If you live in Katy, your water most likely comes out of the ground. The Gulf Coast Aquifer beneath this part of Texas carries minerals and naturally occurring elements that surface water does not — and Katy is served by a patchwork of municipal utility districts, each with its own wells and its own water.
That means there is no single answer to “what is in Katy water.” What we can tell you is what shows up in this area, and what treatment actually does about each one.
Explore Our Water Treatment Systems
The same systems we install throughout the Houston area. See specs, warranties, and package details.
Water Softeners
Whole-home softening to stop hard water damage to your pipes, fixtures, and appliances.
Whole-Home Filtration
Filtration for city and private well water — iron, sediment, chlorine, and more.
Drinking Water & RO
Reverse osmosis systems for clean, great-tasting drinking water at the tap.
What Shows Up in Katy-Area Water
Hard water
The most universal complaint here. Calcium and magnesium from the aquifer leave scale on fixtures, spots on glassware, film in the shower, and stiffness in laundry. It is also quietly hard on your water heater and dishwasher. Hardness is what an ion exchange softener is built for.
Chlorine and disinfection byproducts
Every public system disinfects, and it has to — that is what makes water safe to deliver. The trade-off is chlorine taste and smell, plus byproducts like trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids that form when chlorine reacts with organic material in the water. Activated carbon filtration and reverse osmosis both reduce these.
Arsenic
Arsenic occurs naturally in the Gulf Coast Aquifer and is present in some Katy-area water systems. Levels vary considerably between utilities, and public systems are required to stay within federal limits. If it matters to you, the treatment that addresses arsenic is reverse osmosis or ion exchange — a carbon filter does not remove it.
Radium and uranium
Both are naturally occurring radiological elements found in Texas groundwater, and both appear in some systems across the greater Houston area. Reverse osmosis and ion exchange are the effective treatments.
Chromium-6, barium, manganese, and other minerals
These turn up in area groundwater from natural mineral deposits and, in some cases, industrial activity. Reverse osmosis addresses most of them; ion exchange handles several.
Which Treatment Handles What
- Ion exchange softener — hardness, plus some minerals and radiological elements
- Activated carbon filtration — chlorine, taste and odor, and disinfection byproducts
- Reverse osmosis — the broadest reduction, including arsenic, chromium-6, radium, uranium, and nitrate
- Sediment filtration — particulate and turbidity
This is the reason our packages pair a whole-home system with a drinking water system. A softener handles the water that goes on you. Reverse osmosis handles the water that goes in you. Neither one does the other job.
Find Out What Is In Your Water Specifically
Because Katy is served by multiple utilities, your street may have noticeably different water than a neighborhood two miles away. There are two ways to find out what yours actually is:
- Look up your provider through the Texas Water Development Board service boundary viewer, then check its published testing in the EWG Tap Water Database.
- Or let us test your water at your kitchen sink — hardness, chlorine, and total dissolved solids, with the results in front of you.
What We Install in Katy
We install and service whole-home water softeners, whole-home filtration, and PureGuard reverse osmosis drinking water systems throughout the Katy area. Our SENTINEL ELITE package combines all three plus leak detection.
Communities We Serve in Katy
Elyson, Cane Island, Cross Creek Ranch, Tamarron, Jordan Ranch, Firethorne, Cinco Ranch, Seven Meadows, Grand Lakes, and the 77449, 77450, 77493, and 77494 ZIP codes.
Nearby Areas We Serve
Water changes from one provider to the next, so it is worth checking your own area. We also serve Cypress, Fulshear, Richmond and Waller.
Already Have a System?
We service and repair water treatment equipment in Katy, typically within 24 to 48 hours, including systems we did not install. See water softener repair, filtration repair, and reverse osmosis repair.
Get Your Katy Water Tested
We will test at your sink and walk you through what the numbers mean, with no obligation.
Call United Water Softeners at 281-240-0261 or request a free in-home water test.
Public water systems serving the Katy area are regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and are required to meet federal drinking water standards. Water quality varies by provider and by address. United Water Softeners · TCEQ Licensed WTS III.