Hard water in Richardson, TX
Reported by City of Richardson · September 2025
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Richardson water measures 150 mg/L (8.8 gpg) of hardness, hard by USGS standards. The number comes from City of Richardson, dated September 2025.
At 150 mg/L, Richardson is 38 mg/L above the typical Texas figure of 112. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 6 have softer water and 3 have harder. The range nearby runs from 88 mg/L in University Park to 168 in Farmers Branch.
What 150 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 150 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 × 8.8 gpg = 1,973 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 12 days.
EPA record for Richardson's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 122,615 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 1
- 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 Richardson water hard?
Yes. It measures about 150 mg/L (8.8 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Richardson in grains per gallon?
About 8.8 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 150 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 8.8.
What size water softener do I need in Richardson?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 8.8 gpg works out to about 1,973 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 12 days.
Has the Richardson water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Richardson since 2016. There were also 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Plano150 mg/LHard
- Garland146 mg/LHard
- Murphy108 mg/LModerately hard
- Sachse164 mg/LHard
- Allen109 mg/LModerately hard
- University Park88 mg/LModerately hard
- Rowlett161 mg/LHard
- Farmers Branch168 mg/LHard
- Carrollton136 mg/LHard
- Wylie126 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, September 29, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.