX 112Bacliff: 94 mg/LBacliff 94Santa Fe: 100 mg/LSanta Fe 100Hitchcock: 145 mg/LHitchcock 145Dickinson: 171 mg/LDickinson 171Texas City: 200 mg/LTexas City 200La Marque: 202 mg/LLa Marque 202164 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Galveston sits 52 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 7 have softer water and 3 have harder. The range nearby runs from 42 mg/L in Webster to 202 in La Marque.

What 164 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 164 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.

Softener size for Galveston

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 9.6 gpg = 2,158 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 11 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Galveston's water system

City of Galveston · PWSID TX0840003

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 52,326 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
4
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 Galveston water hard?

Yes. It measures about 164 mg/L (9.6 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.

What is the water hardness in Galveston in grains per gallon?

About 9.6 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 164 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.6.

What size water softener do I need in Galveston?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.6 gpg works out to about 2,158 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 11 days.

Has the Galveston water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Galveston since 2016. There were also 4 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.

Nearby cities

All 342 cities in Texas

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, October 7, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.