Hard water in Midland, TX
Reported by City of Midland Water Purification Plant · June 2025
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 8
- Softener for 3 people
- 48k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Midland water measures 380 mg/L (22.2 gpg) of hardness, very hard by USGS standards. The number comes from City of Midland Water Purification Plant, dated June 2025.
At 380 mg/L, Midland is 268 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 9 have softer water and 1 has harder. The range nearby runs from 58 mg/L in Brownfield to 381 in Odessa.
What 380 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 380 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 × 22.2 gpg = 5,004 grains a day. A 48,000-grain unit regenerates about every 9 days.
EPA record for Midland's water system
8 health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 157,000 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 8
- Monitoring or reporting
- 9
- Open now
- 1
| Contaminant or rule | Violations | Period | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Water Treatment Rulefiltration and disinfection | 6 | 2016–2026 | Resolved |
| Arsenicnaturally occurring metal | 2 | 2017–2023 | 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 Midland water hard?
Yes. It measures about 380 mg/L (22.2 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as very hard.
What is the water hardness in Midland in grains per gallon?
About 22.2 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 380 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 22.2.
What size water softener do I need in Midland?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 22.2 gpg works out to about 5,004 grains a day. A 48,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 9 days.
Has the Midland water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show 8 health-based violations for City of Midland Water Purification Plant since 2016, involving Surface Water Treatment Rule, Arsenic. There were also 9 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Odessa381 mg/LVery hard
- West Odessa329 mg/LVery hard
- Andrews114 mg/LModerately hard
- Lamesa185 mg/LVery hard
- Seminole222 mg/LVery hard
- Monahans88 mg/LModerately hard
- Brownfield58 mg/LSoft
- Snyder101 mg/LModerately hard
- Fort Stockton188 mg/LVery hard
- Sweetwater209 mg/LVery hard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, June 16, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.