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Harris County MUD 23 water quality report, rewritten

Serves
3,170
Connections
1,641
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Spring, TX
County
Harris
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

77040

PWSID TX10106492026 edition · EPA data

Read this first

  • Lithium (above EPA’s health benchmark) was found in five of 8 samples, highest 24 ppb. Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.
  • Lead (above the health goal) In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

No health-based violations on file since 2016. EPA lists 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are paperwork and testing lapses rather than water quality findings.

What handles it

What was found

Highlighted: above the health goal, or EPA’s health benchmark where there is no goal. Circled: above the legal limit in at least one sample, or the action level. Every scale puts that line at its middle.

24ppb

Highest of 8 samples; found in five

Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Feb. 14, 2024 to Dec. 3, 2024. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

Lead (above the health goal)

Comes from pipes, often your own

1.8ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

EPA SDWIS, lead and copper monitoring periods ending 2007 to 2025. The pointer marks the latest period; each blue tick is an earlier one.

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFBA7.3 ppt2 of 8None covers it
PFPeA5.2 ppt2 of 8None covers it
PFHxA4.5 ppt2 of 8None covers it

Tested and not found

Below EPA’s minimum reporting level in every sample taken from Feb. 14, 2024 to Feb. 5, 2025. Not found means not measured above that level, which is not the same as zero.

All 26 compounds tested and not found
  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFBS
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFOS
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There is 1 monitoring or reporting violation: a sample missed, late or not reported.

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.

Compare five-year costs

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

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

What this report cannot tell you

  • Levels of everything else. Federal bulk data carries results for PFAS, lithium, lead and copper, and violations for the rest. Nitrate, arsenic, disinfection byproducts and other levels are in Harris County MUD 23’s own annual report, which it must send you every year.
  • 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.
  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q2; UCMR 5 samples are from Feb. 14, 2024 to Feb. 5, 2025.

What to do next

  1. Read up on the 2 marked results

    What each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.

    Start with Lithium

  2. Get the utility’s own report

    Harris County MUD 23 must send you a water quality report every year. It lists nitrate, arsenic and byproduct levels this page cannot.

    How to read it

  3. Test your own tap for lead

    Your service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.

    Lead in your water: what to do

  4. Compare certified filters

    What the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.

    Compare five-year costs

Other Texas utilities

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