Is Pasadena, TX tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 8 utilities serving Pasadena have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Texas’s records: City of Houston and Harris County WCID 50 El Lago.
City of Pasadena, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 4.9 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
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 Pasadena’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Pasadena
Texas · serves 152,000 people · about 122,600 in Pasadena
1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 4.9 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Houston
Texas · serves 3 million people · about 5,100 in Pasadena
3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 33.9 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Clear Lake City Water Authority
Texas · serves 89,702 people · about 4,300 in Pasadena
1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 6.7 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Seabrook
Texas · serves 13,560 people · about 3,500 in Pasadena
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 19.8 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Nassau Bay
Texas · serves 5,347 people · about 1,500 in Pasadena
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.5 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Harris County WCID 50 El Lago
Texas · serves 3,924 people · about 850 in Pasadena
1 result above the action level and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Copper at 1.7 ppm, above the action level.
4 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Webster
Texas · serves 13,710 people · about 740 in Pasadena
1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 6.2 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Pasadena El Cary Estates
Texas · serves 1,470 people · about 250 in Pasadena
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.0 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 City of Pasadena’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, Lead, 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: PFOS, Lead, 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: PFOS, Lead, Arsenic
Water testing near Pasadena
The 3 labs Texas certifies closest to Pasadena, 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 11 miles
Certified for bacteria, lead and copper
City of Houston Health Department, Bureau of Laboratory Services
Houston, TX · about 17 miles
Certified for bacteria
Eurofins Xenco, LLC -Houston
Stafford, TX · about 26 miles
Certified for lead and copper
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 TexasWhich ZIP codes are in Pasadena: 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 Pasadena
Other towns in Harris County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Pasadena’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for PFOSRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for PFAS, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water