How Hard Is the Water in Leander, Liberty Hill, Cedar Park and the Hill Country?

We pulled the latest annual drinking water reports (called Consumer Confidence Reports, or CCRs) from each utility. Every public water system has to publish one each year, so these are the most reliable figures available. Here's what they say.

First, how hardness is measured

Hardness is mostly dissolved calcium and magnesium. Utilities usually report it in milligrams per liter (mg/L, the same as parts per million) "as calcium carbonate." Water softener settings use grains per gallon (gpg). One grain per gallon is about 17.1 mg/L, as Austin Water explains in its own report.

The U.S. Geological Survey uses these general bands:

USGS also notes that hardness is not a health concern. It's a nuisance: scale in water heaters and pipes, and soap that doesn't lather well.

City-by-city hardness

A few notes on reading this table:

• Cedar Park, Leander and Marble Falls all land right around 11 gpg. That's in the USGS "very hard" band, just past the 180 mg/L line.
• Round Rock is the hardest of the group, at roughly 15 gpg. Its range is wide (100 to 358 mg/L), so your own tap may read higher or lower than the average.
• Austin is the exception. Austin Water softens its water with lime at the treatment plants, so its customers average about 5.4 gpg. That's "moderately hard." Some websites claim Austin water is 13–15 gpg. That doesn't match Austin Water's own report.
• Georgetown is our least certain number. We didn't use a hardness figure from Georgetown's own report. Instead, we calculated it from the calcium and magnesium averages in Georgetown's wholesale data, which the City of Liberty Hill reprints in its 2024 report. That works out to roughly 16 to 17 gpg, but it's our arithmetic, not a published hardness. Georgetown's system has several sources, so check your own report or test your tap.

Liberty Hill: it depends on who your water provider is

Liberty Hill is where we get the most questions, and the honest answer is that it depends on your address.

The City of Liberty Hill's 2024 report says the city buys treated Lake Travis water from Leander and also runs four wells in the Trinity Hensell aquifer. It doesn't print a hardness figure. Leander's water is about 11 gpg. Groundwater from limestone aquifers in this area is often harder than lake water, but we didn't find published numbers for the city's wells. We won't guess.

Just as important: many homes with a Liberty Hill mailing address, including large neighborhoods outside city limits, aren't on the city system at all. They may be served by a different utility or district. Check the name on your water bill, then look up that provider's CCR. If it isn't on their website, you can search TCEQ's Drinking Water Viewer by system name.

Burnet, Bertram and private wells

The City of Burnet's 2025 report lists two wells and an Inks Lake intake but doesn't publish hardness. If you live in Bertram or rural Burnet County, check your own provider's report.

If you're on a private well, no utility tests your water for you. The Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District describes the main aquifers in Burnet County, including the Trinity (mostly the Hensell Sand), Ellenburger-San Saba, Hickory and Marble Falls. Well water quality can vary a lot from one well to the next, even nearby. A lab test is the only way to know your hardness, iron and other details before choosing equipment. LCRA offers residential water testing for private supplies.

Why the number matters

The number does more than tell you whether to buy a softener. It also tells you how to set one up:

• Sizing and settings. A softener is programmed with your hardness in gpg. Underestimate it and you get hard water bleeding through. Overestimate it and you waste salt and water on extra regenerations.
• Scale where it costs you. USGS notes that heated hard water forms calcium carbonate scale, which can shorten equipment life and lower water heater efficiency. At roughly 11 to 15 gpg, most of this area is well past the point where you'll notice it.
• Austin is a different conversation. At about 5 gpg, many Austin Water customers care more about taste (chloramine) than scale. We'll be upfront if a softener isn't the best use of your money.

How to find your exact hardness

1. Find your utility's CCR. Search "[your utility name] water quality report" or "consumer confidence report." EPA explains what CCRs contain and that utilities must publish them every year.
2. Look for "Hardness" or "Total Hardness as CaCO₃." It's usually under "secondary" or "other" constituents. Divide mg/L by 17.1 to get gpg.
3. If it isn't listed, as in Liberty Hill's and Burnet's latest reports, call the utility or test at the tap. Inexpensive hardness test strips give a reasonable estimate. A lab test is better for wells.
4. Test your own tap if the range is wide. Round Rock's reported range runs from about 6 to 21 gpg, so the average may not match your street.

The bottom line

Outside Austin Water's service area, most of the northwest corridor reports about 11 gpg (Cedar Park, Leander, Marble Falls), and Round Rock reports about 15, and Georgetown calculates out higher still. That's very hard water by USGS standards. Liberty Hill, Burnet and private wells need a closer look, and so does Georgetown, because the published numbers are either missing or don't tell the whole story.

If you'd like, we'll test your water at your home and tell you plainly what we find, including when a softener isn't worth it.