Lake Georgetown and Southlake plant water: 176 to 178 mg/L

Last reviewed: September 12, 2026

That works out to roughly 10 to 11 grains per gallon. On the USGS scale that lands in the hard band, which runs 121 to 180 mg/L, and it sits right at the top of it.

The other side of the city, served by the Park plant and Southside plant, runs 309 to 320 mg/L. If you have been reading advice written for Georgetown generally, some of it was written for water almost twice as hard as yours.

What 10 to 11 grains actually does in a house

You will still see it. Spotting on glass and stainless, white crust at the aerators and the shower head, more soap and detergent than a soft water house needs, and scale slowly building inside the water heater.

What you probably will not see at this level is the dramatic stuff a door knocker describes. At 10 to 11 grains per gallon, plenty of houses in this part of town run for years on nothing but a decent water heater flush schedule and vinegar on the fixtures.

When a softener is actually worth it here

It moves from optional toward worth it when you have a tankless water heater, which is far less forgiving of scale than a tank unit, when you have a large household running high daily volume, or when you have already replaced a heating element or a fixture because of scale.

It is closer to optional when it is one or two people in the house, you have a standard tank heater, and the only complaint is spotting on the glassware.

That is the honest read. We do not sell or install softeners, so there is no version of this where the answer is always yes.

The sizing math, shown

Grains per day is your hardness in grains per gallon times the number of people times 75 gallons per person per day.

Capacity needed between regenerations is grains per day times the number of days you want between regenerations, which is typically 3 to 4.

Four people at 11 grains per gallon: 11 times 4 times 75 equals 3,300 grains per day. At 4 days between regenerations that is 13,200 grains of capacity.

Two people at 11 grains per gallon: 1,650 grains per day, or 6,600 grains at 4 days.

We use the high end of the published band on purpose. If a quote you are handed uses a much bigger hardness number than 11, ask where it came from.

Eight questions to ask before you sign

1. What hardness number did you use to size this, and what is your source for it.
2. What is the grain capacity of the unit, and how many days between regenerations does that give my household.
3. Is the control valve a serviceable, widely available family such as Clack or Fleck, or is it proprietary to your company.
4. If I call a different plumber in five years, can they get parts for this valve.
5. Is there a prefilter included, and is it rated for chloramines rather than chlorine.
6. What is the salt use per month at this size, and what is the water use per regeneration.
7. Who is doing the install, what license do they hold, and what is the license number.
8. What is the total price in writing, with no financing term attached, and what is the warranty on the valve and the tank separately.

Next steps

Get the $79 spec and we run the numbers above for your house, in writing, with the sources printed.

If you would rather just talk to someone licensed, our plumbing listings are verified against the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners before they go up, and nobody pays to be on the list.