Hard water in Terrell Hills, 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 Terrell Hills 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.
Terrell Hills sits 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 121 mg/L in Universal City to 180 in Alamo Heights.
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 = 2,369 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 10 days.
EPA record for Terrell Hills's water system
No health-based violations since 2016
Serves about 2,643,729 people from surface water.
- Health-based
- 0
- Monitoring or reporting
- 2
- Open now
- 0
TapWaterData ties Terrell Hills to this system. EPA's service-area records do not name Terrell Hills, so check the utility printed on your water bill.
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 Terrell Hills 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 Terrell Hills 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 Terrell Hills?
For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 10.5 gpg works out to about 2,369 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 10 days.
Has the Terrell Hills water system had EPA violations?
EPA records show no health-based violations for San Antonio Water System since 2016. There were also 2 monitoring or reporting violations, which are about late or missing tests and notices.
Nearby cities
- Alamo Heights180 mg/LHard
- Kirby180 mg/LHard
- Windcrest180 mg/LHard
- San Antonio179 mg/LHard
- Live Oak180 mg/LHard
- Converse179 mg/LHard
- Universal City121 mg/LHard
- Leon Valley180 mg/LHard
- Selma180 mg/LHard
- Schertz176 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.