Hard water in Live Oak, TX
Reported by San Antonio Water System · October 2025
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Live Oak has about 180 mg/L of hardness, which is 10.5 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as hard. The number comes from San Antonio Water System, dated October 2025. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 180 to 214 mg/L.
At 180 mg/L, Live Oak is 68 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 85 mg/L in Cibolo to 180 in Selma.
What 180 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 180 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 × 10.5 gpg = 2,362 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for Live Oak's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 8,724 people from groundwater.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 0
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists City of Live Oak as the system serving Live Oak. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Live Oak.
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 Live Oak water hard?
Yes. It measures about 180 mg/L (10.5 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Live Oak in grains per gallon?
About 10.5 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 180 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 10.5.
What size water softener do I need in Live Oak?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 10.5 gpg works out to about 2,362 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the Live Oak water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Live Oak since 2016.
Nearby cities
- Universal City121 mg/LHard
- Selma180 mg/LHard
- Converse179 mg/LHard
- Windcrest180 mg/LHard
- Schertz176 mg/LHard
- Kirby180 mg/LHard
- Cibolo85 mg/LModerately hard
- Terrell Hills180 mg/LHard
- Alamo Heights180 mg/LHard
- San Antonio179 mg/LHard
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.