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Harris County FWSD 1b

What EPA’s and Texas’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
672 people
Connections
245
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Highlands, TX
County
Harris
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

77562

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the legal limit. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1996 to 2026.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and nitrate: Texas’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 21, 2020 to July 20, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

48.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 29.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 48.8 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 80.9 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 29.2 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2024. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 44.1 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.9ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.9 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

46.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 23.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 46.8 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 74.4 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 23.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 55.3 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.59ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 0.43 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 0.59 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.43 ppm.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Unaddressed
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.061 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.061 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 19 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and nitrate results here are Texas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Harris County FWSD 1b’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Texas’s results run from Jan. 21, 2020 to July 20, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Harris County FWSD 1b’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Texas certifies.

The 3 labs Texas certifies closest to the area Harris County FWSD 1b serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • A & B Environmental Services, Inc.

    Houston, TX · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper

    (713) 453-6060

  • City of Houston Health Department, Bureau of Laboratory Services

    Houston, TX · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (832) 393-3939

  • Water Utility Services, Inc.

    Spring, TX · about 30 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (281) 290-0704

Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Well Informed screening events, where well owners bring in water samples to be screened for common contaminants, followed by an hour-long session explaining the results. Upcoming events are on the network's calendar. Trainings, Texas Well Owner Network.

All 80 certified labs for Texas

Sources

PWSID TX1010590. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Harris County

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