How hard is the water in Katy, TX? What the numbers actually mean

What “grains per gallon” measures

Hardness is the concentration of dissolved calcium and magnesium in your water, expressed in grains per gallon (gpg). The scale that water treatment professionals use runs like this: under 1 gpg is soft, 1 to 3.5 is slightly hard, 3.5 to 7 is moderately hard, 7 to 10.5 is hard, and anything above 10.5 is classified as very hard. Most of the Greater Houston service area tests between 9 and 18 gpg. Every city we serve is in the very hard band.

Why the number matters more than the label

There is a meaningful difference between 11 gpg and 16 gpg, even though both get the same “very hard” label. Hardness determines how much resin capacity your softener needs and how often it has to regenerate. A system sized for 10 gpg installed on a 16 gpg supply will regenerate constantly, burn through salt, and still let hardness slip through between cycles. This is the single most common reason a homeowner tells us their previous softener “stopped working.” It never worked — it was undersized from day one.

What hard water actually costs

Scale is an insulator. As it coats the heating element or heat exchanger in your water heater, that unit has to burn more energy to deliver the same hot water, and it delivers less of it before running cold. Tankless units are more sensitive than tank heaters, not less, because the passages are narrower. Add the dishwasher, the washing machine, the ice maker, and the soap and detergent you use to compensate, and hard water in this region is a recurring cost that most people never itemize.

What to do about it

Get the actual number at your tap before you buy anything. A municipal report gives you an annual average across an entire distribution system, which is useful context and a poor sizing input. We test hardness, TDS, chlorine or chloramine and pH at your kitchen sink for free, write the numbers down, and leave them with you whether or not you buy a system.