Dallas-Fort Worth Water Quality: Expert Guidance

Looking for extra guidance on how to read your city’s water quality report? Want deeper insights on Dallas-Fort Worth area water quality after reading one of our local guides?

Our local plumbing and water quality experts reviewed dozens of city water reports from the DFW Metroplex. They offer valuable insights — but they’re just plain tough to read for the average person. We asked our teams to outline the most important parts of these reports, as well as what homeowners should care about most in their content.

Use this top-level guide in conjunction with our expert coverage of your city’s water quality guide — like Dallas, Fort Worth and Grapevine.

Questions about your local water quality? Call us anytime!

You Must Read Your Annual Water Quality Report

If you haven’t read your yearly water quality report, then you don’t know what’s coming out of your faucets.

Your town or city gets its water from a public water supply — either through its own public works department, or from a water company.

Your public water supply is required by the EPA to provide an annual water quality report to its customers.

This report must include details about source water, contaminant levels and compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

The 5 most important 5 parts of your city’s water quality report

A local water report must offer 5 key pieces of information:

1. Water source: Where does your drinking water supply come from? Is it sourced from local lakes, reservoirs, rivers or other sources?
2. Contaminant levels: Measured levels of chemicals, bacteria, viruses, radioactive substances, and heavy metals in local water.
3. Forever chemical levels: Forever chemical (also known as PFAS) are transitioning from unregulated to regulated status with the EPA. PFAS measurements should exist in all water quality reports.
4. Water hardness levels: The existence of dissolved minerals that increase water hardness. Many DFW water reports measure water hardness as CaCO3 (calcium carbonate). When water quality reports mention CaCo3, they’re setting a standard unit of measurement for all hard minerals in water — calcium, magnesium and limescale.
5. EPA standards and violations: Your contaminant levels are measured against current EPA regulatory standards for drinking water. All violations must be listed.

A comprehensive water quality report may also provide details on water treatment processes. We chose these 5 data points because they’re the most relevant to the overall quality of water that enters your Dallas-Fort Worth home.

The Big 3: DFW’s Top Water Quality Issues

Our plumbing experts have over 70 years of local experience in Dallas-Fort Worth. We asked for their insights on the biggest problems affecting water quality in our area.

We heightened their knowledge with internal data from our last 5 years of residential plumbing service calls in the DFW Metroplex. 

We’ve identified these 3 sediments and contaminants as the Big 3 problems with the overall quality of local tap water:

Calcium

Calcium is great for your bones. But that’s where the benefits of calcium in water stop.

Calcium is the leading cause of hard water in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This isn’t a small problem — KXII reports we currently rank #6 in the nation for water hardness.

Sedimentary rock formations in our region leach calcium into surface water. These dissolved minerals pass through your public water supply and into your home’s pipes. Here, they cause 4 key plumbing issues:

1. Water heater buildup: Sediment buildup in water heaters kills their inefficiency and causes accelerated wear and tear. Mineral scaling destroys tankless water heaters in particular, and causes major damage to anode rods.
2. Appliance wear and tear: Hard mineral deposits create inefficiency in your water heater, dishwasher and washing machine. They reduce the lifespan of your water-using appliances by years and increase strain on your plumbing system.
3. Pipe scaling: Calcium sticks to the inner pipe walls, reducing proper water flow and creating clogs and corrosion.
4. Faucet and tap scaling: Mineral scaling on faucets and taps leaves a white, chalky residue. It looks gross, it’s a pain to clean, and it never stops until you get softer water in your house.

Health concern? No

Plumbing concern? Yes

Appliance concern? Yes

Chlorine

Would you drink pool water? We didn’t think so.

Chlorine and related chemicals (called chloramines) are used to disinfect the water supply. These chemicals continue into your home plumbing and drinking water.

This isn’t just a tap water issue — chlorine slowly ruins your pipes as well. It corrodes metal and degrades plastic and PVC pipes. This also causes cracks in plastic fittings, and damages the seals and gaskets in your plumbing system.

Health concern? Minimal

Plumbing concern? Yes

Appliance concern? Yes

PFAS

You wouldn’t eat firefighting foam or lick non-stick cookware. So you should hate PFAS.

PFAS are commonly called forever chemicals because they simply don’t break down — both in the water supply, and in your body.

The EPA notes that forever chemicals have the following proven effects on humans:

• Reproductive damage
• Developmental delays in children
• Increased prostate, kidney and testicular cancer risk
• Increased obesity and cholesterol levels
• Reduced immune system response

The worst part? A large number of DFW cities have elevated PFAS levels in their water. 

KERA News reports that water treatment plants in Fort Worth, Arlington, Grapevine, Haltom City, Lake Worth and Weatherford all failed to meet EPA regulations for PFAS levels.

As a result, the City of Fort Worth filed a $420 million lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, DuPont, 3M and other manufacturers for damages related to PFAS contamination in the water supply.

Health concern? Yes

Plumbing concern? Unclear

Appliance concern? Unclear

Glossary of Water Quality Terms

Finding your city’s water report is easy. Reading it can be much harder.

Water quality reports are filled with technical terms and scientific data that are difficult for the average person to understand. We’ve created a simple glossary of water quality terms to help DFW residents understand exactly what’s in their tap water.

Glossary of terms used in water quality reports

Here are simple definitions for terms you’ll find in most water quality reports.

Action level refers to a “trigger point” in contamination. Once a contaminant reaches the listed action level (usually set by the EPA), treatment processes must occur.

Chemical contaminants are contaminants in the water supply from inorganic, chemical sources. In North Texas, these include arsenic, chromium and fluoride.

Contamination levels are taken by the local water authority in regulatory compliance with federal and EPA standards. These are usually listed as minimum, maximum or average levels.

Maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) is a level of a contaminant in drinking water set by the government. Once contaminant levels reach MCLG, there is no known or expected risk to health. 

Maximum contaminant level (MCL) refers to the highest level of a contaminant allowed in drinking water by government standards. 

Measurement rate refers to the standard unit of measure that’s used to define the amount of individual contaminants or sediments n the water supply. Common measurement rates include parts per million (ppm) and parts per billion (ppb). 

Radiological contaminants are contaminants in water with radioactive properties. In Dallas-Fort Worth, these include beta/photon emitters and radium.

Turbidity measures the amount of light that passes through water — in essence, how “cloudy or hazy” your water is. It helps determine the amount of sediment, algae, microorganisms and inorganic compounds in water.

Measurement abbreviations in water quality reports

Here are common water quality abbreviations dealing with measurement:

NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Units, a measure of water turbidity

PCi/L: Picocuries per liter, a measure of radioactive contaminants in water

PPM: Parts per million (also called mg/L), a measure of substances in water

PPB: Parts per billion (also called µg/L), a measure of substances in water

PPT: Parts per trillion (also called ng/L), a measure of substances in water

Company and agency abbreviations in water quality reports

These frequently used abbreviations in DFW water quality reports refer to local water providers, regulatory groups and agencies:

DWU: Dallas Water Utilities, the primary water utility company for the City of Dallas. DWU also sells water to many cities surrounding Dallas. 

EPA: Environmental Protection Agency, a U.S. federal agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment.

NTMWD: North Texas Municipal Water District, a regional public water supply company that sells and provides water to many cities and municipalities in the DFW Metroplex.

TCEQ: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the environmental agency for the state of Texas. They protect the health of Texans by managing air and water quality, waste and hazardous materials.

TRA: Trinity River Authority, a water treatment and distribution agency.

TRWD: Tarrant Regional Water District, a DFW area public water supply company.

Find Your City’s Annual Water Quality Report

Don't just read your city's water quality report — understand exactly how it affects you, your plumbing and your home.

Our plumbing experts publish in-depth reviews of DFW area water quality reports. Find yours here!