Is Palm Valley, TX tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Palm Valley has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Texas’s records.
Harlingen Water Works System, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 46.9 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Palm Valley’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Harlingen Water Works System
Texas · serves 85,900 people · about 360 in Palm Valley
2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 46.9 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Primera
Texas · serves 5,811 people · under 100 in Palm Valley
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 62.1 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Palm Valley
Texas · serves 1,310 people · under 100 in Palm Valley
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.1 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Harlingen Water Works System’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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
Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Water testing near Palm Valley
The lab Texas certifies closest to Palm Valley, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Texas Department of State Health Services South Texas Laboratory
Harlingen, TX · under a mile
Certified for bacteria
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 TexasZIP codes in Palm Valley
Which ZIP codes are in Palm Valley: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: TCEQ, drinking water laboratories approved for public water system samples; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Palm Valley
Other towns in Cameron County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Harlingen Water Works System’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About LithiumWhat it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Lithium
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water