How hard is the water in Matagorda County, TX?
9 grains per gallon
A softener is worth it here.
The median hardness measured in Matagorda County, TX is 154 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 9 gpg. That is hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 1 samples at 1 sites between 2013 and 2013, drawn from every sampling site in the county, wells and surface water together.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 9 and 9 gpg. The whole middle of that range gives the same answer, so a test of your own tap is unlikely to change it. Confidence in the county figure: low (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 9 gpg a softener is worth getting, mainly to protect the water heater and cut soap use. Get at least two quotes, ask each installer what grain capacity they are fitting, and check it against the sizing table below.
More on sizing a softener for your household.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 24,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 196 lb of salt a year (5 bags of 40 lb, about $35), and roughly 2,346 gallons of regeneration water. Installed, most units run $1,000 to $4,500; spread over 15 years with salt, that is about $135 a year.
Sizing at 9 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 540 | 24,000 | 66 lb |
| 2 | 1,080 | 24,000 | 131 lb |
| 4 | 2,160 | 24,000 | 263 lb |
| 6 | 3,240 | 24,000 | 394 lb |
Matagorda County against the rest of Texas
Among the 217 Texas counties with data, Matagorda County is number 141 of 217 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 47% of counties.
Softest in Texas: Nacogdoches County at 0.3 gpg. Hardest: Ward County at 218.5 gpg. Closest to Matagorda County: McLennan County (8.8), Milam County (8.8), Jim Wells County (9.3).