Hard water in Marble Falls, TX
Reported by Rio Ancho Subdivision · June 2022
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 4
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
The water in Marble Falls carries roughly 171 mg/L of dissolved calcium and magnesium, or 10.0 grains per gallon. That is hard water. The number comes from Rio Ancho Subdivision, dated June 2022. Reports for this system disagree, with values from 171 to 234 mg/L.
At 171 mg/L, Marble Falls is 59 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 94 mg/L in Steiner Ranch to 162 in Leander.
What 171 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 171 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 × 10.0 gpg = 2,254 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for Marble Falls's water system
4 health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 8,059 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 4
- Monitoring or reporting
- 1
- Open now
- 0
EPA lists City of Marble Falls as the system serving Marble Falls. The hardness figure above comes from a different system's report, which TapWaterData uses for Marble Falls.
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Water Treatment Rulefiltration and disinfection | 4 | 2018–2025 | 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 Marble Falls water hard?
Yes. It measures about 171 mg/L (10.0 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Marble Falls in grains per gallon?
About 10.0 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 171 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 10.0.
What size water softener do I need in Marble Falls?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 10.0 gpg works out to about 2,254 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the Marble Falls water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 4 health-based violations for City of Marble Falls since 2016, involving Surface Water Treatment Rule. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Horseshoe Bay159 mg/LHard
- Burnet139 mg/LHard
- Lakeway106 mg/LModerately hard
- Liberty Hill150 mg/LHard
- Leander162 mg/LHard
- Bee Cave110 mg/LModerately hard
- Steiner Ranch94 mg/LModerately hard
- Dripping Springs148 mg/LHard
- Cedar Park157 mg/LHard
- Belterra143 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 27, 2022), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.