Georgetown water is hard. How hard depends on which plant serves you.

Last reviewed: September 12, 2026

There is no single hardness number for Georgetown. The city treats water at more than one plant, and the finished water coming out of them is not the same.

From the city's own published numbers:

Water from Lake Georgetown and the Southlake plant runs 176 to 178 mg/L of hardness as calcium carbonate. That is roughly 10 to 11 grains per gallon.

Water from the Park plant and the Southside plant runs 309 to 320 mg/L. That is roughly 19 grains per gallon.

USGS calls anything from 121 to 180 mg/L hard, and anything above 181 mg/L very hard. So one side of town sits at the top of the hard range, and the other sits well into very hard at close to double the mineral load. Same city, same water bill, different water.

Why the gap matters before you spend money

Softener sizing is arithmetic, and grains per gallon is the input. Get the input wrong and everything downstream is wrong.

Size a unit for 19 grains when your house is actually on 10 and you bought more capacity than you need and you will run more salt through it than you need. Size for 10 when you are actually on 19 and the unit regenerates far more often than it was built to, which burns salt, burns water, and shortens resin life.

A salesman standing in your kitchen does not know which plant is feeding your street unless he asks. Most do not ask.

Find out which band you are in

Start with the free lookup. Tell us your street and we tell you which band the city numbers put you in, or we tell you honestly that we cannot pin it and show you both.

If you want the math done for your house, the paid spec is $79. It takes your band, your household size, and your current setup, runs the sizing formula in front of you instead of hiding it, and gives you the questions to ask before you sign anything.

What we are not going to tell you

Hard water is not unsafe water. Hardness is calcium and magnesium. It is a scale and appliance problem, not a contamination problem, and the city publishes its compliance reports separately.

If someone knocks on your door, runs a quick test in your sink, and tells you your water is dangerous, that is a sales script. We do not do that, and neither should anyone we would list.