Austin, Texas
Austin, TX Water Quality
Lower Colorado River water from Lake Travis and Lake Austin. The 2025 report shows chloramine disinfection, moderate hardness and lead under 1 ppb.
Chloramine avg 2.3 ppm · TTHM up to 53.9 ppb (limit 80) · hardness avg 5.4 gpg · lead 90% below 1.0 ppb.
The short answer
Austin's water is Lower Colorado River water from Lake Travis and Lake Austin, treated at three City plants. Austin Water says it continues to meet or exceed all EPA and TCEQ requirements.
Lead is very low: 90% of 2024 tap samples were under 1.0 ppb, and the City certified its public system free of lead pipes. What you notice at the tap is chloramine, averaging 2.3 ppm. Hardness is moderate at 5.4 grains per gallon, and trihalomethanes, a disinfection byproduct, reached 53.9 ppb against an 80 ppb limit.
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Tell us your Austin address. We confirm coverage first, then schedule a licensed technician to test at your tap — no charge, no obligation.
What filtration does — and does not
Carbon, catalytic carbon and reverse osmosis solve different problems. Austin's report points at chloramine and byproducts.
Where Austin water comes from
One river, two lakes, three plants.
Lower Colorado River
Austin Water draws surface water from the Lower Colorado River as it flows through Lake Travis and Lake Austin.
Three treatment plants
The Handcox, Davis and Ullrich plants treat the water. Operators test at least every two hours for disinfectant residual, turbidity, pH, alkalinity and softening levels.
Protected intakes
A copper sulfate feed, installed in 2020, protects raw-water piping from zebra mussels, which can damage equipment and affect taste and odor. Plants were winterized after Winter Storm Uri.
What the 2025 Austin report actually says
Limits are fixed. Results are from Austin Water's 2025 Water Quality Report. They are system-level figures, not a reading at your tap.
Chloramine 0.06–3.1 ppm
Austin disinfects with chloramines. Distribution readings averaged 2.3 ppm against a 4 ppm maximum residual disinfectant level.
Trihalomethanes up to 53.9 ppb
Total trihalomethanes ranged from 31.4 to 53.9 ppb, with a highest running annual average of 45.5 ppb against an 80 ppb limit. Haloacetic acids peaked at 21.1 ppb (limit 60).
Hardness averaging 93 ppm
70 to 126 ppm as calcium carbonate, or 4.1 to 7.4 grains per gallon, averaging 5.4 gpg.
Lead under 1 ppb
In 2024 tap sampling, 90% of samples were below 1.0 ppb and none exceeded the 15 ppb action level. The highest single result was 5.1 ppb. Testing runs every three years.
PFAS: little to none found
Austin Water says its PFAS monitoring found little to no detectable traces in the City's drinking water.
No E. coli in 2025
Austin Water tests more than 300 distribution locations a month for E. coli. None tested positive in 2025. Turbidity met the 0.3 NTU standard in 100% of samples.
Austin next to Houston
Houston blends the San Jacinto and Trinity rivers with water from 104 deep wells, and its Main System hardness averaged 135.5 ppm in 2025. Austin is a single river system and softer, at 93 ppm. Both disinfect with chloramines, so catalytic carbon is the common filter question in both cities.
Austin's lead story is also different. The City certified that its public pipes contain no lead, and it is replacing private galvanized pipes flagged as Galvanized Requiring Replacement at no cost to customers.
Where these figures come from
Everything on this page traces to Austin Water.
- Austin Water — 2025 Water Quality Report — source water, treatment plants, disinfectant and byproduct results, lead and copper, hardness, PFAS and E. coli monitoring.
- Austin Water — 2025 Water Quality Report, Director's letter (PDF copy) — lead-free public system certification and the galvanized pipe replacement initiative.
Matching treatment to the finding
Austin's report supports chloramine and byproduct reduction. It does not support buying a system for lead alone.
Catalytic carbon for chloramine
Austin's water carries chloramine to the tap. Catalytic carbon handles chloramine taste and smell better than standard carbon.
Carbon also reduces byproducts
Trihalomethanes reached 53.9 ppb against an 80 ppb limit. A carbon stage certified for TTHM reduction addresses them at the tap or whole-house.
A softener is optional
At 5.4 grains per gallon on average, many Austin homes skip a softener. Homes that see scale on glass or a tankless heater may still want one.
Replace galvanized pipes first
If your private plumbing is flagged as Galvanized Requiring Replacement, Austin Water replaces it at no cost. That beats buying a lead-specific filter.
How the free test works
A licensed technician tests at your kitchen tap, walks the plumbing, and tells you which of the findings above applies to your house and which does not. There is no charge and no obligation.
Seamless Home is the licensed contractor of record on the work that follows. Installation is performed by vetted installing partners engaged as our subcontractors, and the workmanship obligation stays with us. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What a water treatment job with us covers
Installation and replacement of whole-home and point-of-use treatment, specified against what your water actually contains.
Sediment filtration
Installation of the first stage that protects everything downstream of it, sized to the service line and the household draw.
Softening
Installation of ion-exchange softening where hardness is the problem, including the drain connection the plumbing code treats as indirect waste.
Carbon filtration
Installation of carbon stages for taste, odour and disinfection by-products, specified from your utility's own water quality report.
Reverse osmosis
Point-of-use installation at the kitchen sink where the target is dissolved solids rather than whole-home flow.
Disinfection
Installation of UV or equivalent treatment where the supply is a private well or is otherwise not continuously disinfected.
System replacement
Replacing equipment that has reached the end of its service life, including the discharge and air gap details an inspector looks at.
This is installation and replacement work, specified from a published water quality report or a test of your supply — not from a sales chart. Coverage is confirmed per service area rather than promised as blanket availability.
What the work actually looks like
Treatment equipment is plumbing. Most of the job is the connection, the drain and the code detail behind it.
Austin water, answered plainly
Where does Austin's water come from?+
From the Lower Colorado River as it flows through Lake Travis and Lake Austin. Austin Water treats it at the Handcox, Davis and Ullrich water treatment plants.
Does Austin use chlorine or chloramine?+
Chloramines. The 2025 report shows distribution readings from 0.06 to 3.1 ppm, averaging 2.3 ppm, against a 4 ppm maximum residual disinfectant level.
Is Austin's water hard?+
Moderately. Hardness ran from 70 to 126 ppm (4.1 to 7.4 grains per gallon) and averaged 93 ppm, or 5.4 gpg, in the 2025 report.
Are there lead pipes in Austin?+
Austin Water says a multi-year inspection certified that the City's public water system is free of lead pipes. It is now replacing private pipes identified as Galvanized Requiring Replacement at no cost to customers, because galvanized pipe can contribute trace lead.
Is there PFAS in Austin's water?+
Austin Water reports that its PFAS monitoring found little to no detectable traces in the City's drinking water. It publishes sample results on its PFAS webpage.
Where do these figures come from?+
From Austin Water's 2025 Water Quality Report, including the Director's letter. Third-party aggregators are not used.
Related resources
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The national service page behind this one.
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Learn more →Get a free test at your tap
A licensed technician tests at your kitchen tap and tells you which findings apply to your house — chloramine, byproducts or your own plumbing. No charge, no obligation, and coverage confirmed at your address first.
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