Hard water in Rowlett, TX
Reported by City of Rowlett · December 2024
- TX typical
- 112 mg/L
- EPA health violations since 2016
- 0
- Softener for 3 people
- 24k grain
- Data
- Utility report
Tap water in Rowlett has about 161 mg/L of hardness, which is 9.4 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that counts as hard. The number comes from City of Rowlett, dated December 2024.
Rowlett sits 49 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 108 mg/L in Murphy to 164 in Sachse.
What 161 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 161 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 × 9.4 gpg = 2,120 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 11 days.
EPA record for Rowlett's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 68,123 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 5
- 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 Rowlett water hard?
Yes. It measures about 161 mg/L (9.4 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as hard.
What is the water hardness in Rowlett in grains per gallon?
About 9.4 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 161 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 9.4.
What size water softener do I need in Rowlett?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 9.4 gpg works out to about 2,120 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 11 days.
Has the Rowlett water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for City of Rowlett since 2016. There were also 5 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Sachse164 mg/LHard
- Garland146 mg/LHard
- Rockwall116 mg/LModerately hard
- Murphy108 mg/LModerately hard
- Wylie126 mg/LHard
- Sunnyvale140 mg/LHard
- Fate126 mg/LHard
- Richardson150 mg/LHard
- Lavon126 mg/LHard
- Mesquite142 mg/LHard
Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, December 6, 2024), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.